Paul Mario Day, the original vocalist of Iron Maiden, died Tuesday at the age of 69.

The heavy metal singer died peacefully at his Australian home, his family revealed.

Parade reports he had been battling cancer, but no cause of death was revealed.

Day was 19 years old when he joined Iron Maiden in 1975 but lasted just 10 months.

“When I sang in Iron Maiden, it was a new pub band and nobody wanted to see or hear them,” Day said in 2019 of his time in the group. “We were all nobodies all trying to make the best music we could and fighting for an audience.”

Day also fronted the groups “More and Wildfire,” before joining a Sweet with guitarist Andy Scott and drummer Mick Tucker.

“In 1985 Mick Tucker and myself put together the first new line-up of Sweet after the hiatus of the original band,” Scott wrote in a tribute post shared to Facebook. “We needed a singer and when Paul arrived for the audition we looked no further.

“Our first dates were in Australia, total sell-outs which boded well for the future. Europe followed suit and 3 sold out nights at the Marquee in London produced a live album, video and DVD. ‘Live at the Marquee’ did well in various charts around the world and Paul’s vocal performance has stood the test of time.”

“Paul was a huge part of the NWOBHM [New Wave of British Heavy Metal] from his time in an early version of Iron Maiden and of course his fantastic performance on the Warhead album,” a statement from More read on social media.

“He was a well loved figure in British rock music and played many memorable shows not least the legendary 1981 Monsters of Rock show at Castle Donington with AC/DC, Whitesnake/David Coverdale as well as tours with Iron Maiden, Def Leppard and many other legendary artists.”

Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. He can be heard on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5 FM in Mobile or on the free Sound of Mobile App from 6 to 9 a.m. daily.