Di’Anno sang on the band’s seminal first two albums, ‘Iron Maiden’ and ‘Killers’
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Former Iron Maiden vocalist Paul Di’Anno has died; he was 66.
The news was confirmed by his longtime label Conquest Music in a statement shared to social media on Monday, Oct. 21.
“On behalf of his family, Conquest Music are sad to confirm the death of Paul Andrews, professionally known as Paul Di’Anno. Paul passed away at his home in Salisbury at the age of 66,” the statement said of the English rocker. “Despite being troubled by severe health issues in recent years that restricted him to performing in a wheelchair, Paul continued to entertain his fans around the world, racking up well over 100 shows since 2023.”
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Iron Maiden shared a tribute to their social media alongside a photo of Di’Anno with bassist Steve Harris.
“We are all deeply saddened to learn about the passing of Paul Di’Anno earlier today,” the band said in the statement. “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. 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.”
Di’Anno was born in Chingford, East London, in 1958. The singer spent his teenage years in various bands before being introduced to the earliest iteration of Iron Maiden by drummer Doug Sampson. Di’Anno joined the band in 1978. After recording their debut EP The Smallwood Tapes the same year, Iron Maiden’s popularity grew, and they landed a record deal with EMI a year later.
Di’Anno would go on to provide lead vocals for the band’s first two albums, 1980’s Iron Maiden and 1981’s Killers. After struggling with drug addiction, Di’Anno was relieved of his vocal duties in 1981 and was replaced by Bruce Dickinson. He would go on to front several other bands including Gogmagog, Battlezone and his self-titled band, Di’Anno.
The metal singer dealt with various health conditions prior to his death. In 2021, Di’Anno launched a crowdfund to help pay for knee surgery after discovering a “golf ball-sized abscess” in his leg. His former band contributed to the rest of the costs. In an interview with Mexican news outlet MB Live, Di’Anno explained that further complications almost cost him his life.
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“When I arrived in England, I only had 45 minutes to live, with sepsis and that. So they pumped me full of antibiotics. I spent eight months in hospital,” he explained. “So the last bit of the treatment, the band was really cool — they paid for the last couple of months’ worth of treatments, which was good. I’ll be forever grateful for that.”
In the years that followed, Di’Anno faced mounting health concerns.
“I’ve been really ill the last couple of months with infection after infection after infection, ’cause I caught pneumonia last year in Mexico. I was over there doing physio after I finished a tour,” the singer said in an interview with The Metal Voice in June, four months before his death.