For the first time in decades former Iron Maiden singer Paul Di'anno reunites with bassist Steve Harris backstage Iron Maiden first tour date in Zegreb, Croatia.
This morning Di'anno took to his social media (private social media post) and said this about the experience.
"Great night last night at the Zagreb Arena Iron Maiden sounded awesome and so was meeting Steve and Rod again it's good to know they haven't changed and that's a great thing seeing Steve with the same fire and passion was a joy to see." Paul Di'anno
May 24 2022 Quote
"Morning you absolute Legends well with all your help I finally made it onstage and Fuck that felt and did me good my soul is returning ? and to see Steve and Rod was the best and let me tell You Iron Maiden are still the greatest band no fkn question have a great day filled with love laughs and kindness"
Support Paul pick up some Merch and his two new singles at www.maidencroatia.com/warhorse
From the web page
There is no better feeling than, after seven long years in a wheelchair, celebrating a birthday on your own feet! Paul Di’Anno celebrates his 64th birthday on May 17th. With his exceptional commitment, will, desire and mental strength, he showed his fighting spirit and gratitude to all the fans and friends who helped him perform a miracle in less than half a year! But the final battle is yet to come. Paul will soon have new surgeries and the final struggle for independence and unlimited movement with his fully recovered legs. Therefore, all fans are invited to, together with him, enter this last battle until the final victory.
Even during his treatment in Croatia, Paul’s spirit did not rest. Together with Croatian friends, he formed his new band and project WARHORSE and recorded as many as three new, fantastic songs in the studio. They decided to release two of them, ‘Stop the War’ and ‘The Doubt Within’, as a special DVD single featuring the two songs and a Paul’s video message to all fans who bought this single and thus helped raise funds for operations. Along with the single, each customer will receive a special event t-shirt, designed by Robert Štivičić (Crusader Art), made for his first concert in seven years, which was held in Zagreb on May 21, 2022. This concert was filmed and later shown in a documentary about Paul Di’Anno, directed by the famous director of the film ‘Lemmy’ Wes Orshoski.
Special notice: The number of event t-shirts that will be on sale online is limited on 333. The other 333 will be available at Paul’s concert. This is the only opportunity to pre-order the exact size of the T-shirt, because later, on the concert you will be able to buy only what is left.
Each single will be numbered from number 001 to number 666. Number 001 and 666 will later go up for online auction. Each purchased copy of the single will be unique, and the first 100 online customers with a single and a T-shirt will receive a surprise gift. The single is only available as a bundle with t-shirt and with the purchase of this bundle you have directly helped raise funds for Paul’s upcoming surgeries. Paul will come to the stage in Zagreb on his feet, but we are only a few steps away from a complete recovery.
You can also watch the Live video taken backstage, on Facebook by Stjepan Juras
As previously posted on Blabbermouth
"Former IRON MAIDEN frontman Paul Di'Anno, who has been receiving lymphatic drainage treatments in Zagreb, Croatia in preparation for his upcoming knee surgery, is "thrilled and very optimistic" about his progress after recently being fitted for a custom leg brace.
Stjepan Juras, a MAIDEN fan and author of many MAIDEN-related books, who is taking care of Paul during his stay in Croatia, has issued the following update regarding Paul's condition: "After more than five months of Paul's stay in Croatia, Croatian medical team at Poliklinika Ribnjak - centar za ortopedsku medicinu i sportsku dijagnostiku came to final and definitive conclusions about Paul's overall condition and what his further recovery might look like.
"Paul's progress in treatments is really visible and he recently tried a new orthosis that allows him to walk better. Paul took his first steps with an orthosis and he is thrilled and very optimistic with progress, because every day he walks better and better. The orthosis is further adjusted, according to Paul's requirements, and he is now doing intense walking exercises with it, in order to walk completely on his own in May or during the summer of 2022.
"As we all know, Paul's first knee surgery was planned in late April 2022. It was about removing the cement from the knee, so that his venous circulation would be good again, which is a prerequisite for a successful second operation, a revision operation to install an endoprosthesis or an artificial knee. For the purpose of the planned operation, in accordance with the rules of the profession, diagnostic processing was performed which showed serious hidden problems with circulation and that is why the cement removal operation is necessary, because it complicates plans for already complex surgery and encourages constant swelling of the leg. Figuratively speaking, the situation in Paul's knee resembles a 'war zone'. Paul has no joint, the spacer presses on the veins and the leg swells as a result. Staff in Poliklinika 'Ribnjak' has been making tremendous recovery efforts for over 4 months. Therefore, the removal of spacer in the knee should be performed in order to reduce the pressure on the venous circulation and thus reduce the swelling of the leg. That is basic. In this way, healthy relationships are achieved for further recovery and possible second endoprosthesis implant surgery.
"Dr Milošević said to us: 'At the moment, we are of the opinion that we should wait with such an operation, because depending on the reaction and recovery of the body, it can occur in a few months or even years, and sometimes the conditions are not created at all. Paul's desire for recovery in just four months is very visible, so we all agree that this operation should be considered. The first of the steps is an orthosis, which Paul is now using and he is practice walking intensively.
"The second step is the previously mentioned surgical procedure to remove spacer, ie cement in the knee, which would enable the connection of bones into a kind of so-called 'pseudarthrosis'. Such a joint, in addition to Paul's specially designed orthosis, can allow it to move independently and much easier. That idea was suggested to Paul and he agreed. However, just before that operation, which was supposed to take place in a few days, a detailed treatment of his blood vessels was done, the so-called angiography, which showed good arterial circulation but also compressed leg veins. But the most important novelty in these preparations for surgery is that a rather large thrombus (blod clot) was found in his pelvic vein.
"A thrombus, as we all know, poses a great danger of embolism if surgery is performed, which can end in heart attack, stroke (…) or death. The existence of this thrombus is a new finding, which has not been discovered so far and drastically changes the whole treatment situation, however, fortunately, it is not an obstacle to further treatment if we make good preparations and prevent the danger.
"According to the rules of the profession, if a space removal operation is performed, it is necessary to insure Paul against possible embolism by installing a so-called special 'umbrella' in his body, specifically in the vena cava. This procedure is performed by vascular surgeons, practically at the same time as the spacer is removed, which means that this operation must be done with a whole team of coordinated operators of various disciplines and that it is an extremely difficult and demanding task. After that operation, it is necessary to stay in the hospital for about 14 days. Such surgeries carry some risk; however, this is the only correct way of surgical treatment if one wants to act properly and not put Paul in life-threatening condition. The cost of installing an 'umbrella' in a vein costs several thousand Euros, plus cost of the hospital, but we will, with our colleagues, try to find the best prices and conditions, so as not to burden your budget for the treatment.
"Mr. Juras and Paul are informed about the whole situation at the meeting with the medical team and it was concluded that, given all the information, it is best to continue with Paul's verticalization until the conditions for the first operation are created. Paul will be in much better shape by rehearsing and walking after his concert on 21.05. depending on his desire and possibilities of operations can be in May or June 2022 or whenever he choose. Our recommendation is that it be shortly after the concert, because Paul will already be in much better shape with walking and moving. An orthosis made especially to his measurements can be worn for a long time, months or even years without any problems.'
"Also, Paul on Thursday, April 28th will begin a complete tooth reconstruction. Due to impaired health and accelerated decay, encouraged by long-term use of heavy medical, Paul's teeth rotted, mostly fell out and in order to resume a normal life and be able to bite normally, dental reconstruction is necessary. He has been suffering from huge, constant pain in recent months, and now a top Arena Stomatološka Poliklinika team has been selected to take care of Paul and completely reconstruct his teeth with a very complex procedure. At the clinic, they came out to meet the prices that Paul says are at least four times lower than in the UK, for which we are grateful. By the end of April, Paul will have mostly new teeth, but the second part of the procedure (because the rules of the profession after the installation of 4 implants require it),will finally be finished in about six months. As early as the beginning of May 2022, we will be able to see Paul's new smile, which will greatly contribute to self-confidence, a better atmosphere and extra strength ahead of important knee surgery.
"At the very beginning, none of us was aware of how severe Paul's condition really was, but his treatment showed that and that is why the treatments and recovery take longer. Precisely because of this, the initial estimate of the funds that should have been spent on recovery was lower, and this is precisely the reason why the campaign is being reactivated. It will be conducted in the current way of raising funds at this website created by Kastro Pergjoni.
"We strongly urge you to click and help as much as you can.
Also, on www.maidencroatia.com a new signed book will be launched!
Also, special event t-shirts (strictly limited edition) and his new single 'Stop The War' on DVD together with 'Stop The War' Video will be presented at Paul's concert in Zagreb. DVD single will also be strictly limited and signed by Paul Di'Anno and his band mates from the new band WARHORSE. We ask all those who can help in one way or another to get involved. This is the right time to save one life!"
Di'Anno recorded two classic albums with IRON MAIDEN — a self-titled effort in 1980 and "Killers" in 1981 — 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.
In January 2021, Kastro Pergjoni, operations director of the Cart & Horses pub in Stratford, London, England where IRON MAIDEN made its live debut in 1976, launched a crowdfunding campaign on JustGiving for Di'Anno to be treated privately. More than £13,000 was raised — roughly the cost for surgery on one of Paul's knees. A second crowdfunding campaign was launched last summer and has raised more than £13,000 of a £26,000 target. "
Source (Blabbermouth)
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