Blaze Bayley

Blaze Bayley (born Bayley Alexander Cooke, 29 May 1963) is an English heavy metal singer. He was the lead singer of Wolfsbane from 1984 to 1994 (and currently since 2010, following reunions in 2007 and 2009). He was also the lead singer of Iron Maiden from 1994 to 1999. Since then, he has pursued a solo career and has released eleven studio albums. Blaze was voted number 67 in Sweden Rock magazine's top 100 singers of all time.

Bayley was born Bayley Alexander Cooke in Birmingham on 29 May 1963. His main inspiration to be a singer was when he saw Ronnie James Dio perform live at Birmingham Odeon on Dio's "Holy Diver" tour. At the time, Bayley was working a night job as a hotel porter. He would watch the rehearsals of a sixth form band who played Sex Pistols covers and some original material. It was the first time Blaze decided he would like to be a singer on stage.

Bayley started his career as the lead vocalist of Wolfsbane, a band formed in 1984. Their debut album, Live Fast, Die Fast, was released in 1989.

Before that, Wolfsbane had recorded three demos - Wolfsbane (1985), Dancin' Dirty (1987), and Wasted but Dangerous (1988). Notably, the latter was recorded at Square Dance Studios in Derby, England. In 1990, they had the privilege of supporting Iron Maiden on their No Prayer on the Road tour in the UK. During the same year, Wolfsbane released an EP titled All Hell's Breaking Loose Down at Little Kathy Wilson's Place. Their second full studio album, Down Fall the Good Guys, followed in 1991, granting them their sole UK chart entry with the single "Ezy" peaking at No. 68.

Despite being dropped by Def American due to perceived insufficient sales, Wolfsbane was voted the UK's best unsigned act in 1993. That same year, they released a live album, Massive Noise Injection, through the Bronze Company label. In 1994, the band unveiled their self-titled third studio album, Wolfsbane, also on the Bronze Company label. A limited edition of the album included the EP Everything Else. It was during Bruce Dickinson's departure from Iron Maiden in 1993 that Bayley emerged as the chosen replacement from hundreds of auditions. Following this, Wolfsbane disbanded.

In 2007, Wolfsbane regrouped for a special one-off performance, with Bayley resuming vocal and frontman duties. They provided support for The Wildhearts on a brief UK tour in December 2007. Another tour followed in December 2009, this time supporting The Quireboys on their 'A Little Bit of What You Fancy 20th Anniversary Tour' . Notably, Wolfsbane headlined a show at the Borderline in London on 9 April 2011. Subsequently, they embarked on a tour supporting Saxon in April 2011. In 2011, Wolfsbane released the album Wolfsbane Save the World, along with an EP titled Did it for the Money, complemented by a successful UK tour.

Bayley was chosen as Bruce Dickinson's replacement after hundreds of auditions. His departure from Wolfsbane led to their disbandment later that year. After a serious motorcycle accident put him out of commission for a year, Bayley was able to record vocals for Maiden's The X Factor, released in 1995. Bayley went on tour with the band in support of the album. Another Iron Maiden album with Bayley on vocals, entitled Virtual XI, was released in 1998.

The two Iron Maiden albums released during Bayley's tenure did not chart as well as the band had hoped. The X Factor peaked at No. 8 on the UK Albums Chart and Virtual XI hit only No. 16, both being the lowest-charting Iron Maiden studio albums since Killers was released in 1981.