Iron Maiden sent a screaming shout-out to original lead singer Paul Di’Anno — who died at 66 on Monday of undisclosed causes — in concert on Tuesday night.
The tribute to Di’Anno — who fronted the metal band on its first two albums, 1980’s “Iron Maiden” and 1981’s “Killers” — came during a show at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.
“I don’t wanna put a downer on the proceedings at all,” said Bruce Dickinson — who took over as lead singer after Di’Anno — said in a video posted by a fan, “[but] our friend, our band member, Paul Di’Anno, passed away, as you are probably aware. And if you’re not aware of that fact, you are now.”
Dickinson continued to pay respects to his “groundbreaking” predecessor: “Paul was instrumental in the first two albums … An amazing voice, devoted to rock ’n’ roll right up till the last minute of his life.”
In fact, Di’Anno continued to perform even while restricted to a wheelchair due to health problems.
Then Dickinson asked the cheering crowd for a moment of remembrance for Di’Anno: “For those of you who were born and still remember those early albums — when obviously I wasn’t in the band and he was — and those of you who were fans of the stuff he did with Battlezone and his own projects afterwards, and for anybody else that fancies having a listen to tracks like ‘Remember Tomorrow’ and stuff like that, which are absolutely awesome — I’m just gonna ask everybody to just take, like, a few seconds.
“Close your eyes in silence and say — just internally, mentally — if you believe in God, if you don’t believe in God, it actually doesn’t matter, just believe in what you believe in and just say, ‘Thanks boss, for doing what you did.’ ”
Dickinson went on to deliver a direct message to Di’Anno in the afterlife: “So, Paul, if you’re listening, this is a little message from Minneapolis to wherever you are, upstairs or downstairs … Minneapolis, for Paul Di’Anno, scream for me!”
Di’Anno, who was born Paul Andrews, passed away at his home in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. His label announced his death in a statement: “On behalf of his family, Conquest Music are sad to confirm the death of Paul Andrews, professionally known as Paul Di’Anno.”
The statement noted that Di’Anno had performed over 100 shows since 2023, even while wheelchair-bound, and had released a retrospective of his post-Maiden work, “The Book of the Beast,” in September.
The label concluded, “Conquest Music are proud to have had Paul Di’Anno in our artist family and ask his legion of fans to raise a glass in his memory.”
Iron Maiden also issued a statement on Monday.
“We are all deeply saddened to learn about the passing of Paul Di’Anno earlier today. Paul’s contribution to Iron Maiden was immense and helped set us on the path we have been traveling as a band for almost five decades,” the statement read. “His pioneering presence as a frontman and vocalist, both on stage and on our first two albums, will be very fondly remembered not just by us, but by fans around the world.”