Book Review (Paul Di'anno ex of Iron Maiden)

Just finished reading the autobiography by Paul Di'anno called "The Beast". To those who don't know who Paul Di'anno is, he was the lead singer in Iron Maiden between 1978-1981 and sang on their first two records Iron Maiden and Killers. He later went onto front his own bands Battlezone, Killers and his own solo project.

The only thing I can say about Paul Di'anno after reading this book is no wonder he was kicked out of Iron Maiden, or left the band, so he says. This man is a fuckin' douche bag in every way. Now I would never say this to the man's face, the guy is a psycho, but hiding behind my monitor and keyboards, I will say it again, Loser.

The book starts off with his days in Maiden, slugging it out in the clubs like all bands do, but then eventually getting some recognition and money. Once the money started to roll in he went off on the drugs and drink. Mainly cocaine and Jack Daniels, nice mix. The man couldn't get along with anyone in the band, therefore told to get the hell out.

Once he started his own projects, things only got worse. The book is full of drunken, drugged out stories of being on the road and wreaking havoc. From fighting with his own bands members (kicking the teeth out of his own guitarist) fights with his own fans, managers, and then worse of all women in his life, beating his wife so bad that he eventually did jail time for it. The man is a whack job. No wonder he has been married six times. For some reason women were attracted to him, probably because of all his bullshit stories. I think he is schizophrenic and the coke and alcohol surely don't help matters. I will give him this, he is brutally honest in the book, telling stories of his fights with women and such. Not something to be proud of that's for sure. But he tells it like it is, and says himself he is terribly embarrassed about it. Still doesn't excuse himself for being such a douche bag. How Paul Di'anno is still alive is beyond me, but he is, and is still out playing shows, mostly overseas as he is banned from the USA.

I didn't know a whole lot about Paul before this book other then him being in Iron Maiden at the beginning. He sure takes the shine off himself in this tell all book.