Ex-IRON MAIDEN Singer DI'ANNO Calls BLAZE BAILEY A 'Prick', Defends His Views On Religion

Pål Johansen of the IRON MAIDEN fan site MaidenNorway.com conducted an interview with former MAIDEN singer Paul Di'Anno on Wednesday, April 26, several hours before the vocalist's performance at Madam Felle in Bergen, Norway. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

MaidenNorway.com: Yeah you did a concert with Blaze Bailey once, didn't you?

Di'Anno: That fuck. He came up to do one song and he couldn't remember the words! He's a prick, he's another prick, my God!"

MaidenNorway.com: What song was it?

Di'Anno: "'Running Free'! [looks stunned] How hard is that? I mean I fucking wrote the song. How hard is that? I'm no fucking musical genius. They went on about three o'clock in the afternoon, in Istanbul. We went on around about ten o'clock at night, and we said, 'Yeah, come on up and do a song.' Because they asked us all day long, 'Can we do a song, can we do a song?' 'Yeah, yeah.' And then, fucking assholes, about... I don't know, sometime in the morning after asking us over and over and over, they said, 'Naah, we don't know this now because Blaze might be too busy, he's got so many interviews.' At the hotel, everybody was doing interviews, yeah? And he sat there, he was sitting in this corner and no one was talking to him. We'd done fucking hundreds of interviews that day from Israeli TV, Syria, everywhere, we'd done everything. And he's sitting there — doing nothing. So I'm like, 'Why are you being a fucking superstar, you know?' And when he came up on stage, all he could do was this [makes hand gestures and laughs]. Aaah the prick! No, no, I couldn't be dealing with that, and I was really upset because my band was, 'Oh what is up with that?' [shakes head] I don't wanna know. Naaah, never mind."

MaidenNorway.com: A couple of days ago, or maybe a week ago, there was an interview with you done by Egypt Today.

Di'Anno: "[Breaks in]: Oh, in Egypt? Because I said [mumbles]. I said; if I was gonna follow a religion, I wouldn't be like the city fuckers in England or, you know, here, who goes to church once a week. If you're gonna do something for God, then you do it properly, yeah? Like the Muslims and the Jews, five times a day of praying. That's all I said, no more. But then of course, everybody — I've got 666 on the fucking back of my head, what the fuck do you want, man?"

MaidenNorway.com: It didn't really make sense, did it?

Di'Anno: "No, it's what I say, yeah? All I said is: If you are going to be religious, you should be a commited person — you know? Five times a day praying — oh, fuck that, man. I'm... not for me. I think religion kills everybody. I don't believe in it. I admire the people who do this kind of thing, I don't have that love of a god, I mean, I don't believe in God. No, my father was a Muslim, I must admit. But I don't give a fuck. What it is, is what I said. It's a commitment thing, you know. I should've said I would be like the Jews. You know. So I could've been Jewish as well. [laughs] Suppose next time if I say I came from Mars, they'll believe that as well! In that interview, that guy is a fucking dick! Because I was talking about my best friend, Attila, and they said he's dead? He's not! I said it was his dad. His dad died. So, the proceeds from the book, it goes to cancer charity, right?"

MaidenNorway.com: Yeah, he's the keyboardist from BATTLEZONE, right?

Di'Anno: "Yeah, that's right, yeah. He's my best friend, and he's not dead. His dad's been and Lea, my manager told me, and I went to see my friend and we went out on Tuesday. And I went, 'You're looking really well for a dead person.' He goes, 'Thank you, hahaha.' [Laughs] And we're both riders you know, we both got Harleys and so we would go out together and stuff. Naah, that fucking pissed me off, that did. I want him to retract that."

MaidenNorway.com: After this interview, a Norwegian radio show referred to you as a sell-out. What would you like to tell them?

Di'Anno: "A sell-out? For what?"

MaidenNorway.com: We don't really know, they obviously read the interview, and then, concluded that "Okay, Paul Di'Anno sold out." But why, they didn't say.

Di'Anno: What the hell did I sell out to?

MaidenNorway.com: Haven't the faintest idea. What would you like to tell them?

Di'Anno: "Get your fucking facts together, you motherfuckers. You got a problem, come and see me. Unless you're too scared. [Laughs]. Be afraid. I mean, as I said, all I said was if you're going to be committed to a god, then fucking do it right. Don't just go to a church on every Sunday because it makes you feel good. Which is bullshit, because it makes you feel good. And you're not really worshipping God. You know, something like the Jewish people, they'd do five times a day, they'd be willing to do five times a day, that's commitment. That's all I said. Apart from that, I think it's a damn shame religion kills more fucking people than, you know, hunger and disasters. Yeah, it's terrible. Millions of people are dying in the name of God that's why I don't believe in it. I find it very hard. But if I did, you know, I'd be committed like that, you know. I don't do things one way or the other. It's either got to be full or not."

Read the entire interview at MaidenNorway.com.