For The Metal Voice in London, England, photographer Fernando Bonenfant talks backstage to former Iron Maiden singer Paul Di'Anno at the final show in London supporting KK's Priest. Di'Anno talks about the KK's Priest tour, looks back on touring with Judas Priest, new music, and his upcoming documentary.
On his tour memories when Iron Maiden opened for Judas Priest in the '80s
Di'Anno: "Apparently I pissed Kenny (K.K. Downing) off. I don't even remember saying this, but apparently I said that Judas Priest are a bunch of old men, we're going to blow them away, which does sound like me. Let's be honest, it does, but the thing is, I don't remember saying it (laughs). Me and Ken didn't speak for years, until recently on the KK's Priest tour, so we sort of buried the hatchet. He's a lovely man and he's an awesome guitar player, and I have so much respect for him. We met a couple of months back (performing at KK's Steel Mill ) which was the first time we actually met up again after all these years. It was great. The band is phenomenal."
When asked about having new music in the works
Di'Anno: "We have the new Warhorse album coming out next year. I'm writing with my writing partner in Mexico, Marco Benjamin Alvaro. We've been writing a few tracks here and there."
On the upcoming documentary
Di'Anno: "I don't know much about it, really. All I do is I just turn up and do it. I'm a little bit upset because I was hoping I'd be up on my feet, but it's not happened. So you get the sort of documentary of the highs and lows of being in a wheelchair and struggling. And since all this happened to me, I suffer from really severe PTSD and it's not good. You know, it changes your whole personality. Sometimes you're happy go-lucky, other times I'm screaming (and) I want to kill people. It's not good and that's not me. I'm only a happy go-lucky person until somebody pisses me off, then I'll beat you up (laughs). It's been a bit difficult. So that'll be out very soon (documentary)."
BraveWords.com recently announced the launch of BraveWords Records, and their debut signing of Paul Di'Anno's Warhorse. Paul Di'Anno's Warhorse will release their first title for BraveWords Records in 2024.
The core of the band and founders are Paul Di'Anno (vocals), Hrvoje Madiraca (guitar) and Ante Pupačić Pupi (guitar).
BraveWords Records founder "Metal" Tim Henderson: "How excited were you to hear that Paul Di’Anno was back with a new band called Warhorse?! I was so happy to see him back in action again and getting his life back to normal. The beast roared back and BraveWords Records is honoured to have him and his new band as the inaugural signing to the label. There are so many great things brewing behind the scenes, so stay tuned!”
Paul Andrews, a British singer better known by his stage name Paul Di’Anno, his nearly half-century-long career began explosively with Iron Maiden, when with the EP The Soundhouse Tapes, and the albums Iron Maiden and Killers forever cemented the foundations of heavy metal. With timeless hits like "Iron Maiden", "Remember Tomorrow", "Running Free", "Phantom Of The Opera", "Killers", "Wratchild", "Murders In The Rue Morgue", "Purgatory", etc., they influenced numerous musicians and bands and were responsible for the creation or development of many subgenres in metal music.
Paul is known as one of the most productive singers, who has a huge number of albums and other releases behind him, either as a solo artist or a member of bands such as Gogmagog, Di’Anno’s Battlezone, Praying Mantis, Killers, Rockfellas or Warhorse. In all his incarnations, Paul always knew how to find a way to the fans, with numerous hits, uncompromising singing, which is confirmed by his successful career and furious live shows around the world.
For the last eight years, Paul faced serious health problems that almost ended his career, but thanks to his loyal fans and his strong will to overcome the disease, Paul is on a big world tour again, and he recorded a new album with his new band Warhorse. This icon of heavy metal with the heart of a punk rock rebel never spared himself in his life, but he always gave everything for music and fans, which is why they have followed him faithfully for almost fifty years.
BraveWords Records have agreed to physical distribution deals with Plastic Head in Europe and MVD in North America.
About BraveWords:
The seed was planted in 1994 with the launch of Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles Magazine which ran for nearly 15 years and became the longest-running and biggest hard rock and heavy metal magazine in Canadian history. At its peak, BW&BK produced 40,000 copies in 40 countries, almost every magazine containing a unique full-length CD sampler called KnuckleTracks, which included the finest heavy music of the day. The magazine interviewed and featured all the heavyweights of the genre including AC/DC, Metallica, Slayer, Led Zeppelin, Megadeth, Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Motörhead, KISS, King Diamond, Opeth, Dimmu Borgir, Sepultura, Iced Earth, In Flames, Behemoth, Slipknot and many more!
With the rapid spread of the world wide web, BraveWords.com was born in 2000 and quickly became the CNN of heavy metal. With its team of global writers and photographers, the site flourished with 24/7 updated news, features, reviews, audio, video and the Metal Market which has become instrumental for fans to find their favorite music. Today the site has seen a 25% increase in recent months and proudly serves 10,000 visitors a day from around the world; the top 5 countries being the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany and Sweden. The site caters to a wide age demographic from the late teens into those metalheads in their 60s, with a nearly 50/50 between men and women. A true United Nations of heavy metal!
Over time, BraveWords has worked with thousands of labels, bands, promoters, publicists, marketing companies around the world and its prolific partners include Iron Maiden’s Trooper Beer, Metal Reels Gaming, 70000 Tons Of Metal Cruise and Germany’s Summer Breeze Open Air.
25 years and counting, BraveWords wears their metal heart loudly on their sleeve, as they celebrate the greatest genre of music with the most dedicated and passionate fans on the planet!
