Simon Dawson is the British drummer who took over Iron Maiden's live performances from December 2024, when Nicko McBrain ended his touring activity after four decades in the band. His connection with the group, however, is much older. Dawson has been the drummer of British Lion, Steve Harris's side project, since the band was formed, and recorded both of its albums — British Lion (2012) and The Burning (2020). It was that decade-long working relationship with Maiden's founder that put him in the natural position for the handover: he was not a hired player, but someone who had been performing with Harris for years and knew from the inside how he runs a band. His task is among the most thankless in metal — filling the seat of a drummer whose style, marked by the use of a single pedal and by phrasing rooted in jazz, is inseparable from the way Iron Maiden's repertoire sounds. Dawson took up the touring role from the 2025 season onwards.
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