Early Iron Maiden frontman Paul Di’Anno was buried today in London, as his long-time manager offered a heartfelt farewell.
“Let’s raise a glass for the last time for Paul Di’Anno,” said Stjepan Juras, who shared the below image approved by Di’Anno’s family of his cross-laden casket. Di’Anno died on Oct. 21.
Juras had already revealed Di’Anno’s cause of death, as confirmed by his sisters. “Basically, he had a tear in the sac around the heart and blood has filled inside it from the main aorta artery,” Juras said, “and that has caused the heart to stop.”
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Born Paul Andrews, he adopted the Di’Anno stage name as the replacement for short-lived former Iron Maiden singer Dennis Wilcock in 1977. Their self-titled debut album followed in 1980, and songs like the title track, “Phantom of the Opera” and “Running Free” became set-list staples. Di’Anno’s second album with the group, 1981’s Killers, pointed to the epic style of songwriting that would define their legacy.
By September, however, Di’Anno had played his final show with Iron Maiden. A career retrospective titled The Book of the Beast, released earlier this year, traced the solo career that followed. A documentary about Di’Anno was also reportedly in the works with producer Wes Orshoski, who helmed 2010’s Lemmy about Motorhead’s late frontman.
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