A Documentary About Paul Di’Anno is Set to Be Released Next Year
The news yesterday of the death of former Iron Maiden vocalist Paul Di’Anno at the far too young age of 66 has been a gut punch for metal fans around the world. While Iron Maiden spent much more time working with vocalist Bruce Dickinson, Di’Anno’s contribution to those first two Maiden records made him a beloved figure amongst many metalheads. Filmmaker Wes Orshoski is looking to pay tribute to that legacy with a documentary on the recently deceased vocalist that Orshoski has been working on for a number of years.
Orshoski is a filmmaker known primarily for his music documentaries, particularly his 2010 film Lemmy which, as you probably guessed, is about Lemmy Kilmister, as well as his 2015 documentary The Damned: Don’t You Wish That We Were Dead about British punk pioneers The Damned. Shortly after the news broke yesterday about Di’Anno’s death, Orshoski took to Instagram to offer his tribute to the metal legend and offer an update about his upcoming Di’Anno documentary:
“R.I.P. Paul. Just learned that Paul Di’Anno has passed. Don’t have many details yet. Very sad day. As many know, I’ve been working on a documentary about Paul for the past several years, as he has been fighting to get back on his feet — literally, emotionally and professionally. It’s obviously quite sad that it has ended this way. I’m very thankful for the experiences and opportunities I had with Paul, and because of Paul. And I learned a lot from him. The film will be out next year, and details will be forthcoming — the hope is for it to debut at film festivals in early 2025. I’m very excited for the Maiden faithful to see it. Once it is released you will see just how tough his life has been over the past decade and how hard he fought to change it. Maybe he’s finally found some peace. Say hi to Clive for us, legend!!!”
The documentary sounds like it certainly has the potential to be very powerful if done well, so it will be interesting to see it when it’s released. Hopefully it serves as an appropriate tribute to a metal icon like Paul Di’Anno.
