After the departure of Nicko McBrain, Iron Maiden has announced a new touring drummer.
The band shared a statement on Instagram, revealing who the new drummer is. “As The Future Past Tour concludes after 81 shows to over 1.4 million fans, from Ljubljana to the Coachella Valley and from Western Australia to Sao Paulo, Iron Maiden are delighted to announce that stepping in behind the kit for 2025 is a name familiar to many of our fans – Simon Dawson, a former session drummer and Steve’s rhythm section partner of the past 12 years with British Lion. A native of Suffolk, England, Simon first teamed up with Steve Harris back in 2012.”
The statement continued: “He debuted on three tracks on the first ‘British Lion’ album and all of the second critically acclaimed ‘The Burning’, plus the many subsequent tours in the US, UK, Europe, Australia, Japan, New Zealand &, most recently, both Mexico and South America.”
The band made the announcement only briefly after they revealed that they would announce the new drummer ‘very soon.’
Nicko McBrain announced his decision to retire from extensive touring after 42 years on December 7. In a statement shared on Iron Maiden’s official Twitter account, McBrain confirmed that his final performance with the band would take place the same night in São Paulo, Brazil.
Dawson joined the band as it took shape during the creation of Harris’ 2012 solo album, also called ‘British Lion.’ He played on three tracks from the album and performed as a band member on their 2020 album, ‘The Burning.’
He will be part of Maiden’s 2025 ‘Run For Your Lives’ tour, starting in Budapest, Hungary on May 27.
