Before his death, he performed in a wheelchair: the first vocalist of the rock band Iron Maiden, Paul DiAnno, died

On Monday, October 21, the first vocalist of the British rock band Iron Maiden , Paul DiAnno , who did not leave the stage until the last moment, performing in a wheelchair, died. The musician passed away at the age of 66 in his home in Salisbury.

According to the BBC, the tragic news was announced by representatives of the Conquest Music label on behalf of the artist's family. Despite the fact that the singer left the band back in 1981, his former colleagues are saddened by the loss and paid tribute to the celebrity by posting a post on Instagram.

"We are all deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Paul D'Anno. Paul's contribution to Iron Maiden was immense and helped set us on the path we have been on for nearly five decades. His groundbreaking presence as a frontman and vocalist, both on stage and on our first two albums, will be fondly remembered not only by us, but by fans around the world," the band wrote.

Paul DiAnno didn't want to say goodbye to the stage and his fans, so he organized incendiary concerts and appeared in front of the audience in a wheelchair until the end. For several years, the artist had quite a few serious health problems, including lymphedema, which caused severe swelling of the body tissues. In 2022, fans of the star's work even raised a large sum of money to perform a complex operation on his knee.

Despite this, Paul Di'Anno continued to perform actively, because, according to his former colleague, Iron Maiden founder Steve Harris, it was the only thing that "kept him going and where he needed to be."

The first vocalist of the British rock band was born in 1958 in Chingford, east London. As a teenager, he became interested in music, and in 1977 he auditioned for Iron Maiden.

Three years later, the musicians signed a contract with their first label, EMI, and began releasing albums with songs that combined punk and rock. Many of the band's most successful breakthroughs were associated with Di'Anno's name, but after the release of the next collection of songs "Killers", the vocalist left the band or was expelled due to alcohol problems. The artist always emphasized that he never held a grudge against his former colleagues and remained on good terms with them.

Paul D'Anno later left his mark on the music industry as a solo artist. Shortly before his death, he released the album "The Book of the Beast".

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