Maiden recorded 16th album The Book Of Souls last year, while frontman Dickinson suspected he was ill but decided not to seek medical attention until work was finished.

McBrain tells Overdrive: "Do you know that none of us knew he was poorly until after the record was done? He performed that whole album, knowing that something wasn't quite right with himself - but didn't get diagnosed till after we'd finished the tracks.
"So The Book of Souls is very special to me and all the rest of the guys. We weren't aware, and neither was he, that he had the tumor." He adds: "I'd be a liar if I didn't think for a minute, 'That's Iron Maiden finished.' I thought more about the possibility of losing my friend than anything else, to be honest.