Paul Remembers Maiden and Talks about Israel Tour
David Brinn of the Jerusalem Post had a small phone interview with Paul Di'Anno prior to his coming to the country for a few dates. Paul will be using a local band for each of the shows he's to perform there (Tel Aviv on the 10th and Haifa on the 11th).Paul Di'Anno might have turned out to be the Pete Best of heavy metal. The original lead singer for prototype headbangers Iron Maiden, Di'Anno was taken out of the picture in 1981 after the group's first two albums, just as they were on the cusp, blossoming from underground cult heroes to a worldwide phenomenon.
Whether he was ousted or walked on his own accord remains hazy after all these years, but what is clear is that Di'Anno did not sit back crying into his Jack Daniels. Unlike the Beatles's original drummer Best, who virtually dropped out of the music business after being replaced by Ringo Starr, Di'Anno's led a succession of bands with names such as Gogmagog, Battlezone, Praying Mantis, and Killers, building on his reputation while with Maiden as one of hard rock's most powerful vocalists.
He's also a successful (within his niche) solo artist, and will be giving a decibel demonstration in Israel this week as the headliner of Heavy Metal Monsters 2004 - a multi-artist show that rumbles to life Friday, December 10, in Tel Aviv at the Barbie Club and the next night in Haifa at the Poison Club.
The 48-year-old Di'Anno, who has made his home in Brazil in recent years, says leaving the Maiden juggernaut behind was the best thing that ever happened to him, and that he has no bitter feelings toward his former bandmates.
"I absolutely have no regrets about leaving Maiden - I wasn't right in the head at that time to be in the middle of all that. I was fed up and disillusioned; it would have been cheating the fans and myself if I had stayed. It was easy to walk away from, and I'm very happy the band got bigger and bigger," Di'Anno told The Jerusalem Post in a recent phone interview from London, where he was about to launch a European tour.
Di'Anno joined Maiden in 1977 after befriending the band leader, bass player Steve Harris. With the emergence of several like-minded British metal bands, such as Def Leppard, Saxon, Mot rhead, and Judas Priest, Iron Maiden soon found itself part of a new wave of metal - that competed with and complemented the parallel punk movement of the late Seventies.
The band's first two albums featuring Di'Anno - a self-titled effort in 1980 and Killers in 1981 - quickly earned the band an enthusiastic following of the blue jean nation, and are considered metal classics by aficionados. Di'Anno says he recognizes their impact and is proud of it.
"I get requests all the time for Maiden songs from the first two albums, and we play loads of them. I tried to fade it out a few years ago, but the fans nearly killed me. Those albums captured a raw energy that made it acceptable for heavy metal and punk to get together. The likes of something that will never be seen again," he said in a friendly pub voice that sounds like a cross between Andy Capp and Ozzy Osbourne.
For his current tour, Di'Anno is utilizing an approach patented by rock pioneers such as Chuck Berry, who would travel by themselves and employ a local band in each town on the tour.
According to promoter Yuri Leshev, the Israeli band chosen to be Iron Maiden for the night is Tel Aviv hard rockers Damnation.
"They play progressive heavy metal," said Leshev, adding that other bands on the bill include Crossfire and Loud 'n' Clear. The type of music they play will be loud and clear to anyone attending.
For his part, Di'Anno wasn't too concerned with whom he was performing, claiming that he'll have a day or two to rehearse with the band before the shows.
"I'm going to be playing with an Israeli band - I'm not even sure who they are. I've been told they're one of the best. My manager came up with the idea of using local bands at each stop on the tour. We sent them the music months before, so we don't need a lot of rehearsal. It saves time and trouble," he said.
When told that Berry had decades before initiated the different band for each show concept, Di'Anno laughed and responded, "That's what Chuck Berry did? Well, that shows it's a good idea. I thought that we had thought it up first."
In other Di'Anno news, Paul has added some special Christmas song samples to his official website. Check them out.
Source: JPost.com, PaulDiAnno.com
2 Comments
Here are the 2005 dates for Di'Anno, including a return to Brazil:
January
Thursday 13-01 São Paulo/SP,Brazil
Friday 14-01 Porto Alegre/RS,Brazil
Saturday 15-01 Sao Luis/MA,Brazil
Sunday 16-01 Belem/PA,Brazil
Wednesday 19-01 Rio de Janeiro/RJ,Brazil
Thursday 20-01 Juiz de Fora/MG,Brazil
Friday 21-01 São José dos Campos/SP,Brazil
Saturday 22-01 Uberlândia/MG,Brazil
February
Thursday 24-02 Rosetta,Belfast,Ireland
Friday 25-02 Dolans Warehouse,Limerick, Ireland
Saturday 26-02 The Vault,Cork,Ireland
Sunday 27-02 Whealens,Dublin, Ireland
March
Wednesday 09-03 De Auw Kerk in Bunde, Holland
Thursday 10-03 Spuugh in Vaals, Holland
Friday 11-03 Tavenu Waalwijk, Holland
Saturday 12-03 Shymy's, Krefeld, Germany
Sunday 13-03 Het Podium, Venray, Holland
Cheers
I'm glad to see that at least some rock stars still consider touring Israel.