Paul Mario Day, the original singer for legendary metal band Iron Maiden, has died. He was 69. According to Parade, Day passed away at his home in Australia on Tuesday, July 29, after a battle with cancer.
Day was Iron Maiden’s first vocalist, joining the band in 1975 at the age of 19. While he never recorded with the band, Day did perform with Iron Maiden during their first-ever concert at St. Nicholas Hall in Poplar, London, on May 1, 1976. He exited the band in October 1976 and was replaced by Dennis Wilcock.
“When I sang in Iron Maiden, it was a new pub band and nobody wanted to see or hear them,” Day once said of his time in the group, via Blabbermouth. “We were all nobodies all trying to make the best music we could and fighting for an audience.” See Iron Maiden’s memorial to their late singer below:
Years later, Day would form the band More, with whom he recorded two albums: Warhead and We Are The Band. He also played with a number of other bands during his music career, such as Wildfire, Sweet, and Crimson Lake.
In a statement on Facebook, the members of More commented on Day’s passing, saying, “We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of the great More vocalist Paul Mario Day. 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,” More added.
Sweet guitarist Andy Scott also confirmed the tragic news of Day’s death, writing, “Paul Mario Day RIP … PMD was the original singer with IRON MAIDEN and had a stint with the band MORE before joining SWEET. He passed away peacefully at his home in Australia.”
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