   paul andrews (born 17 may 1958, in west ham, london), better known as paul di'anno, is an english singer best known as the first vocalist to record with the iconic band iron maiden, from 1978 to 1981. in his post-maiden career, di'anno has issued numerous albums over the years, as both a solo artist and as a member of such bands as gogmagog, di'anno's battlezone, praying mantis, killers and rockfellas. ==career== ===iron maiden (1978â81)===  di'anno grew up in chingford, england â spending his teenage years singing in various rock bands and working as a butcher and chef. he became the band's singer after the departure of the very unpredictable dennis wilcock, who had pressured iron maiden founder and bassist steve harris into firing every member of the band (including dave murray), before becoming fed up himself. according to iron maiden's the history of iron maiden â part 1: the early days dvd, he was introduced to the band by drummer doug sampson, an old friend of harris' from his days in the band 'smiler'. it was around this time that he first adopted the stage name di'anno, which he would later use to claim italian descent.{{cite web|url=http://www.kaos2000.net/interviews/pauldianno00.html |title
1958_births English_fraudsters English_heavy_metal_singers English_male_singers English_punk_rock_singers English_rock_singers Gogmagog_(band)_members Iron_Maiden_members Living_people Metal_Mind_Productions_artists People_from_Chingford Prisoners_and_detainees_of_the_United_Kingdom