BLAZE BAYLEY: 'Fronting IRON MAIDEN Was The Biggest Job In The World'

UK-based heavy metal vocalist Blaze Bayley (IRON MAIDEN, WOLFSBANE) was interviewed by the Belfast Telegraph one day before his wife/manager Debbie died late last month after suffering a stroke while in the hospital. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

On his latest album, "The Man Who Would Not Die":

"This is such an important record for me. A few years ago I was broke, depressed, without a record contract and I didn't have a band. It was a dark time for me. I was considering giving it up and throwing in the towel. But then I met Debbie, who is now my wife and manager. I've known her nearly all my life. We grew up together in Tamworth and fate seemed to bring us together again. She's been instrumental in the making of this album and getting my head together."

On WOLFSBANE:

"I'm immensely proud of the Wolfsbane days. You know the way our fan-club was called the Howling Mad S**t-Heads? Well, we were even worse. When I left the band to join MAIDEN it caused a bit of bad blood between me and the guys, but that's all water under the bridge now and we've played a few reunion shows together which were great fun and just like the old days."

On fronting IRON MAIDEN in the mid-Nineties:

"The mid-Nineties were a horrible time to be in a rock band. Grunge and Britpop bands were everywhere and we [MAIDEN] felt like we weren't getting a fair crack of the whip as far as the UK and American press was concerned. If you had long hair and your songs lasted more than four minutes you were old-fashioned. Thankfully those days are long gone. Metal never goes out of fashion because it was never in fashion in the first place.”

"Fronting IRON MAIDEN was and still is the biggest job in the world. For five years I was that man and I had to shoulder the burden. Do I have any regrets about it? Of course not. It was a brilliant way to see the world and make a living. The only thing I didn't like was not being able to see the fans after a show. In the WOLFSBANE days I would head out on the town with them as I don't see a difference between someone who comes to a show and someone who sings in a band. We all love music and that's what bonds us together, but MAIDEN is such a huge machine that there's no room to meet fans after the gigs as everything was scheduled and set in motion days in advance."

On his fans:

"The connection between myself and my audience is hugely important to me. It kept me going through the bad times and is one of the reasons why there is such a change in my lyrics from 'Silicon Messiah' and 'Tenth Dimension' to 'Blood and Belief' and 'The Man Who Would Not Die'.

"A few years ago I decided to stop singing about sci-fi situations and fantasy stuff and drop that persona altogether in favour of being completely honest about my thoughts. I think listeners appreciate it more."

On what words of advice would he give to the young Bayley of 1984 when he was just starting out:

"When I was younger I was guilty of pushing myself too much. I never took time to appreciate anything that I ever achieved because I was always looking at what I could do next. If I could give myself some advice when I first started I'd say — just try to enjoy it more and live in the moment. Sometimes life can be too short."

Read more from the Belfast Telegraph.