Nicko McBrain announces memoir on Iron Maiden years and touring life

Nicko McBrain is putting his Iron Maiden story between hardcovers. Hello Boys And Girls!, the longtime drummer’s new autobiography, is set for release by Harper Nonfiction on October 22, 2026 in hardback, ebook, and audio, and it reads like a career document for one of heavy metal’s most recognizable timekeepers.

McBrain joined Iron Maiden in 1982, and the memoir will look back across the years that made him a central part of the band’s sound and identity. The book is said to reach beyond Maiden itself, tracing his earlier bands, session work, and the grind of decades spent moving between recording studios and arena stages. For drummers, that matters because McBrain’s career sits at the intersection of precision, stamina, and personality, the qualities that keep a player relevant long after the first big break.

The release also carries added weight because McBrain stepped away from active touring after announcing retirement in December 2024 following health-related concerns. That context makes Hello Boys And Girls! feel less like a standard career victory lap and more like a firsthand account of what it costs to stay at the top of a physically demanding job. McBrain has spent his life in the kind of schedule drummers know well, with long runs on the road, the pressure of live consistency, and the endless repetition that turns technique into instinct.

That is why the book could resonate far beyond Iron Maiden’s fan base. A memoir from McBrain has the potential to deliver the stuff drummers actually talk about: how a signature style survives changing eras, what it takes to hold up night after night on tour, and how a player keeps a voice behind the kit while moving through different bands, sessions, and decades of recording. McBrain’s name has always been tied to Iron Maiden’s rhythmic engine; now his own story is getting the full-length treatment, and it promises to be as much about endurance and craft as about fame.