Paul Di'Anno, early iron maiden frontman, dies at 66

Paul Di'Anno, an English singer who was an early frontman for the popular heavy metal band Iron Maiden in the 1970s and '80s, has died at his home in Salisbury, England. He was 66.

Conquest Music, a label that represented Di'Anno, announced his death in a statement on social media Monday. The statement did not say when he died or cite a cause.

Di'Anno, whose legal name was Paul Andrews, gained popularity on the heavy metal scene in the late 1970s after he joined Iron Maiden. He performed with the band from 1978 through 1981, during which time the group released its first two albums: Iron Maiden in 1980 and Killers in early 1981.

On Running Free, the debut single from Iron Maiden," Di'Anno, who wrote the lyrics, sang about a 16-year-old fleeing responsibility, the authorities and an angry mob over crunchy guitar chords and a bouncy drumbeat. He also had a writing credit on the title track of Killers, which starts with wailing screeches before Di'Anno goes on to sing about a ruthless character whose "blood lust defies all his needs."

After leaving Iron Maiden, Di'Anno performed with other bands such as Battlezone and Killers and also played solo. He released his first career retrospective album, "The Book of the Beast," in September.

Di'Anno said in a recent interview with Metal Hammer magazine that he didn't blame the band for replacing him with Bruce Dickinson, who would go on to lead Iron Maiden during its most successful years.

"In the end, I couldn't give 100 per cent to Maiden anymore and it wasn't fair to the band, the fans or to myself," he said.

In his autobiography, The Beast, which was published in 2010, Di'Anno wrote that he also thought the other members of the band had grown worried about his partying habits, a topic about which he wrote openly.

"That was just the way I was," he wrote. "I'd let off a bit of steam, have a few drinks and generally act as if I was taking part in a 24-hour party, which I honestly felt I was."

Di'Anno suffered from health issues in the past few years, but he continued to perform in a wheelchair. He played more than 100 shows since 2023, according to his label.

Paul Andrews was born in Chingford, East London, on May 17, 1958. In The Beast, he wrote that he had an interest in music since he was young. He remembered skipping school once to see the band AC/DC, which he described as "just on the verge of becoming really big then."

A list of survivors was not immediately available.

The first time he saw Iron Maiden play was at a venue in East London. The band's performance, he wrote in his book, was unremarkable.

"It was a very clearly incarnation of the band, but Christ almighty, they bloody stank to high heaven," he wrote.

Di'Anno later met the band, and soon they began writing songs together and rehearsing. After that, as he wrote in his book, he "really began to think the band had the potential to be something a bit special."