Paul Di’Anno, Iron Maiden’s lead singer on its first two albums, has died, according to a statement from his label on behalf of his family. No cause of death was announced but he had been struggling with illness for several years; he was 66.
Di’Anno was Iron Maiden’s lead singer from 1978 through 1981, and sang on the group’s self-titled debut album and its iconic follow-up, “Killers.” He was replaced by current singer Bruce Dickinson, who left the band in 1993 and returned in 1999.
In the years afterward, Di’Anno fronted the bands Battlezone and Killers, and released several solo albums. He suffered from health issues in recent years but still managed to perform more than 100 concerts since 2023, according to the announcement, which follows in full.
“On behalf of his family, Conquest Music are sad to confirm the death of Paul Andrews, professionally known as Paul Di’Anno,” the statement reads.
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.
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.”
Di’Anno was the voice of early Maiden classics like “Running Free,” “Sanctuary,” “Twilight Zone/ Wrathchild” and others, and there were reports of discord between him, founder Steve Harris and manager Rod Smallwood at the time of his departure from the band in mid-1981, as well as reports of dissatisfaction with his performances. However, he strenuously denied those reports in recent years.
“My record stands for itself,” he told Rock Hard magazine in 2022. “I’ve played more shows than Iron Maiden have ever played… So it was nothing to do with my voice. I was just upset about certain things, which were private things in the band. And the way I dealt with them maybe was not right, but I dealt with them. And that’s the end of it. And that’s as much as I’m gonna say.”
CORRECTION (Oct. 22, 2024, 07:00 a.m.): A previous version of this article misstated singer Bruce Dickinson’s history with band. He left in 1993 and returned in 1999; he has not been with band since 1981.