Iron Maiden have paid tribute to their former singer, Paul Di’Anno, during their October 22 concert at Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Before performing “The Time Machine,” current frontman Bruce Dickinson honored Di’Anno, stating:
“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. 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 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. 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.’
So, Paul, if you’re listening, this is a little message from Minneapolis to wherever you are, upstairs or downstairs, Minneapolis, for Paul Di’Anno, scream for me.”
Di’Anno passed away on October 21 at his home in Salisbury. Paul Di’Anno, born Paul Andrews on May 17, 1958, in East London, was Iron Maiden’s lead singer from 1978 to 1981. He was featured on their iconic debut album Iron Maiden and the follow-up Killers. After leaving the band, Di’Anno continued a prolific career with groups like Battlezone, Killers, and numerous solo projects.
