PAUL DI'ANNO: 'Anyone Who Slags Off On IRON MAIDEN, I'll Punch Them Out'

Rob Cavuoto of Guitar International recently conducted an interview with former IRON MAIDEN singer Paul Di'Anno. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Guitar International: When Bruce [Dickinson] left MAIDEN in 1993, were you a candidate to replace him?

Paul Di'Anno: Not in a million years. I would've done it for three or four million dollars, with half going to UNICEF and half going to another charity. I don't need the money. I make quite enough off my own records and the MAIDEN records. It's never been about the money, it's been about playing. Thanks to the fans, my children have gone off to college, I owe them everything. Thanks for supporting my drug habit, taking care of my ex-wives [Laughs], my custom Harleys and my five clubs in Brazil.

Guitar International: Were you involved in the writing of "The Number Of The Beast"?

Paul Di'Anno: I was, there is a very rare demo going around of me signing "Run To The Hills" and "Hallowed Be Thy Name". I laid one of them down in Toronto but by then, I had lost all interest.

Guitar International: Do you talk to any other members of MAIDEN?

Paul Di'Anno: Yeah, the problem is that we all live in other countries. When they came to Brazil, Stevie [Harris] and Bruce were looking for me but I was out touring. It may happen where I join them on stage someday. That's another bad press thing that says we all hate each other; it's not true. I love Steve and Dave [Murray]. Me, Steve, Dave and Clive [Burr] were like a gang and always in trouble. Anyone who slags off on MAIDEN, I'll punch them out. I quit the band because of all the ethics and politics. We all need to make money, but there's making money and exploitation of money. That my only quip that I have about MAIDEN. I'm proud to be an ex-member of IRON MAIDEN.

Guitar International: Your book "The Beast" paints you as a pretty dark and angry guy.

Paul Di'Anno: That book is bullshit! It's an old chapter in my life when I was a lunatic. I didn't want to do the book for years and only agreed to do it to close that chapter on my life and because all the proceeds would go to a cancer charity. I had a ghost writer who tried to make it sound like it was me talking and I gave him a little too much artistic license. He took things a bit too far.

Read the entire interview from Guitar International.

Fan-filmed video footage of Paul Di'Anno's December 21, 2010 performance at the B.B. King Blues Club & Grill in New York City can be viewed below.