I will never forget the first time I heard the voice of Paul Di’Anno fronting Iron Maiden. Not long after I had been turned on to heavy metal legends Iron Maiden and picked up both Piece of Mind and Number of the Beast (with Bruce Dickinson on vocals), I was aware that there was a singer before Bruce. The self-titled debut album and the follow-up Killers album were the only two studio albums to feature Paul (not counting the Soundhouse Tapes demo single).
Two full-length records for an 11-year-old is a lot of money, so I banked on the four-song live EP, Maiden Japan on cassette at my favorite record store, Warehouse Records. At $4.99, it wouldn’t be much of a loss if it sucked. I took the cassette home and popped into my half boom box. You know the one I’m talking about? It was the boom box that had the tape player and radio but only had one speaker. Anyway, I popped that cassette in, and it kicks off with Paul Di’Anno demanding the audience to sing for him.
“Running Free” absolutely blew my fucking mind. Musically this was a different Iron Maiden than the one I was used to hearing. I was also kind of confused because after the song was over, Di’Anno says, “Thank You! Goodnight!” I guess they didn’t put much into the sequencing, but that’s ok. This was the perfect taste of this era of Iron Maiden. “Remember Tomorrow” was so intense. It was dark, it was beautiful, and it was so full of life, and I loved it.
“Innocent Exile” was the song that sealed the deal for me. This four-song collection was enough to send me running back to Warehouse Records after a month or so of saving my allowance. I hopped out of my mom’s car before she had even finished parking and ran into the store. I grabbed the self-titled debut album, and Killers and I headed for the register with no questions. I couldn’t wait to get these home so I could immerse myself in this era of Iron Maiden that I had been wary of going into.
The debut album and Killers opened up a whole new world of Iron Maiden for me. I felt that same way when I discovered that Black Sabbath had a whole other world with Ronnie James Dio on vocals. Hearing Paul Di’Anno’s voice was such an experience for me. I was already used to associating Iron Maiden with the powerful, air raid siren of Bruce Dickinson, so this was a whole new world that I was stepping into.
I fucking love Paul Di’Anno era Maiden, and I love Bruce Dickinson era Maiden. They each seemed to serve its purpose and to quote the Big Lebowski, “Sometimes there’s a man well, he’s the man for his time and place. He fits right in there.” I loved Di’Anno’s place because it was such a “take no shit” attitude. Bruce Dickinson era was much more refined, literary, and more classy. That’s not to say that Di’Anno wasn’t good, but he wasn’t meant to be elegant or classy. If Dickinson is “Let’s step out and duel with our swords, you swine,” Di’Anno is like, “You bloody wanker. How does it feel swallowing your own teeth, you fucking wanker?” and then leaving with the dude’s bird.
Paul Di’Anno’s vocals not only capture a mood, but they also are suited for a particular mood. Listening to Di’Anno era Maiden makes me want to get out and cut down trees, whack limbs to their untimely death with my machete, and to furiously stomp around my basement while lip-synching like I was at Ruskin Arms. “Charlotte, the Harlot!!!” I sing as I shake my fist at the sky as if summoning the mighty Kraken too, well, just show up and say, hey, I guess since it’s just me.
Iron Maiden was a very different vibe of band with Paul Di’Anno, and for its time, it was just where Iron Maiden needed to be as it was the catalyst for what they would become. Would we even have known about Iron Maiden without Paul Di’Anno at the mic? Fuck, we only knew about that freak show former vocalist Dennis Wilcox because of Iron Maiden being on the map, which occurred with Di’Anno as lead vocalist. As Di’Anno lost steam as the singer for Maiden and grew physically beat down from touring and substance abuse, Maiden forged on into a new era while Di’Anno took his own path as an artist and a songwriter.
Di’Anno post Maiden stuff was hit or miss weighing more on the miss, unfortunately. After parting ways with Iron Maiden in ’81, it would be another three years before the debut album under the moniker Di’Anno would surface. This album pretty much sounded like it could’ve been the soundtrack to one of those ’80s movies like Footloose or Vision Quest or some shit movie. Over the years, Paul would appear on many albums, most of them live or tribute albums made up primarily Iron Maiden stuff, but of all of them, Paul’s band Battlezone was my favorite.
Now Battlezone was exactly what I think of when I think of Di’Anno post-Maiden. It’s a rough around the edges, tough, and an attitude-filled band that has him re-connecting with his NWOBHM (New Wave of British Heavy Metal) roots and performing the style of music that he had a hand in forging. The two Battlezone records are excellent, but it’s the Children of Madness album where I feel it all came together. Battlezone even toured the states and did shows with Anthrax on their Among the Living tour.
Why didn’t Di’Anno strike it big on his own? Many years of self-destructive behavior, poor management, and bad business decisions? Di’Anno didn’t have the best reputation of being an easy guy to work with. As a result of some of his troublesome behavior was even barred from entering the US for many years. Battlezone had so much potential, and I feel that, if anything, they could’ve been a powerful cult band touring with bands like Accept, Motorhead, and even KISS. The quality of these songs was top-notch, in my opinion, and I wish we could’ve seen more from them.
In 2010 Di’Anno hit the road in the US for the first time in decades. Touring with Pittsburgh metal band Icarus Witch, he tore through a powerhouse set of Maiden songs in addition to his own material such as “Children of Madness,” “General Lockjaw,” and a few others. It was so great to see Paul having so much fun, and the audiences were nuts. There was something so amazing about seeing people moshing and chanting alone with “Phantom of the Opera.” He was so appreciative of the audience and, after the show, took time to meet every fan one on one to thank them, sign autographs, and take pictures.
Di’Anno these days lives a humbled life. He’s a fantastic cook who shares his photos on social media, he communicates with friends and fans regularly, he’s a history buff. He’s just an all-around excellent human being. He seems to have made peace with himself, which, in the end, is a very important thing. Di’Anno, thankfully, is reminded by fans probably daily of the impact he had on them and how important his short but eternally influential stint with Iron Maiden truly was.
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