PAUL DI'ANNO: North American Tour Canceled

Intromental Worldwide, the company which was in charge of booking former IRON MAIDEN singer Paul Di'Anno's summer 2012 North American tour, has released the following statement to BLABBERMOUTH.NET:

"It is with deep regret that Intromental Worldwide announces that Paul Di'Anno and his management have decided to cancel the upcoming North American tour already scheduled and confirmed for this summer. Intromental was acting in the capacity of booking agents for the tour.

"The cancelation is 100% beyond our control, and it comes after the majority of the tour was confirmed and announced. We're extremely dissatisfied with how things were handled by Paul Di'Anno and his management as we were given no explanation other than 'Paul chooses not to do this tour.' Given the history and previous cancelations, we are not entirely surprised.

"This very untimely decision is affecting promoters, agents and the bands involved in the tour in many ways, including financially. We're very sorry about this turn of events and apologize to all fans, promoters and venues who supported our efforts in booking this tour."

Di'Anno's backing and support band for this summer's North American tour was supposed to be Cleopatra recording artist ICARUS WITCH. This run of dates, however, was also slated to include Earache buzz band CAULDRON and Pure Steel traditional metal maniacs WIDOW. The tour was set to cover the U.S. and Canada from July 25 to September 2.

Fan-filmed video footage of Paul Di'Anno's March 10 concert at Das Parkhaus in Duisburg, Germany can be seen below.

On August 27, 2011, Di'Anno played his first show since serving time in a U.K. prison after he falsely collected U.K. government benefits by claiming he suffered nerve damage to his back that prevented him from working.

After serving his jail term last spring, Di'Anno issued a short statement in which he thanked his fans for their support and claimed that he "managed not to drop the soap" during his stint behind bars.

Di'Anno, 53, was sentenced to nine months for swindling £45,000 (approximately $72,000) in benefits. He was told he would serve at least four and a half months of the sentence behind bars before being released on conditional bail.

D'Anno was reportedly busted when investigators at Department Of Work And Pensions (DWP) received an anonymous tip that he was still singing. They then found videos and pictures on YouTube and the rocker's own web site of Di'Anno "energetically leaping around on stage, singing to fans around the world."

Di'Anno completed his first North American tour in early 2010, 17 years after he was deported following a prison term for guns and drug offenses.

"In 1991 I did a couple of stints in jail for guns and drugs," Di'Anno explained in a 2010 interview. "I was stupid. But after I'd done my stretch they still treated me like a criminal. And I was — but I wasn't that bad. So I didn't feel good about America. The government, not the people.

"Prison was tough, but I'm tougher. I was nobody's bitch, put it that way. You've got to do it; otherwise people will walk all over you."