Wes Orshoski: On the quest of a mythical character

The documentary filmmaker Wes Orshoski, known for his work on The Damned, Lemmy and Shuggie Otis*, has been working in recent years on the story of Paul Di’Anno, covering his career, decline and illness and a heroic, risky and drama-filled return to the stage. This new documentary „Di’Anno – Iron Maiden’s lost singer“ (see trailer below) is now finished and available as DVD/BluRay. Wes tells us more about it:

How did your documentary on Paul Di’Anno begin, Wes? What interested you about his life?
Matt Green at Cleopatra Records, with whom I had worked on other projects, pitched me the project. He had known Paul and Killers guitarist Cliff Evans for over 30 years and knew what a wild character Paul was. What I thought was interesting is that I knew very little about his life but still knew that in many trusted circles his name still demanded respect. After all these decades, he was still a mythical character. I thought that made a fascinating place to begin.

When and how did Paul meet the other members of Iron Maiden, to form the band?
Early drummer Doug Sampson invited him to an audition, and, as Doug says in the film, as soon as the audition was over, he, Steve Harris, and Dave Murray all knew he was the right man for the job.

Could you tell us more about Paul. He was sick with COVID and two fans tried to help him revive his career.
He was not sick with Covid. I mean, he might have had it at one point or another, but he was in a wheelchair for coming almost a decade when Kastro Pergjoni launched a crowdfunding campaign and Maiden superfan/writer Stjepan Juras convinced Paul to sick treatment in Croatia, where he could get great care for a fraction of the cost. During the pandemic, Paul’s health declined to such a state that the UK’s national healthcare system refused to continue to treat him, because he was never well enough, according to their regulations. Paul was willing to take certain risks, and if he was willing to, so were doctors in Croatia, where he underwent a dramatic transformation for the better.

What were Paul’s early days like?
He was kid growing up in East London, who was in love with music, all kinds of music, and he started playing in bands. One of his oldest friends and neighbors is Steve “Loopy” Newhouse, who was an original member of the Iron Maiden road crew.

What were the early years like for Iron Maiden with Paul, around 1981? And What events led to Paul leaving Iron Maiden?
My impression was that they were amazing for all of them, band and crew. There was a chemistry to the Paul lineup and the music Steve (and occasionally Paul) were writing  that people responded to almost immediately…. After a while, it seems as though the pressure was getting to Paul, and it seems, from what people tell me, that he was sabotaging himself, between clothing and make-up choices, drug and alcohol intake and missing shows.

How did Paul plan his comeback?
After Paul underwent physical therapy treatment and a massive surgery, Stjepan assumed booking agent duties and booked a massive Brazilian tour, and that essentially started his comeback, which included shows in Europe, South America, Mexico and Central America and Australia.

So how is the film doing at festivals?  What are fans reactions to the film?
So far, people are enjoying it. And the reaction has varied from region to region. Americans seem to get much more emotional about a lot of the tougher moments in the film. But, overall, it seems to be getting a nice reaction.

Could we talk a little about making your “Lemmy” documentary? Had you always been a fan of both Iron Maiden and Motörhead? How did that “Lemmy” film come about?
I grew up a metalhead, yeah. But I became a much bigger fan of Lemmy’s work and Paul’s days with Maiden making each of these films. I pitched the Lemmy film to his longtime publicist with a one sentence email, asking if Lem’s camp might be interested in making a doc. And, as insane as that sounds, it worked. I didn’t really realize how lucky I was at the moment.

* The Damned: Don’t You Wish That We Were Dead (2015), Lemmy (2010), Shuggie Otis: Live in Williamsburg (2015)

Interview: John Wisniewski
Photos: @ 2020 Wes Orshoski from his website and CleopatraRecords