Paul Di’Anno, formerly of Iron Maiden, passed away last month at the age of 66. His family has now revealed his cause of death in a message on social media. It reads:
Dear fans and friends
We have received permission from Paul’s family to bring you the news of Paul’s cause of death, after the results of the autopsy have been received. His sisters Cheryl and Michelle confirmed the following: “Basically he had a tear in the sac around the heart and blood has filled inside it from the main aorta artery and that has caused the heart to stop.” Paul’s death was instantaneous and hopefully painless. May he rest in peace.
Di’Anno sang lead on Iron Maiden’s 1980 self-titled debut and their 1981 album Killers, and he also recorded their 1979 EP The Soundhouse Tapes with them and appeared on multiple live releases. He was fired from the band in 1981 and replaced with Bruce Dickinson. After that, he formed his own project, Di’Anno, as well as the bands Battlezone, Killers, and more. He also played in the short-lived supergroup Gogmagog with former Iron Maiden drummer Clive Burr, future Iron Maiden guitarist Janick Gers, and members of Def Leppard and Whitesnake.
Paying tribute to Paul, Iron Maiden wrote, “Paul’s contribution to Iron Maiden was immense and helped set us on the path we have been travelling as a band for almost five decades. His pioneering presence as a frontman and vocalist, both on stage and on our first two albums, will be very fondly remembered not just by us, but by fans around the world.”