First frontman of Iron Maiden dead Paul Di'Anno dies at 66
Paul Di'Anno, the first frontman of Iron Maiden, has died. This was announced via the heavy metal band's social media. Di'Anno was 66 years old. He had been battling an illness for some time.
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- Paul Di'Anno, former singer of Iron Maiden, has died at the age of 66. The band is devastated and expresses itself in an emotional post.
- The singer shaped Iron Maiden's first two albums, but was replaced by Bruce Dickinson due to his alcohol and drug addiction.
- Di'Anno had been struggling with health problems for years and had complications following knee surgery, which was partly funded by crowdfunding and Iron Maiden.
"We are all deeply saddened to learn of Paul Di'Anno's passing this morning," reads the band's emotional farewell post on Facebook: "His contribution to Iron Maiden was immense and has been with us on our journey as a band for almost fifty years."
His charismatic appearance as frontman and singer, both on stage and on the first two albums, will not only be remembered by Iron Maiden, but by fans all over the world.
"It's really sad that he's gone," comments bassist Steve Harris, "we've been exchanging messages recently about the ups and downs of West Ham. He kept playing until recently, he kept it going. We'll all miss him. Rest in peace, mate."
"We are very grateful to have had the chance to meet him a few years ago and spend time with him once again. On behalf of the band, Rod and Andy and the entire Iron Maiden team, we extend our deepest condolences to Paul's family and close friends. Rest in peace," the band adds.
In the early eighties, Paul Di'Anno was the singer of Iron Maiden and shaped the band's first two albums, "Iron Maiden" and "Killers".
Due to his alcohol and drug addiction, however, he was replaced by Bruce Dickinson. He then tried his hand at fronting other bands such as "Gogmagog" and "Battlezone". However, his solo career remained without major success.
Paul Di'Anno had been struggling with health problems for some time
Paul Di'Anno had been struggling with health problems for several years. In 2021, the metal singer launched a crowdfunding campaign to finance an urgently needed knee operation. Iron Maiden ultimately covered the rest of the costs.
After the operation, however, Di'Anno spoke of serious complications. In an interview with "The Metal Voice" in June, he reported that after contracting pneumonia in Mexico, he was affected by numerous other infections.
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