Nicko McBrain, who drummed for Iron Maiden for more than four decades, has revealed that he turned down an invitation to play golf with Donald Trump, and says the US president and his inner circle should end up behind bars. The musician made the comments in an interview with The Telegraph, published ahead of the release of his autobiography.
“I was actually invited to go and play golf with him,” he said. “A friend of mine who’s a massive Republican said, ‘Oh, do you want to come and play golf with us? With the president.'” McBrain recalled reacting with disbelief – “You f***ing what?” – before replying: “No. No, mate.” He has lived in Boca Raton, Florida, for nearly 40 years, near Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach. On the proximity, he said: “Too f***ing close, mate.”
The drummer said he is not “politically inclined, although I must be because I have my thoughts about him”. He continued: “I’m not amused by the narcissism, and all this kerfuffle about the Epstein files and whatnot, and especially the debauched war that he’s put on Iran.” He also took aim at US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth: “And this Pete Hegseth business, oh, he’s going to be put in prison.” He concluded: “My last word on Trump and his bunch of cronies is, they should be put in jail.” Neither the White House nor Hegseth has responded.
The interview coincides with the release of ‘Hello Boys and Girls!’, McBrain’s autobiography, out on 22 October through Harper Nonfiction. The book covers his time with Iron Maiden and French band Trust, along with the rest of a recording career that began in 1973. To promote it, the 74-year-old will take a spoken-word show around Europe from 26 October, starting in Frankfurt and taking in Germany, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, Ireland and the UK.
McBrain joined Iron Maiden in December 1982 to record ‘Piece of Mind’ (1983), replacing Clive Burr. He had previously played in Trust, who supported Maiden on the UK leg of the 1981 ‘Killers’ tour. His more technical style helped Steve Harris take the band in more adventurous directions, and he became the group’s third-longest-serving member, behind Harris and Dave Murray. On 7 December 2024 he announced his retirement from touring with Maiden, the same day as his final show with the band at Allianz Parque in São Paulo. Simon Dawson, Harris’s bandmate in British Lion, has since taken over behind the kit, though McBrain remains a member of Maiden for studio work. Born on 5 June 1952 in Hackney, London, he played with Streetwalkers and Pat Travers before joining the band, and since 2009 he has owned Rock N Roll Ribs, a barbecue restaurant in Coral Springs, Florida.
In August, singer Bruce Dickinson also commented on Trump, specifically the president’s attempt to rename Lake Ontario “Lake America”, as Blabbermouth noted. The Iron Maiden albums McBrain played on have sold more than 100 million copies combined, and the band are pressing on with ‘Run For Your Lives’, their 50th-anniversary tour, which includes a 16-date North American leg in April and May 2027.