Paul Mario Day, original lead singer of Iron Maiden, has died at the age of 69.
The frontman’s passing was confirmed by the new wave of British heavy metal band More, for whom he also previously sang.
“We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of the great More vocalist Paul Mario Day,” the band wrote to Facebook. “Paul was a huge part of the NWOBHM from his time in an early version of Iron Maiden, and of course his fantastic performance on the Warhead album. He was a well-loved figure in British rock music and played many memorable shows, not least the legendary 1981 Monsters of Rock show at Castle Donington with AC/DC, Whitesnake/David Coverdale, as well as tours with Iron Maiden, Def Leppard and many other legendary artists.”
Paul Mario Day’s Iron Maiden History
Day joined Iron Maiden in 1975 when he was just 19 years old. His time with the fledgling band was brief – he lasted less than a year before getting kicked out.
In 1980 Day formed More, with the band’s debut album, Warhead, arriving in 1981. He left the band before the release of their second and final album, 1982’s Blood & Thunder.
In a 2019 interview, Day reflected on his Iron Maiden history. “I never really was in a band,” he explained. “I just worked with guitar players in bedrooms, just sort of learning, experimenting, because I wasn’t really a singer. I just felt I could sing.”
Eventually, Day went to bassist Steve Harris. “‘I think I’m a singer,'” he remarked. “‘Could I join your band?’ And he went, ‘No.’ I went, ‘OK, no problem.’ I went back to work. A few days, or maybe a week or two later, Steve says, ‘I couldn’t say anything because the singer was with me of the band.’ I don’t know who it was and he says, ‘Yeah, I’m interested. Do you want to come and have a blow?’ So I did, they liked me and straight away, I was singing some of Steve’s songs. He wrote some songs before the Iron Maiden period, they were in the old band. I sang and he wanted me to stay. I seemed to fit and then we started rehearsing. Then all the songs were being written and I was singing his songs.”
Iron Maiden ultimately fired Day because of his lack of stage presence. “Steve was saying, ‘You’ve got to get better. You’ve got to be more in the audience’s face. You’ve got to be commanding. You’ve got to be a hero,'” Day recalled. “And I agreed with him, but I didn’t actually know how to make that happen.”
