It was a cold night in February 1988…
…when I met Nicko McBrain. He had come to town to do a drum clinic for Sonor Drums and Paiste Cymbals. As a zit 
-faced, poofy-haired kid who loved Iron Maiden more than just about anything, this clinic was like a taste of Heaven. There were only about 30 people there as Whitesnake were in town touring for the ’87 LP. I was one of 2 people who actually got to get up on stage and play his drums with him standing right there. It was awesome. During one of his rambles, he mentioned the size of the crowd being small due to Whitesnake being in town. Under my breath from the front row I said “Fuck Tommy Aldridge.” Nicko stopped his speech and said, “Steve, give that man a beer!” So his tech handed me an ice cold Heineken which I had Nicko autograph after the show. I still have that bottle, unopened and it’s all chunky inside. I didn’t drink at the time so there was no reason to open it.
Here it is:
The Metal Files 
I work for Nicko and he is almost inhumanly cool to be around he spends hours hanging out and talking with the fans and always is lending a hand around the restaurant.
kingbiscuitpants
January 11, 2010 at 8:19 pm
Another funny thing is I’m always dying to ask Nicko about the new album & stuff but over 99 % of our interactions focus on quality control issues regarding the french fries as he will frequently exclaim
“fry alert, fry alert!” squeeze his way behind the line , and eat and critique the french fry quality. A pretty surreal daily event for a hardcore maiden fan.
kingbiscuitpants
January 12, 2010 at 11:05 am
[…] So that was that. Mikkey gave Dave’s son, Kameron, a can of Coca-Cola as we were leaving and he says, “I’m never opening this can…ever.” Awesome. I understand that sentiment as I still have an unopened bottle Heineken that Nicko McBrain signed for me in 1988. […]
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