What Is Nicko McBrain's Net Worth?
Nicko McBrain is a British musician and member of the band Iron Maiden who has a net worth of $40 million. That makes him one of the richest drummers in the world. Nicko McBrain earned his net worth as a drummer for the heavy metal band Iron Maiden. Nicko performed with rock acts such as The Streetwalkers, Pat Travers, and Trust (a French political band) before joining Iron Maiden in 1982, replacing drummer Clive Burr. Considered one of the greatest and most influential drummers in heavy metal, McBrain was a major contributor to Iron Maiden's string of hits throughout the 1980s. Although the band went through major line-up changes over the years, Nicko remained with the group. As well as being a notable drummer, McBrain wrote the Iron Maiden song "New Frontier," which is featured on the band's 2003 album "Dance to Death." Nicko has performed on more than a dozen Iron Maiden albums, including "Piece of Mind" (1983), "Somewhere in Time" (1986), "Fear of the Dark" (1992), "Brave New World" (2000), "The Final Frontier" (2010), and "Senjutsu" (2021). McBrain also released the 1991 instructional drum video "Rhythms of the Beast" and the 1990 book "Iron Maiden & Nicko McBrain's Rhythms of the Beast."
Early Life
Nicko McBrain was born Michael Henry McBrain on June 5, 1952, in Hackney, London, England. Young Nicko became interested in playing the drums when he saw Joe Morello perform on TV with The Dave Brubeck Quartet. When McBrain was 10 years old, he began playing drums with pots and pans before he used a pair of knives to drum on the gas cooker, chipping the paint. Nicko's father soon bought him a drum kit, and McBrain began playing covers of Beatles and Rolling Stones songs with school bands. By the time he was 14, Nicko was regularly playing at weddings and pubs. During his youth, McBrain's nose was broken during a fight at school, and he never had surgery to repair it. His parents insisted that he earn a college degree, and after graduating from Southgate Technical College with an engineering degree, Nicko took on session work to pay his rent. He joined the band The 18th Fairfield Walk (later known as Peyton Bond), and after leaving because the group only played covers, he joined The Wells Street Blues Band (later known as The Axe).
An argument between the guitarist and singer led to The Axe splitting up, and McBrain started playing with singer/keyboardist Billy Day and guitarist Michael Lesley in 1971. In 1973, Nicko performed on the Cockerel Chorus single "Nice One Cyril" and guitarist Gordon Giltrap's self-titled album. McBrain started performing with the Streetwalkers in 1975, then he joined Pat Travers, McKitty, Jenny Darren, and the French group Trust. While touring with Trust in 1981, Nicko met the members of Iron Maiden for the first time, and the following year, the band asked him to replace departing drummer Clive Burr.
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Iron Maiden
McBrain's first album with Iron Maiden was 1983's "Piece of Mind," which reached the top 10 on the charts in nine countries and was certified 2× Platinum in Canada and Platinum in the U.S. and U.K. The album included the single "The Trooper," which went Silver in the U.K. Next, the band released 1984's "Powerslave," and it reached #2 on the UK Albums Chart and was certified 2× Platinum in Canada and Platinum in the U.S. Iron Maiden followed "Powerslave" with 1986's "Somewhere in Time" and 1988's "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son," which both topped The Official Finnish Charts; "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" also reached #1 in the U.K. "Somewhere in Time" went 2× Platinum in the U.S. and Canada, and "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" was certified Platinum in Canada and Italy. "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" featured three singles that reached the top 10 in the U.K. and Ireland: "Can I Play with Madness," "The Evil That Men Do," and "The Clairvoyant." In the '90s, the band released the albums "No Prayer for the Dying" (1990), "Fear of the Dark" (1992), "The X Factor" (1995), and "Virtual XI" (1998), and all four albums reached the top 10 in Finland. "No Prayer for the Dying" included the single "Bring Your Daughter… to the Slaughter," which reached #1 in the U.K., and "Be Quick or Be Dead" from "Fear of the Dark" reached #2 on the charts there.
Since the 2000s began, Iron Maiden has released the studio albums "Brave New World" (2000), "Dance of Death"(2003), "A Matter of Life and Death" (2006), "The Final Frontier" (2010), "The Book of Souls" (2015), and "Senjutsu" (2021). All six of those albums reached #1 in at least one country, with "The Final Frontier" and "The Book of Souls" each topping the charts in more than 20 countries. "Dance of Death" featured a song written by McBrain titled "The New Frontier," his only songwriting credit for the band. Several of the band's singles released in the 2000s have reached the top 10 in the U.K., including as "Wildest Dreams," "The Number of the Beast," and "Different World." Nicko has also played with various side projects, such as McBrain Damage, a band that performed covers of Iron Maiden. In March 2017, he sat in with the 8G Band as a guest drummer on NBC's "Late Night with Seth Meyers."
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Personal Life
Nicko married Rebecca Dempsey in May 1989, and they welcomed sons Nicholas and Justin in 1983 and 1992, respectively. He converted to Christianity after attending Spanish River Church with his wife in 1999, and he has played with the church's worship band. In 2003, McBrain was charged with second-degree reckless endangerment and third-degree assault after driving into a parking attendant in Wantagh, New York. The attendant asked for Nicko's credentials when he was entering the venue's VIP parking lot before an Iron Maiden show, and a misunderstanding led to McBrain threatening to drive into the attendant and then injuring the man after following through on his threat. Nicko was allowed to perform in the concert after being processed and released on an appearance ticket.
In 2009, McBrain opened the Rock 'N' Roll Ribs restaurant in Coral Springs, Florida, and the "New Times Broward-Palm Beach" gave it the "Best Ribs of 2012" award. In 2018, he opened the Drum One musical instrument store in Manchester, England. Nicko is a fan of golf and snooker, and he has a pilot's license. In 2020, McBrain was diagnosed with laryngeal cancer after he noticed a change in his voice. He underwent surgery to have a tumor removed and went into remission. Nicko said of the experience, "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."
Awards and Nominations
Iron Maiden has earned five Grammy nominations, winning Best Metal Performance for "El Dorado" in 2011. Their other nominations were for Best Metal Single and Best Metal Performance for "The Wicker Man" (2001), Best Metal Performance for "Fear of the Dark" (1994), and Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance for "Blood Brothers" (2013). The band won a Brit Award for Best British Live Act in 2009 and received a nomination for Best British Single for "Bring Your Daughter… to the Slaughter" in 1992, and they were honored with an Ivor Novello Award for International Achievement in 2001. They won a BBC Radio Award for Greatest Metal Band Of All Time in 2009, and in 2005, "Bring Your Daughter… to the Slaughter" was runner-up for Best UK Single Ever. The band won Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards for Album of the Year for "A Matter of Life and Death" (2006) and "The Book of Souls" (2015) as well as Band of the Year (2009), and they have received ECHO Awards for Best Live Artist (2009) and Best Rock/Alternative Album for "The Book of Souls" (2016). Iron Maiden was inducted into Hollywood's RockWalk in 2005, and McBrain has been inducted into the Guitar Center's Drum-Legends Hall of Fame (2009), the "Modern Drummer" Hall of Fame (2020), and the Paiste Hall of Fame (2015). British Drum Icons inducted Nicko into the BDI Hall of Fame in 2005 and named him Best Metal Drummer in 2008, and in 2018, "Rhythm Magazine" crowned him Best Metal Drummer In The World.
Real Estate
In 1989, McBrain paid $244,900 for a 3,844 square foot, four-bedroom home in Boca Raton, Florida.
