The heavy metal band Iron Maiden’s founding singer, Paul Di’Anno, passed away at the age of 66.
The band became a key component of the new wave of British heavy metal when the musician, who was born Paul Andrews, played on their first two albums, Iron Maiden and Killers.
Bruce Dickinson took his position in the band after he left in 1981. Later on, Di’Anno acknowledged that he had been partying “non-stop, 24 hours a day” and that his way of living “wasn’t fair to the band, the fans, or to myself.”
“All deeply saddened” by his passing, the band’s current members offered their respects.
Bassist Steve Harris posted on social media that it was “just so sad he’s gone”
Being out there whenever he could was what kept him going, and at least he was still gigging until recently. All of us will miss him. Mate, rest in peace.
“Paul’s contribution to Iron Maiden was immense and helped set us on the path we have been travelling as a band for almost five decades,” the band’s statement read.
“His pioneering presence as a frontman and vocalist, both on stage and on our first two albums, will be very fondly remembered not just by us, but by fans around the world.”
On behalf of Di’Anno’s family, record company Conquest Music announced his passing.
They stated Di’Anno “passed away at his home in Salisbury” in a statement. The reason of death was not stated.
“Conquest Music are proud to have had Paul Di’Anno in our artist family and ask his legion of fans to raise a glass in his memory,” they stated.
Di’Anno, who was born in 1958 in Chingford, east London, worked as a chef and butcher while singing in many bands as a teenager.
He became friends with Harris in 1977 while he was looking for a singer for his new metal band Iron Maiden. Di’Anno went to the audition and was hired.
They had trouble finding gigs outside of London because their sound was unusual during the rise of punk rock. They made a demo tape to generate business in order to solve the problem.
The three-track demo, which they dubbed the Soundhouse Tapes, sold 5,000 copies via mail order and earned them a cult following.
They began recording their self-titled debut in 1979 after landing a record deal with EMI.
Despite being hurriedly assembled, the record had a significant impact since it established the standard for heavy metal in the 1980s with its blend of rock riffs and punk aggression.
The band’s success with the single “Running Free” landed them a coveted position on the music TV show Top of the Pops, and it debuted at number four on the UK album chart in April 1980.
Killers, the follow-up album released in 1981, had a harsher sound once more. However, Di’Anno was either expelled from the band or quit on his own initiative following a global tour.
In any case, he said that his success had brought him to a position of darkness.
“I was already a fairly excessive character, but there I really went for it,” he said in a 2004 interview with Rock Hard.
“I was on another planet, as well as the rest of the band.”
With classics like “Run To The Hills” and “Can I Play With Madness,” Iron Maiden became one of the most successful bands in rock when Dickinson took charge.
However, Di’Anno never harboured resentment towards the band or his successor.
“Everyone thinks that we hated each other, which is [completely wrong],” he said in an interview with SDTV last month. “That’s the press for you.”
Additionally, he refuted claims that he received inadequate compensation for his work on Iron Maiden’s first two albums, which included co-writing credits on important songs like Remember Tomorrow, Killers, Sanctuary, and Running Free.
“To be honest with you, it’s nobody’s damn business [but] I got paid very well,” he admitted to Rock Hard in 2022.
“They took care of me. The narrative is over.
Metal bands Metallica, Pantera, and Sepultura were among several that mentioned Di’Anno’s raw, violent vocals after she left Iron Maiden.
He continued to play music, both as a solo performer and as a part of groups such as Killers, Praying Mantis, Battlezone, and Gogmagog.
Due to severe health problems, such as lymphoedema, which causes swelling of the body’s tissues, he had been performing in a wheelchair in recent years. Fans raised money for him to have extensive knee surgery in Croatia in 2022.
He nevertheless maintained a busy travelling schedule, performing at over 100 shows in 2023 and 2024.
Last month saw the publication of The Book of the Beast, a career retrospective album that featured two “reworked” versions of Iron Maiden classics Tomorrow and Wrathchild in addition to highlights from his solo career.
At the end of the year, a documentary on his life will be released.
