By Gary Denver-Newall

(credit: Flickr)

The original vocalist for the heavy metal band Iron Maiden, Paul Di’Anno, has passed away at the age of 66.

Born in Chingford, east London, in 1958, he was a key figure on the band’s first two albums, Iron Maiden and killers, helping to establish them as an essential part of the new wave of British heavy metal.

Di’Anno left the group in 1981 and was succeeded by Bruce Dickinson. Speaking with the Metal Hammer in 2022, he admitted he had been partying “non-stop, 24 hours a day,” and acknowledged that the effects of his behaviour “wasn’t fair to the band, the fans, or to myself.”

As of the time of writing no cause of death has been given.

Super-fan Liam Dahmer was interviewed about how he was dealing with the news,

“Absolutely heartbroken, one of my biggest inspirations in life, his music really just resonated with me from a young age so its really tough to process”

“He was still laughing and being strong for his family and friends, for that I have the most respect for him”.

Di’Anno also added that success had led him to a dark place.

“I was already a fairly excessive character, but there I really went for it,” he told Rock Hard magazine in 2004.

“I was on another planet, as well as the rest of the band.”

When Dickinson took over the band, Iron Maiden completed their meteoric rise through the charts and would soon become one of rocks most successful groups, with genre-defining hits like ‘The Trooper’ and ‘Fear of the Dark’.