PAUL DI'ANNO On His Time With IRON MAIDEN: 'I Didn't Get To Write As Much As I Wanted To'

Metal Thunder Radio recently conducted an interview with former IRON MAIDEN singer Paul Di'Anno. You can now listen to the 45-minute chat in the YouTube clip below.

Speaking about his time with IRON MAIDEN, Di'Anno said: "[IRON MAIDEN bassist and main songwriter] Steve [Harris] had most of the words and the lyrics [to the band's first album] all written. That was some of the bones of contention that we had in the band — that I didn't get to write as much as I wanted to. 'Cause I am actually quite a prolific writer, but a lot of my songs were not accepted. 'Cause it's Steve's band, obviously."

He continued: "That first album was a revelation, I've gotta tell you. It was amazing. And the second album, for me, not so much. That's when I started to lose interest a little bit. But [we] still [had] great times — really great times."

Di'Anno added: "I could have died twenty years ago and said I've had the greatest life ever. But it's just getting better and better."

Di'Anno is scheduled to undergo knee surgery in June. He said in a recent interview: "I should have done this seven years ago. And now all the ligament is gone and all it basically is is bone rubbing against bone. And, oh my God, it's so painful some days, it's unbelievable. And through my mother, I caught osteoporosis [a progressive bone disease in which the bone density reduces over years] as well. When you get to a certain age. And [I can't be] buggered with that. [I'm like], sod this; I can't be dealing with it. So [fixing] the knee will make it a lot better."

In addition to Paul, ARCHITECTS OF CHAOZ features members of Di'Anno's longtime German touring backing group THE PHANTOMZ. The band's debut album, " The League Of Shadows", is tentatively due at the end of May. Songtitles set to appear on the CD include "Apache Falls", "When Murder Comes To Town", "Je Suis Charlie", "AOC" and "Switched Off".

Paul Di'Anno's April 9, 2014 performance at Lizard Club in Krakow, Poland as part of the Doładowanie festival was professionally filmed for a DVD, "The Beast Arises", which was released on October 6, 2014 in Europe through Metal Mind Productions and October 7, 2014 in North America via MVD. "The Beast Arises" was also made available on CD, digital and vinyl.

Di'Anno recorded two classic albums with IRON MAIDEN before being fired and replaced by Bruce Dickinson. He went on to front a number of other bands, including KILLERS and BATTLEZONE, and released several solo records.