IRON MAIDEN To Cover Remaining Cost Of PAUL DI'ANNO's Surgeries And Treatment
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Ex-IRON MAIDEN singer Paul Di'Anno, who is currently in Croatia awaiting three major surgeries on his knees, will have the remaining costs of his operations and treatment funded by his former bandmates.
Earlier today (Monday, June 20), Kastro Pergjoni, operations director of the Cart & Horses pub in Stratford, London, England where IRON MAIDEN made its live debut in 1976, who recently raised thousands of dollars so Di'Anno can undergo his long-delayed knee surgery, took to the Cart & Horses Facebook page to share the following message: "I am very excited to announce that the IRON MAIDEN team have kindly agreed to cover the remaining cost of Paul Di'Anno's operation. Not only are IRON MAIDEN the best band on this planet, they are kind-hearted and supported by an amazing team. As a result of this fantastic news, I will be closing the fundraising on the 21st June 2022."
Over the weekend, Stjepan Juras, a MAIDEN fan and author of many MAIDEN-related books, who is taking care of Paul while he has been receiving physiotherapy and lymphatic drainage treatments in Croatia, revealed on Facebook that the 64-year-old singer will undergo three operations over two days in July. The procedures will be followed by a period of hospital recovery, intensive care and rehabilitation, including re-learning of walking. If all goes well, Paul should be able to walk fully by the end of 2022. However, if the set of treatments fails, then a leg amputation will be the only option.
Last month, Di'Anno came face to face with MAIDEN bassist Steve Harris for the first time in three decades before the band's concert in Croatia.
Harris, whose group kicked off the 2022 leg of its "Legacy Of The Beast" world tour at the 22,000-capacity Arena Zagreb, came out before the show to greet a wheelchair-bound Di'Anno and chat with him for a few minutes.
After his friendly meeting with Harris, Di'Anno stuck around long enough to watch some of MAIDEN's performance before leaving near the end of the set to avoid a huge traffic jam after the show.
Di'Anno spoke about his experience meeting Harris in person after all these years in a live video chat with Canada's The Metal Voice. He said: "[That] weekend was absolutely amazing. 'Cause me and Steve [have exchanged messages] about football [in the past]. But we actually hadn't met [face to face] for a long time. And it was brilliant, because I met up with Steve's sister Linda first, whom I hadn't seen her in about 30 years. And then [seeing] Steve was amazing, and then [meeting up with MAIDEN's longtime manager] Rod [Smallwood] as well, it's made my whole year, actually. It was fantastic. It was pretty awesome."
Paul went on to say that the last time he saw Rod was in 2013 when both he and MAIDEN performed — separately — at Brazil's Rock In Rio festival.
"I missed the MAIDEN show because I got swamped by bloody press and stuff, so I couldn't actually do anything to watch the band," he explained.
Asked if it was "awkward" meeting up with Steve for the first time in 30 years, Paul said: "No. It was great. I wish I wasn't in this sort of position [being in a wheelchair]. Yeah, it was quite emotional. If it had been the first time we spoke together in 30 years, it would have been maybe a little bit more weird. But, as I said, we talk about football and stuff like that, and Steve phoned me up a couple of times from [his home in] the Bahamas."
Paul also set the record straight about where he stands with respect to his former band, saying: "What annoys me is that everyone's spreading rumors around that we don't like each other and stuff like that. I ain't got nothing [against] IRON MAIDEN at all. I tell you, the show was brilliant on Sunday — absolutely amazing."Di'Anno recorded two classic albums with IRON MAIDEN — a self-titled effort in 1980 and "Killers" in 1981 — 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.
(Source: www.blabbermouth.net)
