It’s a sad day for the metal world, as news broke this morning that former Iron Maiden vocalist Paul Di’Anno died at his home in Salisbury, UK at the age of 66.
The news was announced by Di’Anno’s most recent record label at the time of his death, Conquest Music, in a post on their Facebook page.”On behalf of his family, Conquest Music are sad to confirm the death of Paul Andrews, professionally known as Paul Di’Anno,” reads the post. “Paul passed away at his home in Salisbury at the age of 66.”
While metal fans may know Iron Maiden more for their current and longest-running vocalist, Bruce Dickinson, Di’Anno was the first vocalist to record the band, serving as vocalist on their debut EP The Soundhouse Tapes as well as their self-titled debut LP, and their sophomore LP Killers. After being fired from Iron Maiden, Di’Anno continued to put out solo work and released music with a handful of other projects. His latest release was called The Book of the Beast, a career retrospective album which came out on Conquest Music last month.
Iron Maiden shared a heartfelt tribute to their former vocalist on Instagram. “We are all deeply saddened to learn about the passing of Paul Di’Anno earlier today,” reads the post. “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’d like to offer our deepest condolences to Di’Anno’s friends, family, bandmates past and present, and all his fans.
Photo courtesy of Instagram
