by Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson recently addressed false internet rumors about his relationship with former bandmate Paul Di’Anno. He set the record straight in an interview with Louder Sound.
Dickinson’s comments came in response to online speculation about whether he had ever met Di’Anno before the wheelchair-bound singer appeared at a Maiden show in Zagreb in July 2022.
When asked if the internet stories claiming he had never met Paul Di’Anno until that Zagreb show were true, Dickinson responded firmly: “F*ck me, no, that’s internet bullsh*t. Samson recorded [their 1981 album] Shock Tactics in the same studio as Maiden recorded Killers. There was a bar and we’d all be in there hanging out.”
The singer also addressed his reaction to Di’Anno’s appearance at the Zagreb concert.
“The night he came to the Maiden show in Zagreb, everyone was going [fearfully], ‘Do you want to see Paul?’ I was, like, ‘Why the fuck wouldn’t I? Of course I’d like to see him,’” Dickinson explained.
The comments effectively dispel longstanding internet rumors about tension between the two Iron Maiden vocalists.
Dickinson’s clarification provides important context to the band’s history and the transition between their first two vocalists. The relationship between the two singers has been a subject of fan speculation for decades. This is particularly true given the dramatic shift in Iron Maiden’s sound and success following the lineup change.
Loudwire reported that Bruce Dickinson first joined Iron Maiden on September 26, 1981. He made his onstage debut with the band a month later in Bologna, Italy. This marked a major transition from Paul Di’Anno’s punk-influenced vocal style to Dickinson’s more dynamic operatic voice. This change helped propel Iron Maiden to legendary status in heavy metal.
The story of how Dickinson came to replace Di’Anno reveals the professional respect between the two vocalists. Arrow Lords of Metal documented that Dickinson recalled first seeing Iron Maiden when his own band, Samson, headlined a show in Camden where Maiden’s rising reputation had packed the venue. He described watching Di’Anno’s performance as reminiscent of experiencing Deep Purple in their prime—phenomenal and electrifying. However, he thought Di’Anno’s vocal flexibility had limits.
“It reminded me of discovering Deep Purple when I was 15 years old, except updated. Everything was really pushing forwards,” Dickinson said about that first encounter with Di’Anno’s Iron Maiden.
That night, Dickinson realized he wanted to front the band himself. His admiration for Di’Anno’s stage presence and the band’s energy was genuine. The transition was necessary for Iron Maiden’s evolution. It was built on mutual respect rather than animosity, as Dickinson’s recent comments make clear.
