Paul Di’Anno, the former frontman of IRON MAIDEN, kicked off his Australian tour on January 16, 2024, at the Amplifier Bar in Perth. However, the show was far from a success, as Gareth Williams of Wall Of Sound described it as “the world’s slowest heavy metal car crash”
According to Williams, Paul, who has been using a wheelchair for the past few years due to knee surgery, interrupted the concert during “Murders In The Rue Morgue” to express dissatisfaction with his drummer and voice concerns about not being able to hear himself. Di’Anno complained about various issues, including jetlag, fatigue, weather, sound quality, and his microphone, between almost every song.
One valid request was for a cordless microphone to prevent entanglement with his wheelchair, but the reviewer noted that addressing such concerns mid-show might not have been the best timing. The wheelchair itself also became the target of Di’Anno‘s frustration, as he described it as “uncomfortable.” In a somewhat childlike gesture, Di’Anno pulled a cushion from beneath him and tossed it onto the stage, reminiscent of a toddler throwing a toy from a highchair.
Williams wrote in a part:
“Di’Anno‘s favorite word contains four letters and begins with C — and just about everyone was in the firing line. The bloke at the sound desk was one, multiple punters literally begging him to keep playing — all shared the same word. One punter got told to call a cab or he was going home in an ambulance. It would almost have been funny if it wasn’t so sad. I wanted to follow the lead of a few others and just walk out, but morbid curiosity got the better of me and I stayed until the bitter end. Di’Anno was on a bizarre journey. Like the stages of grief, we saw the denial of it being anyone’s fault but his own. Next was expletive-ridden anger directed at a female punter near the front being told to ‘shut the f^%k up’ and to either stop drinking, or drink more. It was hard to tell in his rambling rant. The bargaining started with a few songs from the end of the show, and although the sound guy was still a C — now came contrition, apologies, and the promise of a free show for when/if he returns. Depression is what we were all feeling and Di’Anno looked like a defeated man.”
