Di’Anno sang on the band’s groundbreaking first two albums, ‘Iron Maiden’ and ‘Killers’

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Former Iron Maiden singer Paul Di’Anno has died; he was 66.

The news was confirmed by his longtime label Conquest Music in a statement shared on social media on Monday, October 21.

“On behalf of his family, Conquest Music confirms the death of Paul Andrews, known professionally as Paul Di’Anno. Paul passed away at his home in Salisbury at the age of 66,” the English rocker’s statement said. “Despite suffering from serious health problems in recent years that limited him to performing in a wheelchair, Paul continued to entertain fans around the world, with more than 100 shows since 2023.”

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Iron Maiden shared a tribute on their social media alongside a photo of Di’Anno with bassist Steve Harris.

“We are all deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Paul Di’Anno earlier today,” the band said in the statement. “Paul’s contribution to Iron Maiden has been enormous and has set us on the path we have been on as a band for almost five decades. We will be very pleased with his groundbreaking presence as a frontman and vocalist, both on stage and on our first two albums. remembered not only by us, but by fans all over 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 first version of Iron Maiden by drummer Doug Sampson. Di’Anno joined the band in 1978. After recording their debut EP The Smallwood tires In the same year, Iron Maiden’s popularity grew, and a year later they received a recording contract with EMI.

Di’Anno would provide lead vocals for the band’s first two albums, from the 1980s. Iron Maiden and 1981 Murderers. After struggling with drug addiction, Di’Anno was relieved of his vocal duties in 1981 and replaced by Bruce Dickinson. He would later front several other bands, including Gogmagog, Battlezone and his self-titled band Di’Anno.

The metal singer faced several health problems before his death. In 2021, Di’Anno launched a crowdfunding to help pay for knee surgery after discovering an “abscess the size of a golf ball” in his leg. His former band contributed to the rest of the costs. In an interview with the Mexican news channel MBLiveDi’Anno explained that further complications nearly cost him his life.

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“When I got to England I only had 45 minutes to live, sepsis and all. So they pumped me full of antibiotics. I was in hospital for eight months,” he explained. “So the last part of the treatment, the band was really cool – they paid for the last few months’ treatments, which was good. I’ll be forever grateful for that.”

In the years that followed, Di’Anno faced increasing health problems.

“I’ve been very sick for the past few months with infection after infection after infection because I caught pneumonia in Mexico last year. I was doing physio there after finishing a tour,” the singer said in an interview with The metal voice in June, four months before his death.

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