Iron Maiden’s Nicko McBrain recently revealed in an interview last year that he was diagnosed with stage one laryngeal cancer in 2020. McBrain made the admission when he was speaking to University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine in September of 2021, right after the release of Maiden’s latest album, Senjutsu. The interview was under the radar until recently.
McBrain first took notice of changes in his voice in 2019 stating, “When I play drums with the band, I actually sort of scream and yell while I play, like a Judo guy slapping the mat.” He continued to say “When you are lying down in a quiet room and you speak and hear your voice in your head and have a cold, you sound different, This happened to me. I thought this is very reminiscent — this different-sounding voice of mine — to when I finish a tour or after a show. I didn’t have a cold or any symptoms of illness at all. I started to feel that I was clearing my throat more when I was in conversations. So, I just took it on myself to call my doctor.”
After having the cancer removed, the 70 year old is now in remission and gets checkups every few months. Adding, “I thoroughly recommend that anyone who may feel there is something different with their voice to go and get it checked out, And don’t put it off. It was very good for me that I caught it in stage 1.”
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