Paul Di’Anno, the rock/metal singer who fronted Iron Maiden between 1978 and 1981 has passed away at his home in Salisbury at the age of 66. The sad news was announced by his label Conquest Music, who confirmed that the vocalist. Despite being troubled by severe health issues in recent years that restricted him to performing in a wheelchair, the singer who’s real name as Paul Andrews continued to entertain his fans around the world, racking up well over 100 shows since 2023. Paul appeared on Maiden’s self-titled debut album and follow-up Killers.
Di’Anno was born and grew up in Chingford, East London and Because of his Brazilian father, he held dual British and Brazilian citizenship. He spent his teenage years singing in various rock bands and working as a butcher in Station Road and as a chef in hotels and restaurants. He was introduced to the band by drummer Doug Sampson, an old friend of leader & assist Harris’ from his days in the band Smiler. The band’s 1980 self-titled release quickly became acknowledged as a classic of its genre, as the band merged punk’s energy with metal’s riffs and progressive rock complexity, serving as the blueprint for such future genres as thrash metal and speed metal and influencing later progressive metal bands. 1981 saw the release of their second album, Killers, as well as a stopgap live EP, Maiden Japan.
As the band wanted a different singer, Paul left and was replaced by Bruce Dickinson. For 3 years he fronted his on and Di’Anno before joinin Gomagog and Battlezone in 1985, the latter of which lasted much longer. Killers were another project he had from 1992 till 2003, barring a long hiatus in between. He would resurrect Di’Anno again in 1999 before joining some Brazilian musicians in Rockfellas. Di’Anno has had several businesses outside of the music industry, including an internet café and a hotel/restaurant in England, both of which he sold. He has also had some problems with the law. He needed to have crowdfunding for a badly swollen knee and for which Iron Maiden also helped him with. Di’Anno has been married five times and has six children.