I was so excited when I first heard that filmmaker Wes Orshoski was planning a documentary about the late singer Paul Di’Anno (born Paul Andrews), best known for his work on the first 2 Iron Maiden studio albums “Iron Maiden” and “Killers” and the live EP “Maiden Japan”. I had practically memorised two of Wes's previous docs - Lemmy (2010) and The Damned- Don’t You Wish That We Were Dead (2015). I knew that his camera didn’t sugarcoat things. He got the raw, sometimes ugly, painful side of his subjects. “Get that bloody camera out of my face!” should be his tagline.
If anyone was going to tackle the unenviable task of chronicling what would ultimately become the final chapter of Paul Di'Anno 's life, Wes Orshoski was the right filmmaker for the job.
The movie starts off with a montage of those ubiquitous “reaction videos" that are all over youtube, “Non-metal fan’s first time hearing….” Thankfully these don’t appear elsewhere in the film.
Wes interviews die-hard Maiden fans outside of a show - most of them seem genuinely at a loss when talking about Paul - most don’t even know what he’s up to at the time they’re being interviewed (by contrast, Iron Maiden themselves are playing what is presumably a huge outdoor arena holding tens of thousands of people)
Kastro Pergjoni and Stjepan Juras, two die hard Maiden fans crowdsource money for his medical bills and help facilitate his arrival to Croatia where he will get the help he needs. That's where the bulk of the film takes place.
A lot of reviews online say this is a beautiful story about redemption. How Paul has such a "spirit" and he "perseveres" and he makes a “triumphant return to the stage” Yes , he does receive the medical treatment he needed - in a very graphic sequence (which viewers were warned about before the film even starts) Yes he does return to the stage. And belts out the old Maiden numbers that were part of his DNA for over 40 years.
But this is my take.
Iron Maiden were *my* band. Those first 2 albums with Paul Di’anno - I will stand on top of the Empire State building and defend those albums with my last breath. But time marches on. It never really felt as though Paul fully came to terms with leaving Maiden. He didn’t have the “revenge” band like Mustaine did when he was unceremoniously fired from Metallica. He didn’t even have a modest solo career in parallel to Maiden’s meteoric rise to the top after “The Number of the Beast". Paul just kind of flapped around like a fish in a bathtub that was slowly draining out of water.
And Paul did put out some good music after Maiden. I had Battlezone’s “Children of Madness" on vinyl when it came out - it was a solid melodic heavy metal release. But it wasn’t the galloping twin guitar /operatic vocals that Maiden were releasing in the mid-80’s and selling out arenas with. It was a conscious effort to steer far away from that sound. Maybe it was a misstep? Hindsight is a crazy thing.
Even his work with Killers - when he went back into the heavy twin guitar style sound that put his name on the heavy metal map - the music was solid - but the world had already moved on.
But back to the movie - there are several scenes that cut to Paul looking at the camera - just - lonely - talking about his depression. Pleading with the viewer that if they ever felt that way to please seek help = it’s the worst feeling in the world. That was heart-wrenching to see. To see someone who could have had the world at his feet - who threw it all away because the “rock and roll lifestyle” was just too damn appealing…It's heartbreaking.
I’m not going to give too much more of the movie away - by the time this review is published it should be available on most streaming services (I purchased it on Amazon Prime)
It’s definitely worth a watch. I didn’t feel like he was “vindicated” at the end. I just felt hollow. And very, very sad. It’s depressing to me when musicians let the fire go out and become relics of their former selves.
-Rys
*Paul Di’anno wheelchair Photo: Robert Sutton/MetalTalk
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