Royal Marines musicians showcase Iron Maiden and Invictus numbers at festival

The Massed Bands of His Majesty's Royal Marines incorporated Iron Maiden and Invictus themes into their annual musical showpiece in 2024, the Mountbatten Festival of Music.

The band, whose members are among the world's finest military musicians, opened the show at London's Royal Albert Hall on Friday night with the national anthem in honour of King Charles III, who is also Captain General of the Royal Marines.

As part of the evening's celebrations, which mark the 360th anniversary of the Royal Marines' global deployments, battle honours and international presence, the Royal Marines Band Service (RMBS) collaborated with Nicko McBrain – the drummer from legendary heavy metal band Iron Maiden.

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Nicko played his kit, named Legacy of Royals, alongside the Massed Band and Corps of Drums for the piece The Maiden Legacy – a medley of the heavy metal band's most popular songs.

His drum kit will be sold at auction to raise money for the Royal Marines Charity and the Grand Order of Water Rats Charity.

When asked about his collaboration with RMBS, Nicko said: "I was so stoked. It was suggested 'would you like to do next year's [Mountbatten Festival of Music]?' and I went 'of course I'd love to do it!', what an honour, a great honour to be asked and to be involved."

Another performance was centred around the Invictus Games – featuring a video of Team UK alongside other athletes, including four serving personnel from the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. Becky York, a former Royal Marines musician is among the athletes featured in the clip.

Ms York plays the clarinet and piano and joined the RMBS at 18. She has performed at many high-profile events, including the Royal wedding of the Prince and Princess of Wales, but an injury to her hip forced a medical discharge in 2014.

The band entertained the audience with pieces from Top Gun and Commando Force, featuring the world-famous Corps of Drums, Saved from the Waves, a piece commemorating the 200th anniversary of the RNLI and Splashes of Tartan – which featured dancers and pipers from the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

Musician Issie Chadwick, first-time performer at the Mountbatten Festival of Music, said: "This is my first time performing at the Royal Albert Hall, and although I'm not front and centre for my first song, I haven't really done many solos before. This will be one of my first solos on one of the world's biggest stages."

Lieutenant Colonel Huw Williams RM, Principal Director of Music for RMBS, said: "We have a wide variety of styles and pieces at this year's Mountbatten Festival of Music. Alongside the regular ceremonial pieces and modern arrangements, we have some guest artists including pipers and dancers from the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo and athletes from the Invictus Games.

"We also have an incredible collaboration with Nicko McBrain from Iron Maiden, who is performing a fantastic piece with us which is really exciting for all involved."