Original Iron Maiden Singer Paul Di’Anno’s Cause of Death Revealed

Original Iron Maiden singer Paul Di’Anno’s cause of death has been revealed. According to a an official statement on the vocalist’s Facebook Page, the results of Di’Anno’s autopsy revealed that the 66-year-old died as a result of a tear in the sac around his heart.

“We have received permission from Paul’s family to bring you the news of Paul’s cause of death, after the results of the autopsy have been received,” read the post. “His sisters Cheryl and Michelle confirmed the following: ‘Basically he had a tear in the sac around the heart and blood has filled inside it from the main aorta artery and that has caused the heart to stop.’ Paul’s death was instantaneous and hopefully painless. May he rest in peace.”

The post also noted that an in memoriam show was held over the weekend at Underworld Camden, where a number of Di’Anno’s friends, fans, colleagues and family members came together to honor him.

Di’Anno (born Paul Andrews), died at his home in Salisbury, U.K. He served as the lead singer of the legendary British metal group from 1978-1981, lending his punk-inspired vocals to the band’s self-titled 1980 debut as well as the 1981 follow-up, Killers before longtime vocalist Bruce Dickinson took over. Maiden issued a statement honoring Di’Anno following his death, saying, “We are all deeply saddened to learn about the passing of Paul Di’Anno earlier today. Paul’s contribution to Iron Maiden was immense and helped set us on the path we have been travelling as a band for almost five decades. His pioneering presence as a frontman and vocalist, both on stage and on our first two albums, will be very fondly remembered not just by us, but by fans around the world.”

According to an Oct. 10 post on Di’Anno’s FB page, the singer was booked to perform in Edinburgh on Dec. 30 before that show was cancelled, though a string of UK dates in October and November were still slated to go on before his death.