Paul Mario Day

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Paul Mario Day
b/w portrait of caucasian male with big hair, early 20s
Day in 1976
Background information
Birth namePaul Mario Day
Born(1956-04-19)19 April 1956
Whitechapel, London, England
Died29 July 2025(2025-07-29) (aged 69)
Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
GenresHeavy metal, progressive rock, hard rock, glam rock
OccupationMusician
Years active1975–2025
Formerly ofIron Maiden, More, Sweet, Wildfire, Crimzon Lake, Defaced

Paul Mario Day (19 April 1956 – 29 July 2025) was an English singer who was the original lead vocalist of heavy metal band Iron Maiden from 1975 to 1976 and More from 1980 to 1981.[1]

Iron Maiden

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Day was the first lead singer for Iron Maiden, from December 1975 to October 1976. On the Iron Maiden The Early Days DVD it was mentioned that Day was fired because he did not have enough stage charisma. He was replaced by Dennis Wilcock.[1] Years later he claimed co-authorship of the Iron Maiden song "Strange World".[2]

Career after Iron Maiden

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Day later formed a band called More that played at the Donington Monsters of Rock Festival in 1981,[3] and also included onetime Iron Maiden guitarist Paul Todd (who was in Iron Maiden for two days and never recorded or played live and only did a photo session with them)[4] and Def Leppard drummer Frank Noone in the line-up.[5] He was lead singer of Wildfire from 1983 to 1984. In 1985, Sweet were re-formed by Andy Scott and Mick Tucker, then featuring Paul Day. He recorded a live album at the Marquee Club in London as lead singer of Sweet in 1986.[6] After this engagement he lived in Australia beginning in 1986 and was the lead vocalist of two bands from Newcastle, New South Wales. He performed covers of rock songs with the band Defaced and sang and wrote for Crimzon Lake, now disbanded, an unsigned hard rock band.[7] He appeared on the Australian progressive metal band Buffalo Crows' album Bovonic Empire as a guest musician.[8]

In 2019, the original 1975 Iron Maiden line-up by Steve Harris held a reunion concert in London with Day on vocals, and Dave Sullivan and Terry Rance on guitar. Original drummer Ron Matthews was absent.[9]

Death

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Day died from cancer on 29 July 2025, at the age of 69.[10][11]

Discography

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More

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Atlantic:[12]

  • Warhead, 1981
  • Fire, (Single) 1981
  • We Are The Band, 1981

Wildfire

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Mausoleum Records:[13]

  • Brute Force And Ignorance, 1983
  • Summer Lightning, 1983
  • Jerusalem (7", Single), 1984
  • Nothing Lasts Forever (7"), 1984

Sweet

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  • Live at the Marquee[14]

Crimson Lake

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  • Crimzon Lake (CD, EP), Not On Label (Crimzon Lake), 2011[15]

Buffalo Crows

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  • Buffalo Crows (with Paul Mario Day) – Defenders, LP 'Bovonic Empires'[16]

Compilation

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  • Brute Force & Ignorance + Summer Lightning (2xCD, Comp), Golden Core, 2020[13]
  • Guilty; Various – Cart & Horses The Birthplace Of Iron Maiden – Wasted Year 2020 (CD, Comp); Not on Label; 2021[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b Wall, Mick, Iron Maiden: Run to the Hills, the Authorised Biography, 2004 (3rd edition), Sanctuary Publishing
  2. ^ "Original IRON MAIDEN Singer PAUL MARIO DAY Says Dispute Over 'Strange World' Song Is 'Finished With'". Blabbermouth.net. 27 January 2019. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  3. ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Biography: More". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  4. ^ "Paul Todd". Encyclopedia Metallum: The Metal Archives. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  5. ^ Goldby, Steve. "Outside Iron Maiden: A Book By Erwin Lucas". Metaltalk.net. Archived from the original on 10 August 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  6. ^ "Year by year | The Ultimate Sweet Site". Sweet.thesweetweb.com. 23 December 2018. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Paul Mario Day, 2021". Discogs. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  8. ^ "MetalRulz in conversation with Richard Crowfoot (Lead Vocals, Guitar) of Buffalo Crows". Metal Rulz. 3 December 2016. Archived from the original on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  9. ^ "IRON MAIDEN - Orginalbesetzung traf sich nach 42 Jahren in London". Swiss Attack. 1 April 2019. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  10. ^ Greg Kennelty (29 July 2025). "Original IRON MAIDEN Vocalist PAUL MARIO DAY Dead At 69". Metal Injection. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  11. ^ "Iron Maiden's Original Frontman Dead at 69 After Heartbreaking Health Battle". Parade.com. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  12. ^ "More (4)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  13. ^ a b "Wildfire (3)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  14. ^ "Sweet – Live at the Marquee, London – 1986 – Full Concert (OFFICIAL)". 18 September 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2023 – via YouTube.
  15. ^ "Crimzon Lake". Discogs.com. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  16. ^ "Buffalo Crows (with Paul Mario Day) – Defenders". 14 January 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2023 – via YouTube.
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