Original Iron Maiden Vocalist Paul Mario Day Has Passed Away Aged 69

Paul Mario Day, the original vocalist of Iron Maiden and new wave band More, has passed away aged 69.

Paul Mario Day, the original lead singer of Iron Maiden and new wave band More, has passed away at the age of 69.

The late singer’s passing was announced by Andy Scott, guitarist for glam rock band Sweet:

“Paul Mario Day RIP. In 1985, Mick Tucker and myself put together the first new line-up of Sweet after the hiatus of the original band. 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.”

“PMD was the original singer with Iron Maiden and had a stint with the band More before joining Sweet. He passed away peacefully at his home in Australia. My deepest condolences to his wife Cecily and family and friends. A sad day for all Sweet fans.”

Day joined Iron Maiden in 1975; however, his stint was short-lived, and he was fired from the band only a year later due to a lack of stage presence. Day recalled the incident in an interview with Blabbermouth, sharing,

“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 warnings 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.”

After his time in Iron Maiden, Day went on to form the band More, recording two albums with the group.

The band also shared a statement on Facebook, paying tribute to its founding member:

“We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of the great MORE vocalist Paul Mario Day. 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. … 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!”

If you want to see what Day would have been like in Maiden, check out this video of him singing ‘Wrathchild’ at the band’s birthplace.