Former IRON MAIDEN singer Paul Di’Anno is teaming up with French singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Stéphane Honde (HOLLYWOOD MONSTERS, THE STARS) to record cover version of the David Bowie song “Heroes” to benefit victims of the November 13 Paris terrorist attacks.
“I left it up to Steph to get the rest of the band together, but we’ve got a couple of the usual old suspects, like Rudy Sarzo [ex-QUIET RIOT, OZZY OSBOURNE and DIO bassist], ” Di’Anno said during a new interview with Canada’s The Metal Voice. “Apparently, we’ve got Simon Kirke [drums] coming in as well, from FREE.
“It’s just a few of us quite well-known musicians. It’s more of a private thing, I think, more for me and Stéphane, more than anything, ‘cause we are European.
“So we wanna try to get this thing out. And you can download it and pay for it, and the money goes to a charity thing.”
Di’Anno added that the part of what made the Paris attacks so shocking and hit so close to home was the fact that the greatest number of deaths took place at an EAGLES OF DEATH METAL concert, or a rock concert in general.
“It’s quite scary at the moment, especially now that musicians are being targeted as well,” he said. “It’s a bit scary.
“Poor old France, it’s been getting the shit kicked out of it recently.”
Di’Anno’s band ARCHITECTS OF CHAOZ earlier in the year recorded the song “Je Suis Charlie” as a tribute to the victims of the attack in January on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.
ARCHITECTS OF CHAOZ, which features Paul alongside members of Di’Anno’s longtime German touring backing group THE PHANTOMZ, released its debut album, “The League Of Shadows”, in North America on July 24 via Metalville Records.
Joining Di’Anno in ARCHITECTS OF CHAOZ are Joey Siedl (guitar), Andreas Ballnus (guitar), Christoph Lücker (bass) and Dominik Fox (drums).
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Martin Buckwalter (DESTRUCTION, PERZONAL WAR, SUIDAKRA), the songs on “The League Of Shadows” follow the tradition of classic New Wave Of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM), including influences of modern power metal.
Di’Anno recorded two classic albums with IRON MAIDEN before being fired and replaced by Bruce Dickinson. He went on to front a number of other bands, including KILLERS and BATTLEZONE, and released several solo records.
Source: Blabbermouth
