A lot of water has passed under the bridge since Paul Di’Anno and Iron Maiden first arose, primal heroes of the so-apocalyptic first wave of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal.
But anyone who was there at the time is sure to remember the day they brought home the band’s self titled first album, dropped the needle onto the vinyl (there were no CDs back then, remember), and “Prowler” leaped out of the opening grooves – a wall of destruction that knew no boundaries, musically or lyrically…
You see me crawling through the bushes
With it open wide
What you seeing, girl?
Ah, people don’t write songs like that, anymore, and maybe Paul Di’Anno was aware of that as he put together the set list for his comeback tour in 2022. Just like it did on Iron Maiden, “The Prowler” opened the show, and if it was a disturbing listen in 1980, it was positively shattering 42 years on.
The second single from the live concert that accompanies the release of Wes Orshoski’s already much-acclaimed Di’Anno: Iron Maiden’s Lost Singer documentary, “The Prowler” proves from the outset that Di’Anno’s body may have been through the wringer, but his vocals, and his presence are untouched by time.
Stream/download the single here, and listen below:
Like the movie, the CD Iron Maiden’s Lost Singer serves up a strikingly raw and intimate show, a testament not only to Di’Anno’s refusal to allow his long-term health problems and disabilities (he had been confined to a wheelchair since the mid-2010s) to hold him back, but also to the sheer devotion with which his fans still regarded him.
Indeed, the fans are as much a part of the movie as Di’Anno, as it tells how two loyal supporters, having encountered Di’Anno at the lowest point of his life, set out to restore his health and relaunch his career. It was their crowdfunding campaign that led to Di’Anno relocating to Croatia, where – through the help of those fans and doctors – he made a massive turnaround, climaxing in a heroic and drama-filled return to the stage. All of this is captured in Di’Anno: Iron Maiden’s Lost Singer, which Orshoski began shooting in 2017.
“For years there wasn’t much to capture,” says Orshoski, whose credits include Lemmy, a study of the Motörhead frontman, and The Damned: Don’t You Wish That We Were Dead. “Paul was waiting for surgeries that doctors in the U.K. would not green-light. He was in an incredibly dark place. But once he got to Croatia, fans and doctors gave him the hope he was desperately searching for. It was beautiful to witness. I wanted to make a film that was unlike any rock doc you’ve ever seen. And in the end, I think we got there.”
One of icons of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal scene of the late 1970s and early 1980s, London-born Di’Anno helped launch Iron Maiden around the world, appearing on two of the most foundational metal albums ever released: Iron Maiden’s 1980 self-titled debut and the celebrated follow-up, Killers, released in 1981. In one of the most epic sagas in metal history, Di’Anno left Maiden in 1981 and was replaced by Bruce Dickinson, leaving metal fans around the world to debate which line-up and which singer was/is better. It’s a debate that continues to this day, almost 50 years later.
Orshoski finished work on the film (which was shot in England, Croatia, Brazil and the United States) shortly before Di’Anno’s death at 66 in October 2023. Di’Anno: Iron Maiden’s Lost Singer has been screening at European film festivals.
The film will see its North American Theatrical Premier for public audiences at the Lumiere Music Hall Theater, 9036 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90211 on June 9 at 7 PM, which is also the official North American release date for both the digital VOD and Home Entertainment DVD/Blu Ray formats
Order CD/DVD/BR here, and the digital album here.




CD+DVD tracklisting:
Disc 1:
“Prowler”
“Murders In The Rue Morgue”
“The Beast”
“Children Of Madness”
“Remember Tomorrow”
“Genghis Khan”
“Overloaded”
“Killers”
“Phantom Of The Opera”
“Holidays In The Sun”
“Sanctuary”
“Wrathchild”
DVD:
Di’Anno: Iron Maiden’s Lost Singer
Watch the Di’Anno: Iron Maiden’s Lost Singer film trailer below:
“Prophets Of Addiction is a modern day Hanoi Rocks meets The 69 Eyes with plenty of Pop hooks and Whisky drenched vocals.” – Metal Sludge.
Listen at https://smarturl.it/prophetsofaddiction