Paul Di’Anno, the heavy metal singer best known as the frontman of Iron Maiden in their early years, has died at the age of 66.

His label Conquest Music confirmed he died at home in Salisbury, adding: “Despite suffering from serious health problems in recent years that limited him to performing in a wheelchair, Paul continued to entertain his fans around the world, with more than 100 performances. has been showing since 2023.”

Born Paul Andrews in Chingford, east London, to a Brazilian father and a British mother, Di’Anno joined the emerging Iron Maiden after an audition in November 1978, after the band had been formed three years earlier by bassist Steve Harris.

Iron Maiden had already had two frontmen, and Di’Anno was initially unimpressed: “Their old singer had a stupid sword and fake blood dripping out of his mouth and me and my buddy were pissing ourselves laughing,” he said later. “But when we started playing together, it just seemed to gel.” In another interview he explained: ‘The Maiden boys were lovely young people who you could have introduced to your grandmother. She would have loved them. But if she had met me, she would have died of a heart attack within a minute… I brought them madness and an exaggerated aspect.”

With an impressively frank and raunchy shout, Di’Anno sang on the band’s 1980 self-titled debut, which reached No. 4 in the UK charts, as well as on its 1981 follow-up, Killers.

But Di’Anno said he had substance abuse problems. “It wasn’t just me snorting a little Coke… I just went at it non-stop, 24 hours a day, every day,” he said later. “I just couldn’t see the way to the end of it.” He had also described personality conflicts with Harris. He was fired after the world tour for Killers and replaced by Bruce Dickinson, who (apart from most of the 1990s) has been the band’s frontman ever since.

Iron Maiden has paid tribute to Di’Anno, writing: “Paul’s contribution to Iron Maiden was enormous and helped set us on the path we have been on as a band for almost five decades. His groundbreaking presence as a frontman and singer, both on stage and on our first two albums, will be fondly remembered not only by us, but by fans around the world.”

Di’Anno continued with his own music, first with a self-titled project, then with the equally short-lived supergroup Gogmagog, which included former Iron Maiden drummer Clive Burr and future guitarist Janick Gers. His next band, Battlezone, fared better, releasing two studio albums in 1986 and 1987.

Di’Anno had a stint fronting heavy metallers Praying Mantis, before forming a new band, Killers, which also released two studio albums. Other projects included the groups Nomad and RockFellas.

He was jailed in the US in the early 1990s after attacking a girlfriend with a knife, and later said: ‘My biggest regret is the domestic violence incidents in my past, I’m really ashamed of them. But ultimately, prison was the thing that made me start to put my life in order so that there was some good in it. He was also charged with drug and gun crimes, later saying, “I’ve been to jail a few times for guns and drugs.” He was banned from touring the US for several years.

He later suffered knee injuries from an on-stage accident and from motorcycle riding, and began using a wheelchair. In 2011, he was jailed for nine months for benefits fraud after informing the Department for Work and Pensions that he could not work while continuing to perform live around the world. His lawyer said at the time: “He was obsessed with music and performing. He is very naive in business matters and has no formal education.”

Di’Anno fell ill again, including an eight-month spell in the hospital due to blood poisoning in 2015. But he continued to perform live and announced earlier this year that he would no longer tour smaller venues, saying he would still open was scheduled for performances at festivals in 2025. .