Iron Maiden honored their ex-singer Paul Di’Anno during their concert on October 22 at Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Before starting the song ‘The Time Machine,’ Bruce Dickinson spoke to the crowd, saying, “So, this next track is actually called ‘The Time Machine.’ And I was watching ‘Back To The Future’ last night on TV and it’s true. It is 1.21 gigawatts of power that you need to put a DeLorean through the portal of time itself.”
He continued, “I normally tell a story about that [and] we have a bit of fun. But tonight is — I don’t wanna put a downer on the proceedings at all, because our friend, our bandmember Paul Di’Anno passed away, as you are probably aware. And if you’re not aware of that fact, you are now.”
“Paul was instrumental in the first two [Maiden] albums, groundbreaking with ‘Killers’ and the first album. An amazing voice, devoted to rock and roll right up till the last minute of his life,” Dickinson added.
He then said, “So… 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 to just 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.’”
Paul Di’Anno, whose real name was Paul Andrews, died at his home in Salisbury on October 21. Iron Maiden released a statement, saying, “We are all deeply saddened to learn about the passing of Paul Di’0Anno earlier today. Paul’s contribution to Iron Maiden was immense and helped set us on the path we have been travelling as a band for almost five decades.”
The band then shared, “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.”
“We were very grateful to have had the chance to catch up a couple of years ago and to spend time with him once more. On behalf of the band, Rod and Andy, and the whole Iron Maiden team, we extend our deepest sympathies to Paul’s family and close friends. Rest In Peace Paul,” Maiden members lastly said.
He was born in Chingford, East London, on May 17, 1958. Paul became well-known as the lead singer of Iron Maiden from 1978 to 1981. He sang on their debut album ‘Iron Maiden’ and the follow-up ‘Killers.’ After leaving Iron Maiden, Paul had a long music career with Battlezone and Killers, along with many solo projects and guest appearances.