If you own the first two albums by Iron Maiden, which you of course should as a self-respecting Heavy Metal fan, then you know full well about the legendary greatness of Paul DiAnno.  He was the voice behind their debut release Iron Maiden and its blockbuster followup Killers and this evening’s show would be his first time back on US Soil in over fifteen years. He brought along local openers Operatikia and Pittsburgh’s Icarus Witch. The latter band would also serve as his own group this evening and should you want to learn more just click the logo below to be taken to our article on the main PiercingMetal.com site.

Since this was the first time that DiAnno had ever performed at B.B. King Blues Club we couldn’t let a shot of his name up on the marquee go by without snaring it.  Welcome to NYC Paul, hope you visit us again sometime soon.

The B.B. King's Marquee: Paul DiAnno Invades NYC

The B.B. King's Marquee: Paul DiAnno Invades NYC

At the last couple of gigs that I have attended at the B.B. King’s venue, I noticed how they had made up these awesome looking announcement cards.  The first one that I paid mind to was the one for the Zebra show and the other side announced this DiAnno show.  We presented this image for your enjoyment and think that its the perfect thing to get signed if you by chance happen to get to meet the performer.

B.B. King's Flyer: Paul DiAnno formerly of Iron Maiden

B.B. King's Flyer: Paul DiAnno formerly of Iron Maiden

One of the fans that was pressed up against the barricade was holding a couple of classic Iron Maiden vinyl releases, or EP’s as they were known back in the day.  My guess was that he hoped to get them signed by DiAnno after the show and for some reason he wanted me to put them on the stage for a moment.  The time was growing short for me to do anything with them for him and I surely didn’t want to be responsible for their well being so I just took the “Women In Uniform” EP and placed it near the set list.  That was one song I was hoping to hear this evening myself, so it made me extra excited as it began to play in my head.

Vintage Iron Maiden EP for "Women In Uniform"

Vintage Iron Maiden EP for "Women In Uniform"

I mention in the narrative how I go back a fair amount of time with the Operatika folks and while arranging and renaming photos the other day I dug up this oldie but goodie.  The location was the original L’Amour club in Brooklyn that had by then been modified several times but was still a relevant source of Metal entertainment at the time.  Given this was back in 2003, the website as you know it was not yet in existence and I was only beginning my journey in this realm while Slava and Anna were doing the same in then new band Operatika.

Slava Popova, KP, Anna Dok

Slava Popova, KP, Anna Dok