Former Iron Maiden vocalist Blaze Bayley recently opened up about his late bandmate Paul Di’Anno’s final years. He shared his thoughts on Di’Anno’s health struggles and musical legacy in an interview with The Metal Voice.
Bayley reflected on Di’Anno’s declining health and his reaction to the news of his passing. He also praised his vocal abilities and contribution to Iron Maiden’s early sound.
“Well, he wasn’t in good health the last time I saw him, and he’d been stuck in a wheelchair for a while,” Bayley said. “But we did a lot together. We went to a lot of places together.”
The singer described his emotional response to learning of Di’Anno’s death.
“I wouldn’t say that I didn’t expect it, but I was absolutely gutted when [I got] the news that Paul had gone,” he continued. “I didn’t think he would go then. It just didn’t feel right. Of course, it was too soon. He shouldn’t have gone at all. But it was a lot.”
Bayley went on to praise Di’Anno’s vocal performances during their time touring together.
“And his voice, man. There were some nights on tour when we were together — we had some good bands together that people put together for us — and you close your eyes and you listen to him singing those early Maiden songs, and you go, ‘He sounds better than he ever did on the record,'” he said. “It was incredible.”
The former Maiden frontman emphasized Di’Anno’s lasting impact on the band’s legacy.
“And he’s a legend. That is the voice that began, that first record. You can never take that away,” Bayley stated. “Those first two albums, they’re the Di’Anno records. And that’s a band that doesn’t care about the rules, that’s doing their own thing, that’s making music that they think is the best that they can do.”
He concluded by highlighting the raw, authentic approach of early Iron Maiden under Di’Anno’s vocals.
“And they really don’t care too much about what people are saying, ‘Oh, the chorus should be here,’ or, ‘The guitar solo should…’ They didn’t care at all — absolutely didn’t care,” he said. “There’s no click track, there’s no nothing. Everything they did in the studio is all about vibe and the timing, and you can hear what Paul does.”
Bayley’s tribute reflects the deep respect shared among Iron Maiden’s former vocalists. It highlights Di’Anno’s foundational role in establishing the band’s early identity.
Wikipedia documented that Di’Anno was Iron Maiden’s first vocalist. He appeared on their 1980 self-titled debut album and its 1981 follow-up Killers before leaving the band in 1981. His departure marked the end of an era that would later be recognized as crucial to the band’s development and sound.
Loudwire reported that Bayley previously praised Di’Anno’s live performances. He noted that there were nights when his vocals surpassed even his recorded work. The tribute emphasized Di’Anno’s continued ability to deliver powerful performances despite his health challenges in later years.
Bayley’s assessment of Di’Anno’s importance extends beyond Iron Maiden’s catalog. Louder Sound revealed that Bayley compared Di’Anno’s significance in heavy metal to that of Elvis Presley in rock and roll. He stated that Di’Anno holds a similarly foundational position in the genre’s history.
“In our heavy metal world, he’s almost as important as Elvis Presley,” Bayley said in his tribute. This underscored the lasting influence Di’Anno had on both Iron Maiden and the broader heavy metal community.
The bond between Iron Maiden’s former vocalists demonstrates the lasting impact of Di’Anno’s contributions to the band’s legacy. Both Bayley and Bruce Dickinson have acknowledged his role in shaping the group’s early sound and establishing their place in heavy metal history.
