Three classic albums from NWOBHM stalwart and former Iron Maiden vocalist Paul Di’Anno. Includes his two mid-80s albums as Battlezone where he was joined by Tokyo Blade’s John Wiggins. Plus his later band Killers, caught live in 2000.

Paul Di’Anno’s name will probably always be inextricably linked to that of Iron Maiden, the world conquering metal band he fronted from 1978-1981, recording their first two ground-breaking albums, Iron Maiden in 1980 and Killers in 1981. After Bruce Dickinson joined at the end of 81, with Iron Maiden going onto worldwide success, Di’Anno fronted a series of bands in the early 1980s, including Lonewolf, Di’Anno and the NWOBHM super-group, Gogmagog, before forming Battlezone in 1985.

Battlezone came about when Di’Anno joined forces with Tokyo Blade’s John Wiggins plus John Hurley from Deep Machine, both on lead guitar, with the line-up completed by Peter West on bass and Bob Falck on drums. Signing to Powerstation Records, they released Fighting Back in 1986, produced with Ian Richardson.

By the time Battlezone came to record 1987’s Children Of Madness, for Raw Power, Hurley and Falck had been replaced by guitarist Graham Bath and drummer Steve Hopgood, both from Persian Risk. Making plenty of headway in the States due to some heavy touring, they even made it onto MTV with the track ‘I Don’t Wanna Know’. Unfortunately, the band were unable to capitalize on their hard work and split up shortly after.

Joining forces with Battlezone’s Graham Bath and Steve Hopgood, Paul Di’Anno’s new band, Killers, was completed by Cliff Evans on bass and Gavin Cooper on guitar, that line up is featured on CD3 recorded live at Los Angeles’ Whisky A Go Go in 2000. A real treat for Iron Maiden fans, the band revisits and embraces the songs that originally made their singer famous, with versions of ‘Wrathchild’, ‘Remember Tomorrow’, ‘Phantom Of The Opera’ and ‘Sanctuary’, alongside originals such as ‘Impaler’ and ‘Protector’, as well as T Rex’s ‘Children Of The Revolution’.

‘Rising Star’, a track which originally appeared on the ‘Warchild’ compilation is included as a Fighting Back bonus track on CD1, and ‘To The Limit’ originally only a Japanese exclusive, plus ‘Drawn Under’ from the 1989 ‘Elementals: UK HM’ compilation, are added as bonus tracks to Children Of Madness on CD2. This 3CD set is completed with an essay from rock and NWOBHM expert, John Tucker.