{"id":514411,"date":"2026-04-05T15:20:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T15:20:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/514411\/"},"modified":"2026-04-05T15:20:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T15:20:15","slug":"blaze-bayley-interview-iron-maiden-wolfsbane-and-heart-attacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/514411\/","title":{"rendered":"Blaze Bayley interview: Iron Maiden, Wolfsbane and heart attacks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Blaze Bayley is one of rock\u2019s great survivors \u2013 literally. Having made his name with British hotshots Wolfsbane<\/a>, he grabbed the chance of a lifetime to replace Bruce Dickinson<\/a> in Iron Maiden<\/a> before embarking on a rollercoaster solo career. But in 2023, he nearly died after suffering a major heart attack. A few months later, he talked Metal Hammer through the triumphs and hardships of his head-spinning career.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Classic\n<\/p>\n

Blaze Bayley is describing in graphic detail what it\u2019s like to have major heart surgery.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cThey stop your breathing, they transfer all of that to a machine, then they cut you in half and they replumb you,\u201d he says. \u201cThen they stick a couple of pipes in your chest to drain off all the goo and put you back together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Article continues below <\/p>\n

You may like<\/p>\n

The former Iron Maiden frontman has first-hand experience of this. He underwent quadruple bypass surgery after suffering a major heart attack at home in March 2023. \u201cLuckily, I live two minutes from an ambulance station and near four hospitals,\u201d he says. \u201cThe paramedics said to my fianc\u00e9e, \u2018If it had been another 10 minutes, I don\u2019t think he would have been here.\u2019 I was very, very lucky.\u201d<\/p>\n

The title of Blaze\u2019s 2008 solo album, The Man Who Would Not Die, seems prophetic today, but even back then its defiant title summed up the indefatigable spirit of the man born Bayley Alexander Cooke in Dudley in 1963.<\/p>\n

His life and career have been marked by epic highs and crushing lows. He was the swashbuckling frontman of Tamworth livewires Wolfsbane, a band whose exhilarating take-no-prisoners approach was mirrored by the name their rabid fanbase gave themselves: the Howling Mad Shitheads.<\/p>\n

Then came his five-year, two-album stint as the singer with Iron Maiden, carrying the thankless task of replacing Bruce Dickinson on his shoulders. More recently, there have been long periods of professional struggle and personal tragedy, capped with the heart attack that could have killed him.<\/p>\n

Sign up below to get the latest from Metal Hammer, plus exclusive special offers, direct to your inbox!<\/p>\n

\n

\"Blaze\n<\/p>\n

Blaze Bayley in 1995 (Image credit: Brian Rasic\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Many other people would have given up the ghost long ago, but the Blaze Bayley talking to Hammer via Zoom today has lost none of his lust for life. He talks in exclamation marks, his voice frequently rising in volume and excitement as he waves his arms around with more vigour than a man still recovering from major heart surgery should.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had the shit kicked out of me several times by life,\u201d he says. \u201cBut I\u2019ve managed to stumble back to my feet every time.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Classic\n<\/p>\n

Your parents split when you were young and you spent your early years living with your mum in a caravan. What was your childhood like?<\/p>\n

What to read next<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen my mum left my dad, we went to live with my grandparents. My grandfather had a small-holding and my mum rented a caravan off him on the land until I was 11. We had no telly, you had to get water from a tap outside, there was an outside loo, but I never felt poor \u2013 you don\u2019t when you\u2019re young. You opened the door to the caravan and you\u2019re in the countryside \u2013 you never felt hemmed in. And my mum was a massive music fan. There was always music on.\u201d<\/p>\n

You joined your first band, Wolfsbane, in 1983. How did you get the job?<\/p>\n

\u201cI used to watch this sixth-form band rehearse at school, doing Sex Pistols covers. I thought, \u2018I could take that singer on. I could do better than that.\u2019 I got the job with Wolfsbane because I was the only person who turned up for the audition. I\u2019d seen Dio on the Holy Diver tour and thought, \u2018I can do that!\u2019 I turned up at Jeff\u2019s [Hateley, Wolfsbane bassist] garage and started singing: \u2018RAARRAAGGHHHH AARRGGHHHH!\u2019 I thought I sounded like Ronnie James Dio, but I sounded like a dog being murdered.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Wolfsbane\n<\/p>\n

Blaze Bayley (second left) with Wolfsbane (Image credit: Mick Hutson\/Redferns\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

What were those early days of Wolfsbane like?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was absolutely crazy. We were playing all these rough pubs in Tamworth where people shouted at you all the way through your set. I remember I had this little Honda 250 motorcycle that I rode to gigs. At one gig, I was up onstage and my dad walked in. I\u2019m singing and he goes, \u2018I need to talk to you.\u2019 I went, \u2018I\u2019m a bit busy, dad.\u2019 And he goes, \u2018Don\u2019t panic, but somebody\u2019s set your motorbike on fire.\u2019 Literally, somebody had torched it while we were playing. I never found out who.<\/p>\n

I thought I sounded like Ronnie James Dio, but I sounded like a dog being murdered.<\/p>\n

Blaze Bayley<\/p>\n

In Wolfsbane, we always were always moving around and playing with our eyes open, because people threw things at us constantly. We spent half our gigs dodging pint glasses and empty vodka bottles! Nobody knew who we were, so my attitude was, \u2018This is the roughest pub in town, these people don\u2019t know me, I\u2019m going to grab them by the neck and get a reaction.\u2019 To be a singer, you have to have confidence, courage and stupidity in equal measure, and I had plenty of all three.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wolfsbane caught the attention of Rick Rubin. You were the first British band he signed to his label, Def American. Did you think, \u2018This is it, we\u2019ve made it\u2019?<\/p>\n

\u201cPart of you does. The fact he\u2019d produced Slayer and the Beastie Boys, and he was a hot ticket, that gave us a lot of confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n

He produced Wolfsbane\u2019s debut album, 1989\u2019s Live Fast, Die Fast. What was he like to work with?<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was demented. I don\u2019t mean this as a criticism, but he was a supremely confident person, bordering on arrogant, because of what he\u2019d achieved. As far as he was concerned, if he liked something, it was good. If he didn\u2019t, it was no good. I remember going to a gig with him, and he said, \u2018What do you think of this band, Blaze?\u2019 I went, \u2018This sounds like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin combined, it\u2019s amazing!\u2019 And he went, \u2018I don\u2019t think they\u2019re very good.\u2019 That was Soundgarden! He didn\u2019t sign Soundgarden!\u201d<\/p>\n

Did you enjoy working with him?<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, not really. I learned a lot, and he\u2019s a great producer, but you\u2019ve invested so much in your songs and then someone comes along and goes, \u2018No, that doesn\u2019t make sense, that doesn\u2019t work, try it like this.\u2019 You think, \u2018Hang on, this is our song, we\u2019ve been playing this for hundreds of people every night, and it\u2019s worked for them.\u2019 That was challenging. And we saw strippers for the first time in LA.\u201d<\/p>\n

Surely they had strippers in Tamworth?<\/p>\n

\u201cNot like the ones they had in LA.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\"Blaze\n<\/p>\n

Blaze Bayley onstage with Wolfsbane in 1990 (Image credit: Mick Hutson\/Redferns\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Wolfsbane released three studio albums between 1989 and 1994, but you never really broke through. Why not?<\/p>\n

\u201cIn those early days we were in a van, touring the UK, playing to hundreds of people a night, selling our demos. When we got signed, they spent a fortune on making videos for MTV, but we just weren\u2019t that band. We wanted to live on a tour bus. And a bit further down the line, grunge came and practically killed us.<\/p>\n

Rick Rubin was demented. He was a supremely confident person, bordering on arrogant, because of what he\u2019d achieved.<\/p>\n

Blaze Bayley<\/p>\n

I\u2019d heard that Bruce had left Maiden and they were looking for a singer. My manager at the time said, \u2018You don\u2019t want to hear this, but there\u2019s nothing happening for Wolfsbane. If you get a chance to audition for Iron Maiden, you have to take it, because there\u2019s nothing happening for Wolfsbane.\u2019 And that\u2019s what I did.\u201d<\/p>\n

How did the rest of the band take the news ?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a dark time for everybody. It split the band up. It broke my heart, but I got in touch with Maiden and said, \u2018I\u2019d love to have an audition if I can.\u2019 Wolfsbane had supported Iron Maiden in 1990, so they knew who I was, but I still had to audition twice. People say I walked into it, but I had to audition the same as everybody else.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Iron\n<\/p>\n

Blaze Bayley with Iron Maiden in 1995 (Image credit: Mick Hutson\/Redferns)<\/p>\n

What was it like playing Iron Maiden songs with Iron Maiden for the very first time?<\/p>\n

\u201cAmazing. I was a Maiden fan, so I didn\u2019t just know the songs, I knew every drum fill as well! The first thing I did was pick up my monitor and move it into the middle of the room. The guys were like, \u2018What\u2019s he doing?\u2019 I was like, \u2018I don\u2019t care, I\u2019m going to stand right here. No matter what happens, I\u2019ll be able to say that at least I\u2019ve been in Iron Maiden for an hour whether I get the job or not.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

You did get the job. Is it true that Bruce sent you two yellow bricks after he read an interview where you said joining Iron Maiden was like being Dorothy in The Wizard Of Oz?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s true. I kept them at my house. Unfortunately, I moved five times and they just got lost. Somewhere, someone\u2019s sitting in their house going, \u2018What the fuck are these yellow bricks doing here?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

How intimidating was it being in Iron Maiden? Did you think, \u2018I might have bitten off more than I can chew?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. I just dove right in. I was so confident at that time, I really thought I could do it: \u2018They auditioned 12 people, and I\u2019m the one who got it!\u2019 One of the things Steve Harris said early on was, \u2018I don\u2019t care who writes the music, it just has to be great.\u2019 That puts you under a really positive pressure. Coming up with Como Estais Amigos, doing Futureal with Steve, When Two Worlds Collide with Dave Murray\u2026 it was amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iron Maiden – Futureal (Official Video) – YouTube
\n\"Iron<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n

You got a lot of criticism during your time in Maiden. How did you tune it out?<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a lot of support from the guys in the band: \u2018No, this is who were are, this is what we\u2019re doing, you\u2019re the singer.\u2019 One time we were onstage in Italy, and there were signs in the audience saying, \u2018Come back, Bruce!\u2019, people were going, \u2018Bruce! Bruce!\u2019 And as we finished a song, Steve walked over and said, \u2018Just fuck \u2019em. They said the same about Bruce when Paul [Di\u2019Anno] left.\u2019 But listen, I\u2019d been in Wolfsbane \u2013 we\u2019d had empty vodka bottles thrown at us, I\u2019ve had fist fights onstage, I\u2019d had my motorbike set on fire! A couple of signs saying, \u2018Come back, Bruce\u2019? Fuck off! Ha ha!\u201d<\/p>\n

A lot of fans Maiden hated me on principle. There are some people who have never heard me, but still hate me because I\u2019m not Bruce.<\/p>\n

Blaze Bayley<\/p>\n

In retrospect, it felt like you were on a hiding to nothing with Maiden. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re so right. Let\u2019s face it, Bruce Dickinson is the absolute benchmark of what it is to be a heavy metal frontman. He\u2019s one of the greatest singers and performers in any genre of music, and he\u2019s just left your favourite band and they\u2019ve got this idiot from Tamworth in? A lot of fans hated me on principle. There is a percentage of fans that still hate me. There are some people who have never even heard me, but still hate me because I\u2019m not Bruce.\u201d<\/p>\n

You left Iron Maiden in 1999, after two albums. How did that affect you?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was horrific. I\u2019d be making all these plans for my solo career: \u2018I\u2019m going to come back with a new project, I\u2019m going to use everything I learned from Maiden and from songwriting with those guys, it\u2019ll be incredible.\u2019 And then a couple of hours later, I\u2019d be sobbing. I couldn\u2019t say so at the time, but I was destroyed.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Blaze\n<\/p>\n

Blaze Bayley with Iron Maiden in the 1990s (Image credit: Mick Hutson\/Redferns)<\/p>\n

Did you ever listen to Bruce\u2019s Iron Maiden comeback album, Brave New World?<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, and I\u2019ll admit that I cried my fucking eyes out. It\u2019s a really good album, but I knew that if things had worked out differently, I would have been working in the studio with those guys, I would have been singing some of those songs. There was this sense of great loss that hit me really hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

You formed the band Blaze in 1999. What was life like outside of Maiden?<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, it was tough. I thought, \u2018I\u2019ll get a band together, there\u2019s loads of guys in the UK that are great musicians who never get a chance.\u2019 And my first two solo albums [2000\u2019s Silicon Messiah and 2002\u2019s Tenth Dimension] were stillborn. There was all manner of record label stuff going on behind the scenes, but they never got a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n

How tough did things get for you?<\/p>\n

\u201cReally, really tough. I didn\u2019t want to go out and do covers or become a tribute band. I\u2019d rather work a real job than shit on what I did before. At one point I was working a driving job to make ends meet. I finished the job, then went into the studio to record [2004\u2019s] Blood & Belief. I was on the edge, I was having suicidal thoughts, I was eventually diagnosed with depression, even though the medication the doctor gave me didn\u2019t work. If you listen to Blood & Belief, it\u2019s all in there. That album is full of truth.\u201d<\/p>\n

BLAZE BAYLEY Circle of Stone (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO) feat. NIKLAS STALVIND – YouTube
\n\"BLAZE<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n

What kept you going?<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fans. They\u2019ve always been there for me. At one point, I had to get a job in a shop because I was so broke. One of my fans managed the shop. He said, \u2018If you need work, just come and do it, you can work any hours you want.\u2019 That kind of thing.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve had the shit kicked out of me several times by life,\u201d he says. \u201cBut I\u2019ve managed to stumble back to my feet every time.<\/p>\n

Blaze Bayley<\/p>\n

And my wife, Debbie. She believed in me. We\u2019d gone to school together and went our separate ways, then 19 years later we met again and it was like, \u2018Why didn\u2019t this happen before?\u2019 She was the love of my life, and she believed in me 100%. She was the one who kept me going, she was the one who reached out to the rest of Wolfsbane and built the bridges for the reunion [in 2007]. I didn\u2019t even know it atthe time, but she told them, \u2018You lot should be talking.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Your wife passed away in 2008. How do you deal with a tragedy like that?<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was my darkest time. When she passed, it was the end of the world. She had a severe stroke, a horrible bleed on her brain. She went into hospital and never came out. She died in my arms, in hospital. That\u2019s when part of me thought, \u2018I should stop now, just give up.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

But you didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe wouldn\u2019t have wanted that. She believed in me so much. I\u2019d have been betraying her if I didn\u2019t at least try. We managed to get [2010\u2019s solo album] Promise And Terror together, which is a fierce, fierce record. There was a lot of emotion that went into that record.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Wolfsbane\n<\/p>\n

Wolfsbane in 2018 (Image credit: Press)<\/p>\n

And then there was the heart attack. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so lucky to be here. I was eating badly, not looking after myself. I feel like the universe has smacked me around the head and gone, \u2018Oi! Sort yourself out, get yourself in shape!\u2019 I\u2019m working on solo stuff, I\u2019ve just started rehearsing with Wolfsbane for shows later this year. I\u2019m weaker at the moment, and I\u2019ve still got to be careful while the bone in my chest that they cut open heals properly, but I\u2019m getting there. We\u2019ve still got that bloodlust we had when we were 25 years old.\u201d<\/p>\n

Do you think you\u2019ll ever get a chance to go onstage with Iron Maiden again?<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, I\u2019d love it, I\u2019d absolutely love it. I\u2019m still friends with everybody. It\u2019d have to be some mega-special event where it\u2019s Paul, Bruce and me, each singing a few of our songs. But you\u2019d have to have extra security \u2019cos there\u2019d be fights breaking out between the fans: \u2018Paul\u2019s the best singer!\u2019 \u2018No, it\u2019s Bruce!\u2019 It\u2019ll never happen, but I wish it would.\u201d<\/p>\n

What do you want to be remembered for: Wolfsbane, Iron Maiden or your solo career?<\/p>\n

\u201cJust for my songs, not for any one band. All I wanted to be as a kid was a full-time heavy metal singer. I\u2019ve sung with Iron Maiden, which is the very pinnacle of this job, and I\u2019m still out there doing it. I\u2019ve lived the dream.\u201d<\/p>\n

Originally published in Metal Hammer issue 379 (September 2023)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Blaze Bayley is one of rock\u2019s great survivors \u2013 literally. Having made his name with British hotshots Wolfsbane,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":514412,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[96,128,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-514411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-music","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/514411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=514411"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/514411\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/514412"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=514411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=514411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=514411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}