Iron Maiden’s Original Singer Paul Di’Anno Dies at 66
Former Iron Maiden band member Paul Di’Anno has passed away at the age of 66. He was the lead singer on the band’s first two albums from 1978 to 1981 but was then replaced by the band’s current singer Bruce Dickinson. While no cause of death was given, it was said that he had been struggling with an unnamed illness for the last several years. In 2021, he underwent surgery for his knee and confirmed that his former Iron Maiden bandmates helped pay for the surgery. Di’Anno also once shared that he battled sepsis in 2015, which resulted in long-term problems with his immune system.
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His family released a statement to his record label: “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. Born in Chingford, East London, on 17th May 1958, Paul first came to prominence as lead singer of English heavy metal band Iron Maiden between 1978 and 1981. He sang on their groundbreaking debut album Iron Maiden, and the influential follow-up release Killers. Since leaving Iron Maiden, Paul Di’Anno had a long and eventful recording career with Battlezone and Killers as well as numerous solo releases and guest appearances.”
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It continued, “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. His first career retrospective album, The Book of the Beast, was released in September 2024 and featured highlights of his recordings since leaving Iron Maiden. 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.”
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Di’Anno was married five times during his life and had six children. In addition to performing and making music, he maintained several businesses over the years including an internet café and a hotel/restaurant in England. A documentary film about his life has been in the works for the past four years and will reportedly be available for festival screenings later this year. Di’Anno said earlier this year that the documentary would be about his whole life and career and shared that it was about “everything. But you’ll see the determination sometimes and the despair. And it goes through the whole lot of emotions and stuff. It’s a bit strange.”
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