And then Paul got sacked.
Now while it may have been controversial decision with some fans at the time, all of this turned around pretty quickly. The recruitment of Samson lead vocalist Bruce Dickinson then brought forth the new album “The Number of the Beast” ... and, well, you all know the story from that point on. Iron Maiden went forth and conquered and continued to do so pretty much to the present day.
For Di’Anno himself however, he now found himself an icon without a gig. His addictions, homesickness and lack of care for his primary asset, his voice, had all contributed to losing his paid gig, and now he needed to find a way to get himself back on his own two feet.
From this position so far away from those days themselves, it seems incomprehensible that Paul Di’Anno, who had been the popular and enigmatic lead singer of the biggest band of the NWoBHM era, could possibly be out of work for very long. No matter what the reasons for his dismissal had been, here was a frontman that any band out there must have been considering as a perfect fit for their sound. Or, on the other hand, if Paul himself decided that he wanted to build a band himself, surely there had to be musicians and record companies falling over themselves to become involved with him. It seems impossible to think that he could be away from the music scene for very long.
As it turns out, though it did take some time, this did indeed come to pass. Paul had come to frequent the gigs of a band called Minas Tirith, a band who had recorded several demos without much success. Eventually Paul had a discussion with guitarist Lee Slater, keyboardist Mark Venables and bass guitarist Kevin Browne and convinced them that they should work together on a new project to be called Lonewolf. Along the way the band recruited P.J Ward as a second guitarist from the band Bastille and Dave Irving on drums to complete the group. Then there was a dispute with another band that also went by the name Lone Wolf (though with a space between the two words), which brought on the change of name simply to Di’Anno - which, surely in hindsight, was the best way to publicise the new band to fans of his previous work.
All of this led to the writing and recording of the debut studio album, the release of which would be measured purely by the success it could achieve.
On a recent podcast episode for Adrian Smith’s solo project album “Silver and Gold”, I mentioned the same thing I am going to say here – if you are looking for an Iron Maiden album, you have come to the wrong place. This is not quite as far away as you could imagine an album to be from what you may have expected, but it is pretty damned close. When the album starts, and it jumps straight into a synth keyboard strut, those worst fears appear realised within seconds. What follows is confirmation of everything that it could be. Pure 1980's vanilla, those three and four way harmony backing vocals, for the most part drowned in synthesizer, with the guitars almost taken out of the plot, given only an occasional solo break to make themselves be known, which for the most part are used rather lamely. It is an interesting experience, in a similar way to that Adrian Smith album, in that this band has a twin-guitar attack, but it is the keyboard and synth that is the most prominent factor in the music mix. Then we have Paul's vocals themselves. They are fine. They are strong. But there is no effort to push themselves either. He mostly stays within a very comfortable range without any expectation of extending himself in the way he had in the past. His vocals at the very beginning of "Tales of the Unexpected" just aren't his at all, or at least they are not in the style that fans had become accustomed to. Paul reaches out, and tries to emote in a way that will be attractive to the audience that this album is obviously striving for, the harmless middle-aged people who like to sit and listen to their stereo at a low volume from the comfort of their armchairs. Because this is what it is. It isn't elevator music, it is comfort music, like those American AOR bands such as Foreigner and Chicago. There is no aggression, nor is there anything containing unsubtle hints of innuendo. It is the calm and relaxing conversation on the phone between people rugged up in front of the fireplace.
So get ready for a collection of tracks that are as surprising as you could imagine. “Flaming Heart” that has a synth solo at its heart rather than a guitar driven background, and Paul’s vocals with a melody of backing vocals around him. “Heartuser” is an unapologetic rock ballad while “Here to Stay” could have been written and performed by any of the AOR bands of the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, so formula-driven is the concept. Two soft rock ballads in a row! That’s pretty tough to take.
“The Runner” runs for three minutes with the same repetitive riff and synth combination that it feels like you are pulling teeth by the end. And then what I guess was written to be the mid-album epic of “Tales of the Unexpected” jars the remaining strength from your body.
Side Two of the album does a little to alleviate this feeling. “Razor Age” actually has Paul pulling out a more energetic and realistic vocal performance, and the guitars come through more than they have previously to create what is at least a semblance of a hard rock track. Ditto with “Bright Lights”, with an opening guitar riff solo! Hang on, we might have something here! The synth soon returns to provide the man backing of the track, but again at least Paul’s vocals are recognisable and the guitars like their presence felt. “Lady Heartbreak” sounds like an early, average Bon Jovi song with the synth dominant. “Antigua” is more of the same. And the closing track “Road Rat” is more unoffensive clamouring of that dreaded synthesizer based product that the era wanted but ties all albums of such ilk to it for eternity.
Whether this album is a bad album or not becomes somewhat irrelevant by the fact that it sounds exactly like a thousand other bands' albums of that era (and before and since for that matter), and that for me is the sad part about it. I don't think the direction of the music on this album is as disappointing as the fact that it doesn't do ANYTHING to make it stand out from the pack. What market are they looking for here? Radio friendly rock? Because Journey is better than this, Chicago is better than this, Foreigner is better than this. New Wave? Spandau Ballet is better than this. The Human League is better than this. You know you have a problem when the best song on the album is a rather pacey version of oft-covered "Please Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood", which is a bonus track on the CD release only.
I can see a pattern as to why this occurred. By 1984 the New Wave of British Heavy Metal was over. Those bands that hadn't busted out and made something of themselves had now dissipated, or very soon would. No doubt Di'Anno was also looking for something that wouldn't associate himself with his previous band. He probably wanted to show he was versatile, that he could do more material than fast punk heavy metal. There was also a chance to try and merge into the success of a more commercial hard rock sound such that Def Leppard had begun to tap into, and the synth-driven radio friendly pop songs that were plagiarising and filling the radio airwaves. Or perhaps I'm way off the mark, and this was just the album this band wanted to record and promote. Whichever way you look at it, success wasn't what came. The album didn't chart in the top 100 anywhere, and after a tour where Di'Anno refused to play any Iron Maiden songs in the set (something that changed markedly forever not long after) they went their separate ways to other ventures.
When I first discovered this album existed, and eventually tracked down a copy so I could listen to it, I can't say that I had any idea as to what I would be walking into, nor was I prepared for what awaited me on the other side. In fact, it is safe to say that of all of the concepts I could have imagined this album being like, a throwaway sarcastic guess would most likely have been a closer response than what I discovered. And that is still the case. I even found this on vinyl second hand about a year ago for $15, and just had to buy it even though I knew what I was getting into. So for the past two weeks, I have had this out of its cover again, and filling the metal cavern with its tones. And I can tolerate it, simply because it is Paul Di’Anno. Having it on in the background while I have been either composing other podcast episodes or watching the footy with the commentary turned down, it has been quite enjoyable. But apart from that initial few weeks when this album was released, is there anything here that would inspire anyone to buy this album, or indeed just listen to it on a regular basis? 18 times over this two week period, I have played it from start to finish, trying to divine an answer to that question that isn’t ‘fuck no this is absolute shite’. My answer though continues to be “it’s not great, but it is fine”.
Di'Anno himself went back to what he was renown for, firstly for the very short run of the so-called supergroup Gogmagog alongside Clive Burr, Janick Gers, Neil Murray and Pete Willis, and then in bands like Battlezone and Killers he rediscovered his mojo to a certain degree. By doing so, he confined this album to the mothballs of history, a place where he no doubt feels comfortable with it being. As a historic remnant it is an album that is worth hearing if only to prove that Di'Anno can sing in a different register than he is generally known for. But once you have heard this, I can't say that I expect too many people to revisit it in the future.
I can see a pattern as to why this occurred. By 1984 the New Wave of British Heavy Metal was over. Those bands that hadn't busted out and made something of themselves had now dissipated, or very soon would. No doubt Di'Anno was also looking for something that wouldn't associate himself with his previous band. He probably wanted to show he was versatile, that he could do more material than fast punk heavy metal. There was also a chance to try and merge into the success of a more commercial hard rock sound such that Def Leppard had begun to tap into, and the synth-driven radio friendly pop songs that were plagiarising and filling the radio airwaves. Or perhaps I'm way off the mark, and this was just the album this band wanted to record and promote. Whichever way you look at it, success wasn't what came. The album didn't chart in the top 100 anywhere, and after a tour where Di'Anno refused to play any Iron Maiden songs in the set (something that changed markedly forever not long after) they went their separate ways to other ventures.
When I first discovered this album existed, and eventually tracked down a copy so I could listen to it, I can't say that I had any idea as to what I would be walking into, nor was I prepared for what awaited me on the other side. In fact, it is safe to say that of all of the concepts I could have imagined this album being like, a throwaway sarcastic guess would most likely have been a closer response than what I discovered. And that is still the case. I even found this on vinyl second hand about a year ago for $15, and just had to buy it even though I knew what I was getting into. So for the past two weeks, I have had this out of its cover again, and filling the metal cavern with its tones. And I can tolerate it, simply because it is Paul Di’Anno. Having it on in the background while I have been either composing other podcast episodes or watching the footy with the commentary turned down, it has been quite enjoyable. But apart from that initial few weeks when this album was released, is there anything here that would inspire anyone to buy this album, or indeed just listen to it on a regular basis? 18 times over this two week period, I have played it from start to finish, trying to divine an answer to that question that isn’t ‘fuck no this is absolute shite’. My answer though continues to be “it’s not great, but it is fine”.
Di'Anno himself went back to what he was renown for, firstly for the very short run of the so-called supergroup Gogmagog alongside Clive Burr, Janick Gers, Neil Murray and Pete Willis, and then in bands like Battlezone and Killers he rediscovered his mojo to a certain degree. By doing so, he confined this album to the mothballs of history, a place where he no doubt feels comfortable with it being. As a historic remnant it is an album that is worth hearing if only to prove that Di'Anno can sing in a different register than he is generally known for. But once you have heard this, I can't say that I expect too many people to revisit it in the future.
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