Blaze Bayley
Blaze Bayley (* 29. May 1963 in Birmingham , England as Bayley Alexander Cooke ) is an English musician and singer Metal. He was best known for his commitment to Iron Maiden . He is currently the lead singer of the band named after him Blaze Bayley (formerly Blaze ).
biography
Wolfsbane (1984-1994)
Blaze Bayley began his singing career with the British band Wolfsbane, formed in 1984. With this group Bayley recorded a total of three studio and one live album as well as various singles . In 1991 Wolfsbane played in the opening act for Iron Maiden . In 1994, Iron Maiden asked Bayley if he wanted to succeed Bruce Dickinson . Bayley agreed and left his band, which then broke up.
Iron Maiden (1994-1999)
Bayley was the singer on the albums The X Factor (1995) and Virtual XI (1998). He had a difficult time with Iron Maiden from the start, as his direct predecessor Bruce Dickinson , who had sung for the band since 1981, was more closely associated with the band. The first songs of The X Factor were completely tailored to Dickinson's voice, with Bayley's voice having a completely different timbre, considerably darker and deeper. Even so, Iron Maiden's first single with Bayley, Man on the Edge , written by Bayley, was a huge hit for the singer. It was only on Virtual XI that Bayley became fully involved in the songwriting. The album did not reach the sales figures of the previous works with Dickinson.
In addition to the lack of commercial success, Bayley also got significant voice problems on the last tour with Iron Maiden. The band had to cancel the last shows in the United States because of Bayley's allergy . After the tour ended abruptly, it was announced that both Adrian Smith and Bruce Dickinson would be returning to Maiden. The collaboration with Bayley was terminated by mutual agreement. In the British metal hammer, however, it becomes clear what development Iron Maiden should have had after Bayley's entry. An excerpt from the article, which appeared in 2003, shows a differentiated picture of the inner workings of the British rock group:
"In 1993, things looked bad for Iron Maiden after the metal icon Dickinson left Maiden, the band was in a deep hole. Was Dickinson replaceable at all? My [sic] friends [sic] heard that as early as 1993 the band Auditions for a new singer position began. The name Balze Bayley was mentioned for the first time in the spring of 1994. The fans were skeptical because his previous band Wolfsbane somehow did not want to fit in with Maiden! But in the summer of 1994 it was clear that Blaze was the new singer. But since they trusted in Steve, not much could go wrong and so the new album X Factor was expected with a lot of euphoria , which was released in 1995. But most Maiden fans were disappointed. Maiden sounded different, too dark and above all was the new singer Vocally very different from Dickinson. The tour X Factour followed, on which Blaze was supposed to prove himself live for the first time. Again the impression was ambivalent. Maiden was clearly more active again, but Bayley got the old classics never under control. He sang confidently on the new songs, but most of the Maiden fans were dissatisfied and for the first time there was real criticism of Steve Harris. Inside the band it was quiet, the band did not put Blaze under pressure. So the band took a longer break after the X-FacTour , which ended with the new studio album Virtual XI . When this disc was released, there was again massive criticism; weak songwriting, weak production and especially the singing is unworthy of Maiden. The press was also slowly shooting at Bayley, and there were constant demands for reunions, which probably unsettled the singer at the time. The "Die Hard fans" also turned away from Bayley when it was discovered that he was using a telepromter because he could not remember the lyrics. Bayley's vocal performance on the old songs really wasn't the best either. There was therefore a dispute within the band. Some band members put the gun to Steve's chest and said, "Either Blaze goes or I do". You know that drummer Nicko McBrain and part of the management were some of those people. Harris first began thinking about a move in mid-1998. They were supported because Blaze was constantly ill on the America Tour and the audience numbers fell massively. In the autumn of 1998, the first contacts were made with Dickinson, who after a few million offers showed himself to be willing to change. In December 1998, the band met again with Dickisnon for the first time. Blaze was told in November 1998, shortly after the tour ended, that he could pack his bags. At the first meeting with Bruce the band was already in agreement. The reunion was not announced until after Dickinson's solo tour, which ended in February 1999. Bruce then came up with the idea of bringing his solo colleague Adrian Smith back to Maiden. An agreement was reached here, too, Steve Harris was not so stubborn this time and the band and the reunion were wrapped up in February 1999. "
After his departure, Bayley repeatedly emphasized in interviews that he felt that he had been treated fairly by the band, that Bruce Dickinson had always supported him.
Songs like The Clansman , Lord of the Flies , Man on the Edge , Futureal and Sign of the Cross have been part of the Iron Maiden setlist even after the amicable separation and the return of Dickinson.
Blaze (2000-2007)
In 2000, Bayley released the album Silicon Messiah , which appeared under his nickname Blaze. The band's line-up included Steve Wray (guitar), John Slater (guitar), Rob Naylor (bass) and Jeff Singer (drums). With this line-up Bayley also played the album The Tenth Dimension (2002) and the live album As Live As It Gets (2001) a. Naylor and Singer were later replaced by Wayne Banks and Jason Bowld. Blood and Belief followed in 2004. Bayley spoke openly about his alcohol problems during this time.
Blaze Bayley (since 2007)
In the next few years there were various line-up changes until the band finally broke up completely. On February 14, 2007, Bayley married his longtime girlfriend, Debbie. On September 27, 2008, Debbie, who was also the manager of the band, died of a brain hemorrhage.
At the end of 2007 Wolfsbane reformed for a few gigs supporting The Wildhearts .
He started working with new musicians in 2007 and released the live DVD Alive in Poland , this time under his full pseudonym . The first studio album, The Men Who Would Not Die , was released on July 7, 2008. It was well received by the international press. The second album, Promise and Terror, was released on February 1, 2010.
On May 19, 2010, drummer Larry Paterson announced that he would be leaving the band for personal and professional reasons. The band manager Anna also announced her departure from Blaze Bayley. In a statement she said that she and the band do not share the same views about the future of the band and that these differences are irreconcilable ( "The band and I do not share the same views about the future of the band and these differences are unfortunately irreconcilable ... " ) On March 29th, 2011 Blaze Bayley announced on his homepage that he had to leave the band for health and financial reasons. In another statement, he emphasized that he would henceforth perform as a solo artist. On December 17, 2011, a European tour for 2012 was announced on the band's homepage.
Discography
With Wolfsbane
- Live Fast, Die Fast (1989)
- All Hell's Breaking Loose down at Little Kathy Wilson's Place! (1990)
- Down Fall the Good Guys (1991)
- Massive Noise Injection (Live, 1993)
- Wolfsbane (1994)
- Lifestyles of the Broke and Obscure (Best of, 2001)
- The Best of Wolfsbane (2009)
- Wolfsbane Save the World (2011)
With Iron Maiden
- The X Factor (1995)
- Man on the Edge (single, 1995)
- Lord of the Flies (single, 1996)
- Best of the Beast (Best of, 1996)
- Virus (single, 1996)
- Virtual XI (1998)
- The Angel and the Gambler (single, 1998)
- Futureal (single, 1998)
- Ed Hunter (Compilation + Video Game, 1998)
- Edward the Great (Best of, 2002)
- Eddie's Archive (Compilation, 2002)
- Visions of the Beast (DVD, 2003)
- The Essential Iron Maiden (Best of, 2005)
With blaze
- Silicon Messiah (2000)
- Tenth Dimension (2002)
- The Music Remains the Same (Led-Zeppelin-Tribute-Sampler, 2002)
- As Live As It Gets (Live, 2003)
- Blood and Belief (2004)
As Blaze Bayley
- Alive in Poland (DVD, 2007)
- Best of (2008)
- Robot (single, 2008)
- The Man Who Would Not Die (2008)
- The Night That Will Not Die (Live album, 2009)
- Promise and Terror (2010)
- The King of Metal (2012)
- Russian Holiday / w. Thomas Zwijsen (EP) (2013)
- Soundtracks of my Life (Best Of, 2013)
- Live in Prague (DVD, 2014)
- Infinite Entanglement (2016)
- Endure And Survive (Infinite Entanglement Part II) (2017)
- The Redemption Of William Black (Infinite Entanglement Part III) (2018)
As a guest musician
- Cerebral Fix - Bastards (CD, 1991, vocals in Smash it up )
- with Doro Pesch - Armageddon over Wacken Live 2004 (CD and DVD, 2005) and Strong and Proud: 30 Years of Rock and Metal (CD, 2016)
- with Sinnergod - It's a Wonderful Life (also appearance in the video, 2012)
- Gandalf's Fist - The Clockwork Fable (3-CD, 2016, vocals At the Sign of the Aperture )
- Art X - The Redemption of Cain (CD, 2016)
- Unflaging and powder dry on the album Europica Part One of Europica
Web links
- Blaze Bayley in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Official website
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Interview with Blaze Bayles (English) ( Memento from December 22, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Maidenfans.com (English) ( Memento from April 18, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ The Whole Truth About Breaking Up From Blaze: Retrieved September 11, 2019 .
- ↑ Blaze Bayley thanks his supporter Bruce Dickinson. March 20, 2018, accessed on September 11, 2019 (German).
- ↑ Blabbermouth (English) ( Memento of the original from March 17, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ BLAZE BAYLEY's Wife / Manager Passes Away on Metalexpressradio.com
- ↑ Live report (English)
- ↑ a b c d Official website
- ↑ http://www.blazebayley.net/
- ↑ Martin Kielty: Teamrock News: Gandalf's Fist reveal The Clockwork Fable guest list . teamrock.com. March 21, 2016. Retrieved March 30, 2016.
- ↑ http://www.art-x-music.com/
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Bayley, Blaze |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Cook, Bayley Alexander (maiden name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British musician and metal singer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 29, 1963 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Birmingham , England |