‘An Incredible Story to Tell’: Filmmaker Wes Orshoski Talks Paul Di’Anno Documentary
Categoria: Musica
Billboard caught up with the director to discuss his new feature-length doc, Di’Anno – Iron Maiden’s Lost Singer.
Por Billboard | 22/05/2026
As a rock ‘n’ roll frontman, Paul Di’Anno left no stone unturned. However, after his passing in 2024, at the age of 66, the original Iron Maiden singer is surely one of the great “what ifs” in the heavier end of music. Di’Anno’s life, career and brutal health battles are the subject of a new feature-length documentary, Di’Anno – Iron Maiden’s Lost Singer , the work of filmmaker Wes Orshoski ( Lemmy, The Damned: Don’t You Wish That We Were Dead ). The film screens in North American cinemas from June 9, through Cleopatra Entertainment , and features appearances by James Hetfield (Metallica), Gene Simmons (Kiss) Maiden’s Steve Harris and members of Exodus, Slayer, Megadeth, Overkill and Sepultura. In it, Orshoski unearths footage of Di’Anno in his pomp, a pioneer who bent metal into punk and led from the front on the first two Maiden album. Poor lifestyle choices led to poor health, and Di’Anno’s final years, as we observe in the film, are anything but a heavy metal miracle. By the mid-2010s, Di’Anno was wheelchair-bound due to crippling knee injuries, a grim situation that contributed to anxiety and depression, all of which the late rocker discusses in the film. Still, his voice remained mighty when his body failed him, and Di’Anno was always planning, hoping to hit the road again. In one touching moment, caught on film, Di’Anno learned that his old Maiden bandmates would step in to cover his extensive medical bills. “My film largely centers on their efforts to help Paul get back on his feet, professionally, emotionally and literally,” explains Orshoski. Through the extensive process, the setbacks, and the hope, “I grew a lot from working with Paul,” he admits. Di’Anno was the frontman with Maiden from 1978 to 1981, leading from the front for the British band’s self-titled album from 1980 and its followup from 1981, Killers. He split with the group before their 1982 commercial breakthrough with The Number of the Beast , which introduced new vocalist Bruce Dickinson, the band’s frontman to this day. “Those first two albums are so special to me,” says Metallica’s Hetfield at the top of the doc. “Paul had kinda like the ultimate metal voice for me.” In his post-Maiden career, Di’Anno worked recorded and toured as a solo artist and as a member of such groups as Gogmagog, Di’Anno’s Battlezone, Killers, Rockfellas, and Warhorse. Billboard caught up with Orshoski to discuss the film, almost 10 years in the making. And, of course, its tragic subject. Billboard: It feels like the planets aligned this year for Iron Maiden, with Rock Hall induction, the band doing some of their biggest shows, and two documentaries. How did your film come about? Wes Orshoski: I’m thrilled to see Maiden voted in this year. I grew up in the Cleveland area and the Rock Hall means a lot to me. There are a lot of acts that have been criminally ignored, like INXS, the Smiths and Joy Division, but Maiden to me is the biggest wrong that