So I finally got to meet a member of Maiden!!!! 
And the one that I always wanted to meet as well!
He was doing a drum clinic up here in Scotland. It was originally meant to be in Falkirk but the venue had been double booked so it was moved to Bo'ness. No, I hadn't heard of it either.
I was going with my friend Andrew, the drummer in Maiden Scotland and Nicko fanatic, and he was in total Nicko mode the whole way there. Got there and met up with our other friends, both called Mark. We joined the queue and froze our arses off for about an hour before we got into the hall.
I was surprised it was standing room on the floor and not seats so of course, I make a beeline for front and centre. About 45 mins later Nicko comes on and starts playing along to a live version of Two Minutes To Midnight. Watching him playing a couple of feet from my nose was such an honour and amazing to see what he does up close, especially since I had the best view to see how fast his right foot is! He handed me a stick after he'd finished too!
After he played the song, he took the mic and proceeded to do what I can only describe as stand up comedy for the next half an hour or so! He was absolutely hilarious!!!
He showed off these amazing Eddie cupcakes that someone in the audience had made for him and then gave them out to various people, mostly kids. But who did he give the first cake to?? *smug grin*
He also played The Trooper, an abbreviated version of Where Eagles Dare, the starts of Hallowed Be Thy Name and Run To The Hills (with the audience singing along) and finished with Moonchild which was a very nice surprise! After he'd finished Moonchild, he gave me his pair of stick again!!! He didn't even look at anyone else, just gave them straight to me. I felt guilty getting three sticks so I gave one too my mate.
There was VIP meet and greets afterwards but he also said onstage that everyone was welcome to wait afterwards. I wasn't sure if I was going to meet him but I took a couple of cd booklets just in case. There was a good hundred or so people waiting to meet him and he was as nice and pleasant to the last person as he was the first one.
As I approached him, he said, " 'ello darling!" in true Nicko style and then went, "Oh it's you!" recognising me from the front row. I thanked him for the sticks and the cupcake and we had a little talk about the cake and then I asked him to sign my cds, one for me and one for my boyfriend. He was such a gent and even gave me a hug and a kiss afterwards!!
I wasn't nervous at all meeting him and would have loved to have had more time to talk to him as he made you feel so at ease and was very friendly and easy going. Nicko rules!!!
Some pics with Nicko.
My Piece Of Mind cupcake (I ate the cake but Eddie is now in my freezer!)
During the show
Talking us through his drum set up
Signed stuff
And the one that I always wanted to meet as well!He was doing a drum clinic up here in Scotland. It was originally meant to be in Falkirk but the venue had been double booked so it was moved to Bo'ness. No, I hadn't heard of it either.
I was going with my friend Andrew, the drummer in Maiden Scotland and Nicko fanatic, and he was in total Nicko mode the whole way there. Got there and met up with our other friends, both called Mark. We joined the queue and froze our arses off for about an hour before we got into the hall.
I was surprised it was standing room on the floor and not seats so of course, I make a beeline for front and centre. About 45 mins later Nicko comes on and starts playing along to a live version of Two Minutes To Midnight. Watching him playing a couple of feet from my nose was such an honour and amazing to see what he does up close, especially since I had the best view to see how fast his right foot is! He handed me a stick after he'd finished too!
After he played the song, he took the mic and proceeded to do what I can only describe as stand up comedy for the next half an hour or so! He was absolutely hilarious!!!
He showed off these amazing Eddie cupcakes that someone in the audience had made for him and then gave them out to various people, mostly kids. But who did he give the first cake to?? *smug grin*
He also played The Trooper, an abbreviated version of Where Eagles Dare, the starts of Hallowed Be Thy Name and Run To The Hills (with the audience singing along) and finished with Moonchild which was a very nice surprise! After he'd finished Moonchild, he gave me his pair of stick again!!! He didn't even look at anyone else, just gave them straight to me. I felt guilty getting three sticks so I gave one too my mate.
There was VIP meet and greets afterwards but he also said onstage that everyone was welcome to wait afterwards. I wasn't sure if I was going to meet him but I took a couple of cd booklets just in case. There was a good hundred or so people waiting to meet him and he was as nice and pleasant to the last person as he was the first one.
As I approached him, he said, " 'ello darling!" in true Nicko style and then went, "Oh it's you!" recognising me from the front row. I thanked him for the sticks and the cupcake and we had a little talk about the cake and then I asked him to sign my cds, one for me and one for my boyfriend. He was such a gent and even gave me a hug and a kiss afterwards!!
I wasn't nervous at all meeting him and would have loved to have had more time to talk to him as he made you feel so at ease and was very friendly and easy going. Nicko rules!!!
Some pics with Nicko.
My Piece Of Mind cupcake (I ate the cake but Eddie is now in my freezer!)
During the show
Talking us through his drum set up
Signed stuff
