On behalf of his family, Conquest Music has confirmed 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 May 17, 1958, Di’Anno 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, Di’Anno 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.
Iron Maiden has posted the following statement about Di’Anno‘s passing:
“We are all deeply saddened to learn about the passing of Paul Di’Anno earlier today. Paul‘s contribution to Iron Maiden was immense and helped set us on the path we have been travelling as a band for almost five decades. His pioneering presence as a frontman and vocalist, both on stage and on our first two albums, will be very fondly remembered not just by us, but by fans around the world. We were very grateful to have had the chance to catch up a couple of years ago and to spend time with him once more.
On behalf of the band, [managers] Rod [Smallwood] and Andy [Taylor], and the whole Iron Maiden team, we extend our deepest sympathies to Paul‘s family and close friends. Rest in peace, Paul.”
9 Responses
Very unfortunate considering that Maiden paid for his surgery not that long ago. I guess his issues were cumulative. RIP
Killers is my Metal Bible. It’s perfect. From Wrathchild to the last, breathless push on Drifter, Paul killed it. The first album as well. Huge, HUGE loss.
This is sad news. No matter how good the releases were after Paul, those first two releases were the rawest and heaviest.