IRON MAIDEN singers BRUCE DICKINSON and PAUL DI’ANNO meet for the first time

IRON MAIDEN‘S Bruce Dickinson met the singer he replaced in the band, Paul Di’Annofor the first time this evening (Saturday, July 13) in Croatia.

Brucewho is promoting his new solo album, “The Mandrake Project”performed with his solo band on Saturday at the Hala Zagreb in Zagreb, where Di’Anno is being treated after undergoing major knee surgery nearly two years ago.

Stjepan JurasA GIRL Fan and author of many GIRL-related books, the Di’Anno and takes care of Paul while receiving physiotherapy treatments in Croatia, shared a photo of today’s encounter between the two heavy metal legends. A caption reads: Stephen wrote simply: “History is being rewritten again! For the very first time!”

In his book “666 Days with the Beast”, Stephen described all the key moments of PaulRecovery and new life, including Di’Anno2022 Meeting in Croatia with Steve HarrisA special limited edition of this book can be ordered exclusively at www.maidencroatia.com/666days.

In a recent interview with Joel McIver for the magazine Record Collector, Bruce was asked when he first met IRON MAIDENHe replied: “When I first saw GIRL was in the then Music Machine in Camden. SAMSON (Bruces band at the time) were headliners because our management had financed the gig and said: “We want the first place,” although we didn’t really deserve it. This became clear when GIRL came because the whole place was packed. I had heard rumors about how good they were and I thought I should check them out. When they came out I thought, “I’ve never DARK PURPLEbut that’s what it must have felt like to see DARK PURPLE in their prime, and rock like a storm.'”

Asked what he thought about it GIRLThe then frontman Di’Anno as a singer, Bruce said: “He was OK, but his voice wasn’t very flexible. I thought his voice was too much for me. I saw right away what the rest of the band was capable of and I remember thinking, ‘Good God, I’d love to front this band.’ And as soon as they finished playing, everyone left the hall and we were headlining for about three people.”

Di’Anno recorded two classical albums with IRON MAIDEN before it was replaced by DickinsonHe was the frontman of a number of other bands, including MURDERER And BATTLE ZONEand released several solo albums.

In the year 2005, Di’Anno was asked by Classic rock reinterpreted editor Jeb Wright to his previous comment that Bruce is a better singer for GIRL than he did. He said: “Yes, I have admitted that Bruce is a better singer for GIRL than I do. I still think so, but only in the context of the GIRL Albums that came after my first two GIRL classic albums. I feel like I never really put my stamp on the album. GIRL Albums that came after ‘Iron Maiden’ And “Killer” Because Bruce‘s voice is much better suited to this material than my voice ever could be. Other than that, I don’t really compare our voices because I feel like I couldn’t sing Bruce‘s period of GIRL Songs, Bruce definitely does not have – and never had – the voice to replace me on the first two classic albums. My voice is and always will be mega aggressive and that helped make those first two classic albums what they are. On the other hand BruceThe high and sometimes operatic voice helped give the later albums their distinct character. However, I will say this: Bruce sounds incredible on many later GIRL Titles like ‘The soldier’, ‘Number of the Beast’ And ‘Two minutes to midnight’ but let’s be honest – without wanting to sound arrogant here, I’m just saying what everyone knows – if Bruce tried to get me started with classics like ‘Think of Tomorrow’, ‘Run around freely’, ‘Wrath Child’, “Killer” or anything from the first two GIRL Albums, he just doesn’t have what it takes because the aggression is just missing. Your voice can often say a lot about your background and I think my voice shows what a rough, lower class background I came from. Bruce‘s voice somehow gives the impression of a private school background.”

In an interview in 2022 with Sakis Fragos of Greece’s Rock hard Magazine, Di’Anno discussed the circumstances that led to his departure from GIRL and whether it is true that it has something to do with his vocal performance. He said: “My record stands for itself. I have played more shows than IRON MAIDEN ever played… They play a lot of shows, but I played a hell of a lot more than they ever did. So it had nothing to do with my voice. It had nothing to do with that. I was just upset about certain things that were private things in the band. And the way I handled it might not have been right, but I handled it. And that’s the end of it. And that’s all I’m going to say.”

When asked whether it was true that he was being paid for his work on the first two IRON MAIDEN Albums, Paul said: “I have nothing to say about it at all because, to be honest, it’s nobody’s business. I was paid very well. I’m very happy with that. You see, if I try to say: ‘Oh, IRON MAIDEN didn’t pay me enough money’, that reflects badly on IRON MAIDEN. And I don’t accept that. I was paid very well. They took care of me. End of story.”

In December 2022 Di’Anno spent some time in Split, Croatia, and recorded his new project called WARHORSEThe band was founded earlier this year by Di’Anno and two guitarists/authors, Mr Madiraca And Ante “Pupi” PupačićThe resulting LP will be released on July 19, 2024 under the name PAUL DI’ANNO’S SLAUGHTER HORSE Banner.

Photo courtesy of Stjepan Juras