He revealed the band had been pleasantly surprised when they ran through their tour set with Dawson, and realized he’d be able to cover outgoing drummer Nicko McBrain on short notice if it became necessary.
McBrain announced his retirement from playing at the end of Maiden’s last world tour as a result of health issues. When they return in May, Dawson – a member of Steve Harris’ band British Lion – will be behind the kit.
We were hoping Nick was going to [complete] the tour, but there were some times during the show when… we were worried,” Dickinson said during a recent interview at the Musicians’ Institute in Hollywood (video below
We were like, ‘We do not want to end up with Nick in hospital, and we do need to have a backup.’ And Simon was suggested by Steve, and we all went, ‘Yeah, but how do we know it’s gonna work?’”
With McBrain’s agreement, the band booked a rehearsal studio in Portland, OR, to see how Dawson would cope. “And honestly, I was pleasantly shocked,” the singer reported. “We went through the whole set without a break.
“And this guy had not rehearsed with anybody – he just, like, turned up with Maiden. We went through the entire set… and it was all there. I thought, ‘My God, we could do a show tonight if we had to.’ That’s unreal.’”
