Iron Maiden is definitely one of the biggest bands of all time. They became super famous after the release of the classic album The Number Of The Beast (1982), the first with Bruce Dickinson on vocals. But first, they released two major albums, Iron Maiden (1980) and Killers (1981), that had the also great singer Paul Di’Anno.
Di’Anno was not committed to the band’s tour at the time, since they had to cancel concerts due to his inability and, at times, lack of desire to perform, which had resulted from cocaine/amphetamine abuse and heavy drinking.
The band decided that to progress in their careers, they had to find a singer capable to tour. Iron Maiden decided that to progress they would have to find a singer capable to be totally dedicated to the band, and that’s when they’ve found Dickinson, that was the singer for Samson. Paul Di’Anno left the band in 1981, after meeting with the band’s manager Rod Smallwood.
At the time, the singer said:
“It’s like having Mussolini and Adolf Hitler run your band. Because it is Rod Smallwood and Steve Harris and that’s it. There can’t be anyone else and my character is too strong for that so me an’ Steve was always fighting”.
Di’Anno was paid out by Smallwood at the time of his departure and does not receive royalties on Iron Maiden songs.
What happened to Paul Di’Anno
Since his departure from Iron Maiden, Paul mostly continued with his solo career, playing Iron Maiden classics from his era, and occasionally participating in some bands without much success.
It ain’t easy to be informed about how Paul is doing, since the singer website has not been updated for years (The only social network tha website points it’s for MySpace) and there are no other official social networks, just the singer Facebook profile.
In an interview with The Metal Voice, Paul Di’Anno revealed he hasn’t walked in 4 years:
“I still got two knees to be done yet. I haven’t walked in four years, it’s ridiculous. They’ve got the cement in the right knee, left knee is coming up next.
“Unfortunately, my surgeon, he’s one of the best in the country, but it’s not like the hospital says, ‘Okay, you’re coming in for this operation at this date.’
“He’s the one who books you, not the hospital. He also takes care of a lot of our troops who come over with amputations and stuff like that.
“I’ve got to wait for him, and we’re hoping soon after New Year I’ll get the left knee done. Once that’s done, I’ll get up and learn to get up on crutches. That’s a start.”
It must be weird not walking for so long. Four years, right?
“The thing is, they won’t touch you for two years in any operations whatsoever just in case it all goes wrong and they don’t take the blame for anything.
“And then when I did go and have the right knee removed, I caught this thing called MRSA, which you get from hospitals. It’s all over the world, MRSA; I caught that twice.
“That delayed things a bit. It’s just a horrible situation. The left knee’s looking pretty good, the left leg’s looking alright, but the right one’s absolutely destroyed. It’s going to be a very complicated operation.”
In a interview with Loudwire, the singer revealed the hard times he had been facing in 2019
The singer posted on his Facebook profile a health update saying he was hospitalized, but later the post was deleted.
The singer said:
“Well, I was put here [in the hospital] by Friday, because there is a life-or-death priority. Can I lose my right leg? ”
Since then, there are no informations about the musicians health.
In 2016 he underwent an operation in 2016 to remove a “rugby ball-sized abscess” on his lungs and required a knee-replacement operation on both knees after getting involved in several motorcycle accidents over the years.
As a result, Di’Anno was forced to perform in a wheelchair while performing at his last shows.
Di’Anno has been married five times and has six children.
Prison
On February 2011, the singer was arrested and convicted on eight counts of benefit fraud for claiming more than £45,000 under false pretenses.
By March of the same year he was jailed for nine months at Salisbury Crown Court. But he was released early, having only served two of the nine months.
New Paul Di’Anno album release
The most recent news involving the singer is that a live album will be released in 2020. “Hell Over Waltrop – Live In Germany” is the title of the album coming out in January featuring Paul Di’Anno’s performance in Germany.
The story began when, in the summer of 2006, Paul Di’Anno was invited to perform in the small town of Waltrop at an event that included pop and disco music bands.
Following the initial skepticism, Paul accepted and ended up on the Parkfest stage on August 27, 2006 with his German backing band, called Phantoms Of The Opera (Andy and DD on guitars, Gonzo on bass and Dom on drums). play a set based on songs from his solo career and his time at Iron Maiden.