Latest news with #PaulDi'Anno
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Paul Di'Anno's final interview to appear in Iron Maiden documentary
A documentary film about Iron Maiden will feature a final interview with the band's former singer Paul Di'Anno, who died aged 66 last year. Band members past and present including Di'Anno, who sang with the band between 1978 and 1981, take part in the untitled Iron Maiden feature documentary, which comes out in the band's 50th anniversary year. The heavy rockers, formed in 1975 in east London, have sold more than 100 million records, and performed over 2,500 concerts in 64 countries across six continents. Later this year they will add to this number as the band embark on their Run For Your Lives Tour kicking off in Budapest, Hungary, in May. Rod Smallwood, manager of Iron Maiden, said: 'We're proud Universal Pictures Content Group has chosen to share the unique story of Iron Maiden with the world. We have given them unrestricted access to the band, our fans and musical peers. 'We trust that they will excite not only music fans but also anyone who loves a story of an underdog beating the odds to become and remain one of Britain's biggest musical exports since our first record released 45 years ago.' Fans were also interviewed for the film along with famous faces such as No Country For Old Men and Skyfall star Javier Bardem, Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich and Kiss musician Gene Simmons, while the band's ghoulish mascot Eddie is brought to life via animation. For most of the last few decades, guitarists Dave Murray, Adrian Smith, Janick Gers, lead singer Bruce Dickinson, bassist Steve Harris, and drummer Michael 'Nicko' McBrain, who has been replaced with Simon Dawson for the latest series of concerts after retiring in 2024, have been the main line-up. Previous members have included singer Blaze Bayley, drummers Barry 'Thunderstick' Purkis and Doug Sampson, guitarist Dennis Stratton, and keyboardist Tony Moore. Di'Anno featured on their 1980 debut album and its follow-up Killers, singing on songs such as Running Free, Sanctuary and Remember Tomorrow, and later had guest appearances with Iron Maiden, after being replaced by Dickinson. The film is promised as 'an emotive journey through Iron Maiden's 50-year history told from the perspective of both the band and some of their most devoted followers'. Helen Parker, executive vice president at Universal Pictures Content Group and executive producer, said: 'We're thrilled Iron Maiden have entrusted us to bring their legacy to cinemas around the world. 'Working closely with the band and their passionate fans has been an unrivalled experience allowing us to tell their story in a unique way and celebrate their incomparable fearless creativity in their 50th anniversary year.' It is directed by Malcolm Venville, who directed the Netflix docu-series Churchill At War, and produced by Dominic Freeman, who worked on the Depeche Mode film Spirits In The Forest. Iron Maiden has had a number one in the UK with 1988 single Bring Your Daughter… To The Slaughter and 35 songs in the top 40, according to the Official Charts Company. They have also had five number one albums including Fear Of The Dark, The Book Of Souls, The Final Frontier, Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son and The Number Of The Beast, with the latest record, 2021's Senjutsu, making it to number two in the UK charts. The Universal Pictures Content Group said the film is set for an autumn 2025 release in cinemas internationally.
The Guardian
14-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Iron Maiden making official documentary to mark 50th anniversary
Iron Maiden are to have an official documentary made about them, charting their long career as cornerstones of British heavy metal. The currently untitled film, scheduled for release in cinemas in the autumn to mark Iron Maiden's 50th anniversary, will feature interviews with the band – including the final interview with early member Paul Di'Anno, who died last year – as they recall their path from grotty east London to five UK No 1 albums and phantasmagoric arena-filling stage shows. Superfans including Kiss's Gene Simmons, Metallica's Lars Ulrich and actor Javier Bardem will be on hand for analysis. As well as archival footage there will be new animated sequences featuring band mascot Eddie, adding up to what promotional materials describe as 'a unique visual experience that highlights Iron Maiden's widespread impact and the strong connection between the band and their truly global army of fans'. A subsidiary of Universal Pictures will produce the film, which is being directed by Malcolm Venville. The British film-maker is known for his films about even more august historical figures: the 2024 miniseries Churchill at War, and his drama trilogy focusing on the US presidents Ulysses S Grant, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. Rod Smallwood, Iron Maiden's manager, said Venville and his team were given 'unrestricted access to the band, our fans and musical peers. We trust that they will excite not only music fans but also anyone who loves a story of an underdog beating the odds.' While Iron Maiden's commercial peak was in the 1980s, with hit albums such as The Number of the Beast – a two-time platinum seller in the UK – the band are very much a going concern. Their most recent album, 2021's Senjutsu, reached No 2 in the UK charts and was critically acclaimed, with the Guardian awarding it five stars and calling it 'eccentric, bombastic heavy metal at its finest'. The band will also mark their 50th anniversary by heading out on a 26th world tour. The first leg of the Run for Your Lives tour begins on 27 May in Budapest and continues throughout Europe until 2 August, including a date at London Stadium on 28 June.
