31 Facts About Paul Di'Anno

Paul Andrews, better known by his stage name Paul Di'Anno, was an English heavy metal singer who was the lead vocalist for Iron Maiden from 1978 to 1981.

Paul Di'Anno was born on 17 May 1958 in Chingford, Essex, where he grew up.

Paul Di'Anno spent his teenage years singing in various rock bands and working as a butcher in Station Road and as a chef in hotels and restaurants.

Paul Di'Anno's last show with the band was on 10 September 1981 at the Odd Fellow's Mansion in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Paul Di'Anno was paid out by Smallwood at the time of his departure and did receive royalties for songwriting credits.

In 1985, Paul Di'Anno joined a project that was intended to be a supergroup.

Paul Di'Anno has been completely dismissive of the short-lived project, referring to it as "nothing" and claiming he only got involved for the money.

Paul Di'Anno had previously known guitarists John Wiggins and John Hurley from bands such as Deep Machine and Iron Cross.

Steve Hopgood, who had played in Battlezone with Paul Di'Anno, called Evans and outlined plans for a new group.

Around this time, Paul Di'Anno married an English woman, whom he flew into New York.

Paul Di'Anno was described by a judge as a 'menace to society' and sentenced to four months jail.

Paul Di'Anno hired new musicians whom he remembered from touring in Germany and Austria.

Paul Di'Anno had wanted Clive Burr on drums, but he could not get to rehearsals in time.

In February 2002, Paul Di'Anno had a mini-tour in Norway and visited Kroa in Volda, Samfundet in Trondheim, Betong in Oslo, Parkbiografen in Skien, Folken in Stavanger and Kvarteret in Bergen.

In between 2005 and 2014, Paul Di'Anno toured with his Swedish band in 13 countries in Europe, Asia and South America.

Early 2008, Paul Di'Anno toured Norway and later Eastern Europe in 2009 with an all-Norwegian backing band consisting of musicians Henrik "Rick" Hagan, Are Gogstad, Jon Vegard Naess and Anders Buaas.

Paul Di'Anno maintained an extensive world tour schedule, including two trips through America where traditional metal band Icarus Witch served as both his opening and backing band.

In June 2012, Paul Di'Anno was given the Freedom of the City of Bariloche in Argentina for charitable work carried out several years earlier.

Paul Di'Anno was accompanied by musicians from Rio de Janeiro, Vinnie Tex, Thiago Velasquez and drummer Braulio Drumond; they later joined Leather Leone's band.

In May 2016, Paul Di'Anno was hospitalised for undisclosed reasons and was forced to cancel an announced June 2016 tour of Brazil.

Paul Di'Anno was due to make his final performance on 30 August 2020 at the Beermageddon Festival in Bromsgrove, England, before he retired from touring, though he did not clarify on whether he intended to continue to record music.

On 21 May 2022, Paul Di'Anno performed his first live show in 7 years with the Norwegian live band at Bikers Beer Factory in Zagreb, Croatia.

On 27 September 2024, Paul Di'Anno released his first career retrospective, The Book of the Beast on Conquest Music.

Also included were Paul Di'Anno singing duets with Tony Martin and ZP Theart.

Paul Di'Anno had a tattoo on the back of his head that said "666" and "GOD = SUCKER".

Paul Di'Anno only served two of the nine months to which he was sentenced, being released early for good behaviour.

The book includes a chapter of stories and comments regarding Paul Di'Anno written by former bandmates including Dennis Stratton, John Wiggins and Steve Hopgood.

In September 2021, it was reported that Paul Di'Anno was still waiting for the surgery, and a photo surfaced of the singer showing his badly swollen leg.

In October 2021, the crowdfunding had reached its target to which Paul Di'Anno heartily thanked everyone for their support.

In November 2021, Paul Di'Anno relocated to Croatia to undergo treatment and surgery for his knee.

Paul Di'Anno died at his Salisbury home, on 21 October 2024, at the age of 66.