The History of Paul Di'anno
Bill J. Bernard
A previous post asked about Paul Di'anno and what he's been up to since
leaving Iron Maiden. I responded with a reference to something he did
in 1985, not knowing much else. I then proceded to search for info on
this myself, and the following information was found. Apparently, he's
been a lot busier than I thought.
The following information was copied from the Iron Maiden FAQ at
http://www.lib.ox.ac.uk/internet/news/faq/archive/music.iron-maiden-faq.part1.html
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Paul Di'anno - first recorded lead vocalist with IRON MAIDEN (Mid 1977 -
Sep 1981). Recorded with IRON MAIDEN "The Soundhouse Tapes" EP,
"Sanctuary" and "Wrathchild" on METAL FOR MUTHAS compilation, IRON
MAIDEN album, KILLERS album, LIVE PLUS ONE live album, "Maiden Japan"
(aka "Heavy Metal Army") EP, "Women In Uniform" EP, and "Sanctuary" EP.
OTHER WORKS:
BIRD OF PREY (before 1977) - not much around.
LONE WOLF (1982 - ?) - not much around, but supposedly sounds like
watered-down WHITESNAKE. This was a 6-piece band.
GOGMAGOG (1985) - NWOBHM supergroup, featuring Di'anno on vocals, Pete
Willis (DEF LEPPARD) and Jannick Gers (GILLAN) on guitars, Neil Murray
(WHITESNAKE) on bass guitar, and Clive Burr (IRON MAIDEN) on drums.
Released in 1985 a demo E.P. "I Will Be There."
DI'ANNO (1984 - May 1985) - I don't know much about this band except it
sounds like JOURNEY. Released an album Di'ANNO, as well as a single
from this album "Heartuser" b/w "Road Rat" in 1984, under the FM Coast
to Coast label (a division of Heavy Metal Records). Also released an
album TWO SWIMMERS & A BAG OF JOCKIES in 1984 with Lee Slater (Guitars,
Vocals), P J Ward (Guitars, Vocals), Kevin Browne (Bass, Vocals), Mark
Venables (Keyboards), and Mark Stuart (Drums). Mark Stuart left the
band before recording, so Dave Irving played drums on this album. (I
*think* this information is correct!)
PAUL DI'ANNO'S BATTLEZONE (1986 - 1987) - recorded in 1986 FIGHTING BACK
and in 1987 CHILDREN OF MADNESS. Drummer on second album is Steve
Hopgood of famed NWOBHM band PERSIAN RISK.
"ALL-STAR" PROJECT (1989) - with Lea Heart back in '89. The album was
recorded somewhere in
the UK, and the participants were a Japanese band around Tak Yonemochi,
Paul Di'Anno, Dennis Stratton, some of Saxon, etc. - about 15 - 20
people altogether. The album seems to have been produced for the
Japanese market, so there is little English text on the cover, mostly
Japanese... Either the band or the album is called "Kaizoku". Anybody
have any more information?
PRAYING MANTIS & Paul Di'anno, Dennis Stratton (1990) - recorded on the
PRAYING MANTIS reunion in Japan LIVE AT LAST in 1990. Other members are
Tino Troy and Chris Troy of PRAYING MANTIS and STRATUS, Dennis Stratton
of LIONHEART, and Bruce Bisland of Weapon and Statetrooper.
KILLERS (Jan 1992 - present) - featured Steve Hopgood on drums and Nick
Burr (Clive Burr's brother) on guitars. Released MURDER ONE in 1992.
Vladimir Milovidov
>BIRD OF PREY (before 1977) - not much around.
Oh. Does it mean it was Uriah Heep coverband??
Cheers,
Vladimir.