19th June 2025
I don’t listen to a lot of new music. I always have an upcoming project to learn and I take it very seriously. It could be Kill II This, Ard, Plague Of Angels or of course most recently Paradise Lost which takes up my playlist constantly so there isn’t much else to fit in. It is a weird obsession I have to immerse myself in to every detail of what is coming up until I am sick to the back teeth of listening to it, but, it is embedded in my subconscious. Maybe only Sleep Token and Architects have slipped through my net in that time.
We have an upcoming video to film so I have something new to learn. Also a new Paradise Lost single is out so I am listening to this a lot and I am liking it. Great direction, well produced and catchy choruses. Good to read how much you are all looking forward to the full release.
I wanted to catch up with you on a few things in this diary. Firstly physical and mental struggles and hero worship. The formulation of who I am today. Going a bit deep here so hold on.
I have been very lucky in my life. Right through my formative years from my first gig at 14 years old, through my first touring band Marquesa when I was 15 but lied about my age to get the job, Crow Jayne Blue that took me to Europe and then China Beach, which was my first heavily touring band, dedication and sacrifice pushed me on to the point where with Kill II This we toured with heavyweights such as Megadeth. It is about a vision, a goal and a will to succeed.
I felt invincible until in 2015 I suffered a spinal injury which killed off my right leg by the time the medical world discovered what the problem was and required some pretty serious surgery to fix it. A piece of the base of my spine came away, trapped itself in the nerve channel to my leg, crushing the nerves. It wasn’t great and it properly sent me crashing to earth. I made it back onstage at Bloodstock 2016 with Kill II This which was hugely emotional as at one point I didn’t know if I would ever drum again. Through determination it was actually a quick return.
Now, I am fitter than ever. I train three times a week. I do Body Pump. Amazing for me for strength and conditioning. No head band, lycra or leg warmers…don’t worry! So all is good until before Covid I was rehearsing for some festivals, with a band you may know and I realised my double kick work was not tight. I then realised my right foot was not responding. I have a fizzy foot and my injury has left me with less foot control. This just means I have had to work harder on technique and strength but it is a huge knock on self-confidence. For someone who is very hard on themselves it isn’t great, however, here I am today at Graspop in Dessel waiting to play drums for one of my favourite bands and the point to this is if you get knocked down, get up, never say no and believe in yourself.
That leads me on to something else. Hero worship. I play drums for one of my favourite bands. Pinch myself a lot and fight off the self-depreciating demons of imposter syndrome. But tonight I will watch the band that made it all happen for me. Eleven years old, playing drums on books with plastic bags for cymbals, Clive Burr and then Nicko McBrain entered my life. Obsession with a capital O. My first drum kit had bongos tied on with shoe laces to replicate Nicko McBrain’s drum kit, I first saw the band in 1983 at twelve years old. I love Iron Maiden, particularly the early years and they have formulated everything I went on to attempt to achieve with my life. I went on to play in Blaze’s band for 5 years after he parted ways with Iron Maiden, I have played on stage with Steve Harris and have sung on stage with the band too. Where am I going with this? Iron Maiden mean a lot to a ridiculous amount of people. I am part of a WhatsApp chat group with the boys from Winterfylleth and Ard dedicated just to Iron Maiden. It is the job we all wanted to do, the dream and tonight I get to watch my friend Simon Dawson take that seat. I am so proud and excited for him. He is smashing it in a very difficult place as fans of bands can be very very unforgiving as they don’t like change.
This then relates to Paradise Lost in that they have a huge fan base, all with favourites and opinions. I will always stop for a photo or an autograph when asked because it means something to someone and that is why we are here. The response to my diaries means a lot to me and I am glad you are enjoying the insight in to my life on the road. It is my way of giving back. If Nicko had done tour diaries in 1983 I would have been glued to that screen. We all have heroes and he is one of mine. Simon Dawson is another.
Back to the tour. I loved Milan. It was a great venue, great food, a brilliant gig. A good day for me. We drove in past the famous San Siro stadium, the scene of many a good night for the mighty Manchester United in the days when (please reference diary one at this point) we were a five litre supercharger unlike now when we are like a knackered 1983 Skoda Fabia missing a wheel! Met some cool fans and later in the day met with a couple of the members of Messa who will be touring with us at the end of the year.
It was impossible to find a loo. Everything is always locked. I thought I bet Dave Grohl never has this problem! As I said, I really enjoyed the show. We have inserted Pity The Sadness back in to the set which is giving a nice lift. Crowd was loud and engaged, we did a good job. The crew is working hard. We wait our turn then we load the stage after King Diamond. My Will (the middle one) sets up the drums, cymbals and electrics. He tunes and cleans. Then we have Matt on guitars and bass. Matt used to be in Behemoth and is an excellent guitar player. He is also very funny, not as funny as me…obviously and he has been great with Will taking him under his wing, on his first major tour, teaching him things like set up, pack down where to be and how to drink Jagermeister…
Les (AKA Les Miserables) is on front of house and monitoring. Works his back side off as well as doing tour management work. We have little time to clear stage after the show so they are all working hard to make it happen and I can’t resist mucking in too.
On merch we have super Corinne. Amazing attention to detail and she too is really dedicated and hard working. The crew is very together and everyone supports each other. Corinne also likes red wine…just like me!
We finished off the first run of King Diamond dates in Zurich. It was so hot and we had no power to the bus so it was a bit more difficult as there was no air conditioned escape available. It was also a tiny stage for us but we made it work and it was a great show in the sauna conditions.
We wound our way back west overnight via Eindhoven for a stop and ended up at Graspop the night before our show. We were the first bus on site apart from Iron Maiden’s crew.
So we are up to date. Two more shows and then a flight home for a short break and some time with the wife, kids and Jax the Woof King, the real boss of it all!
Just off to get Spotify on and give Ascension some attention.