Paul DiAnno, the Singer who sang on Iron Maiden’s first releases has died. He was 66.

Di’Anno’s death was confirmed in a note that metal label Conquest Music posted on its Facebook page on behalf of the Di’Anno family. It was said that Di’Anno – whose real name was Paul Andrews – died at his home in Salisbury, England.

“Conquest Music is proud to have Paul Di’Anno in our artistic family and asks his fans to raise a glass to him,” the label said.

No cause of death was given, but the statement noted that Di’Anno had “suffered from serious health problems in recent years that prevented him from performing in a wheelchair.” Despite this, he continued to play shows around the world and “has had well over 100 shows” as of 2023 (although he announced a retirement of sorts in 2020).

Di’Anno joined Iron Maiden in 1978, at a time when the fledgling group had been performing for several years but had not yet settled on a permanent lineup. Di’Anno’s gruff voice was a perfect fit for the stunning songs bassist Steve Harris was writing at the time.

Di’Anno sang on Iron Maiden’s first releases, including the 1979 EP. The Roundhouse Tapesand their 1980 self-titled debut, which put them at the forefront of a new era of British heavy metal. In addition to providing vocals, Di’Anno also contributed lyrics to several tracks, including the successful singles “Running Free” and “Sanctuary”.

A few live recordings of Iron Maiden with Di’Anno were pressed onto the 1980 EP, Live!! +one. Di’Anno also sang on Iron Maiden’s second album in 1981. Murderer. But soon after, Di’Anno was expelled from the band, allegedly because of his drug use and partying activities. (He was replaced by Bruce Dickinson, later Iron Maiden’s longtime singer.)

In conversation with metal hammer In 2022, DiAnno said that he didn’t blame Iron Maiden for firing him, but added, “I wish I could have contributed more.” After a while, it got to me. In the end I couldn’t give Maiden 100 percent and it wasn’t fair to the band, the fans or myself.”

Of his contributions to the Maiden discography, as well as heavy metal in general, Di’Anno said: “The two albums I made with the band were crucial. When I met Metallica, Pantera and Sepultura later in life and they told me that those albums got them into music, it made me incredibly proud.”

Di’Anno stayed in music after leaving Iron Maiden. Over the years he played in a number of bands including Battlezone, Killers and Gogmagog, and also released numerous solo releases. In the 1990s he briefly joined the group Praying Mantis to record a live album with his former Iron Maiden colleague Dennis Stratton.

Just last month, Di’Anno released a career retrospective album: The Book of the Beastwhich collects a variety of his post-Iron Maiden material. It also features two new versions of Iron Maiden classics “Wrathchild” and “Remember Tomorrow,” which have been turned into duets with ZP Theart and Tony Martin, respectively.