Original Iron Maiden Singer Paul Mario Day Has Died

Paul Mario Day, original lead singer of Iron Maiden and singer of the new wave of British heavy metal band More, has died at the age of 69.

“We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of the great More vocalist Paul Mario Day,” More wrote in a Facebook statement, which you can see below. “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.”

READ MORE: Iron Maiden Albums Ranked Worst to Best

The band continued: “Mike Freeland [current More lead singer] remembers him fondly as a ‘bloody great vocalist!’ It’s an honour for us to continue to play his music and we will always think of him every time we hit the opening notes to ‘Warhead.’ We send our deepest condolences to Paul’s family and friends and also the many fans around the world who love his music. Play his music loud and sing along! Thank you.”

Paul Mario Day’s Life and Career

Born on April 19, 1956, Day became the first singer for Iron Maiden, joining the band in December 1975 at the age of 19. His tenure lasted less than a year, as Maiden kicked him out in October 1976 and replaced him with Dennis Wilcock.

Day formed More in 1980, and the band released its debut album, Warhead, in 1981. He left the band before the release of their second and final album, 1982’s Blood & Thunder.

After More, Day briefly fronted the band Wildfire from 1983 to 1984, and in 1985 he joined a reformed version of Sweet alongside guitarist Andy Scott and drummer Mick Tucker, singing on their 1986 album Live at the Marquee.

READ MORE: Five ’70s Bands That Should Have Been Bigger

Scott also paid tribute to Day via Sweet’s social media. “In 1985 Mick Tucker and myself put together the first new line-up of Sweet after the hiatus of the original band,” he recalled. “We needed a singer and when Paul arrived for the audition we looked no further. Our first dates were in Australia, total sell-outs which boded well for the future. Europe followed suit and 3 sold out nights at the Marquee in London produced a live album, video and DVD. Live at the Marquee did well in various charts around the world and Paul’s vocal performance has stood the test of time.”

Paul Mario Day Reflects on Brief Stint With Iron Maiden

Reflecting on his brief stint with Iron Maiden in 2019, Day told the Danish webzine Power of Metal (via Blabbermouth): “I never really was in a band, I just worked with guitar players in bedrooms, just sort of learning, experimenting, because I wasn’t really a singer. I just felt I could sing.”

Eventually, Day asked bassist Steve Harris, “‘I think I’m a singer. Could I join your band?’ And he went, ‘No.’ I went, ‘OK, no problem.’ I went back to work. A few days, or maybe a week or two later, Steve says, ‘I couldn’t say anything because the singer was with me of the band.’ I don’t know who it was and he says, ‘Yeah, I’m interested. Do you want to come and have a blow?’ So I did, they liked me and straight away, I was singing some of Steve’s songs. He wrote some songs before the Iron Maiden period, they were in the old band. I sang and he wanted me to stay. I seemed to fit and then we started rehearsing. Then all the songs were being written and I was singing his songs.”

Iron Maiden ultimately sacked Day due to his reported lack of stage presence. “Steve was saying, ‘You’ve got to get better. You’ve got to be more in the audience’s face. You’ve got to be commanding. You’ve got to be a hero.’ And I agreed with him, but I didn’t actually know how to make that happen,” Day recalled.

“I got warning for maybe three months: ‘Get it together. Get it together.’ And I wanted to, I just didn’t know how to do it. So the funny thing is, the worst experience was the best lesson because when I got that notice and I felt so gutted, it changed me. … As much as it hurt, as much as it upset me, I learnt a big lesson that day. I really did. I used that emotion, I guess, in my singing.”