When Cliff Evans, owner of Conquest Music, guitarist of Tank and Killers and a close friend of PAUL DI'ANNO, asked me if I´d be interested in talking to the former Iron Maiden singer about his upcoming European tour and the new compilation album „The Book Of The Beast“, I didn´t have to think twice. We arranged an interview date for October 4th. Paul was right on time and seemed to enjoy the talk although he was suffering from a terrible sounding cold and was coughing a lot. At this point in time it was not clear to me that this would be the last ever possibility to talk to Paul, who in my opinion was the ultimate Maiden singer. On October 21st – right in the middle of working on Rock Hard issue 450 – the terrible news broke: PAUL DI'ANNO had passed away in his home in Salisbury, Wiltshire. Sitting at the desk in front of my computer I am still shell-shocked.
I sincerely hope that Paul will now find the peace he had been longing for in this life. He was a troubled soul, and I will always keep him in my heart. Please find following the last interview with PAUL DI'ANNO.