Blaze Bayley (born Bayley Alexander Cooke, 29 May 1963) is an English heavy metal singer. He was the lead vocalist of the band Wolfsbane from 1984 to 1994 and again from 2010 onward, following reunion performances in 2007 and 2009. Bayley was also the lead singer of Iron Maiden from 1994 to 1999. After leaving Iron Maiden, he began a solo career and has released numerous studio albums. Bayley was born in Birmingham, England, on 29 May 1963. He has
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Blaze Bayley (born Bayley Alexander Cooke, 29 May 1963) is an English heavy metal singer. He was the lead vocalist of the band Wolfsbane from 1984 to 1994 and again from 2010 onward, following reunion performances in 2007 and 2009. Bayley was also the lead singer of Iron Maiden from 1994 to 1999. After leaving Iron Maiden, he began a solo career and has released numerous studio albums. Bayley was born in Birmingham, England, on 29 May 1963. He has cited seeing Ronnie James Dio perform on the "Holy Diver" tour at the Birmingham Odeon as an important influence on his decision to pursue a career as a singer. At the time he was working as a hotel porter and became interested in performing after watching rehearsals by a local band. Bayley began his professional music career in 1984 as the lead vocalist of Wolfsbane. The band recorded several demos before releasing their debut album "Live Fast, Die Fast" in 1989. In 1990 Wolfsbane supported Iron Maiden on the "No Prayer on the Road" tour in the United Kingdom. The band released the EP "All Hell's Breaking Loose Down at Little Kathy Wilson's Place" in 1990 and their second studio album "Down Fall the Good Guys" in 1991. The single "Ezy" from that album reached number 68 on the UK Singles Chart. Despite later being dropped by their record label, the band was voted the United Kingdom’s best unsigned act in 1993. They released the live album "Massive Noise Injection" in 1993 and their third studio album "Wolfsbane" in 1994 before disbanding following Bayley’s departure. In 1994 Bayley was chosen to replace Bruce Dickinson as the lead singer of Iron Maiden after a series of auditions. He recorded two studio albums with the band, "The X Factor" in 1995 and "Virtual XI" in 1998, and toured extensively in support of both releases. The albums achieved lower chart positions in the United Kingdom than most previous Iron Maiden studio albums. Bayley left the band in 1999, after which Dickinson returned as lead vocalist. After leaving Iron Maiden, Bayley formed the band BLAZE in 1999 and signed with the German label SPV. The group released the studio albums "Silicon Messiah" in 2000, "Tenth Dimension" in 2002 and "Blood & Belief" in 2004, as well as the live album "As Live as It Gets" in 2003. Following lineup changes and financial difficulties, Bayley began performing under the name Blaze Bayley. In 2007 Bayley formed a new band and released the live DVD "Alive in Poland". The group released the studio album "The Man Who Would Not Die" in 2008, followed by "Promise and Terror" in 2010. After further lineup changes, Bayley continued performing both with various backing musicians and as a solo artist. In 2012 he released the album "The King of Metal". In collaboration with guitarist Thomas Zwijsen he also released the EP "Russian Holiday" in 2013 featuring acoustic arrangements of songs associated with his career. In 2013 Bayley released the compilation album "Soundtracks of My Life" to mark the 30th anniversary of his career as a singer. He subsequently began working with musicians from the band Absolva as his touring and recording group. With this lineup he released the concept album trilogy consisting of "Infinite Entanglement" in 2016, "Endure and Survive" in 2017 and "The Redemption of William Black" in 2018. During the same period he also released the acoustic album "December Wind" in 2018. Additional live releases included "Live in Prague", "Live in France" in 2019 and "Live in Czech" in 2020. In 2021 Bayley released the studio album "War Within Me", recorded with members of Absolva. In 2024 he announced the album "Circle of Stone", preceded by the singles "Rage", "Circle of Stone" and "Mind Reader". Wolfsbane reunited for occasional performances beginning in 2007 and resumed regular activity in 2010. The band released the album "Wolfsbane Save the World" in 2011 and have continued to perform live. Bayley has also participated in collaborative tours and special projects with other heavy metal vocalists, including tours with former Iron Maiden singer Paul Di'Anno and appearances with artists such as Geoff Tate and Tim "Ripper" Owens. In 2016 he performed the song "Baba O'Riley" with Disturbed at the Download Festival in England. Bayley married Debbie Hartland in 2007. She died in 2008 following a stroke. In December 2022 he became engaged to Kate Ross at Stonehenge. In March 2023 Bayley suffered a heart attack. Studio albums The Man Who Would Not Die (2008) Promise and Terror (2010) The King of Metal (2012) Infinite Entanglement (2016) Endure and Survive – Infinite Entanglement Part II (2017) The Redemption of William Black (Infinite Entanglement Part III) (2018) War Within Me (2021) Circle of Stone (2024) as Blaze Silicon Messiah (2000) Tenth Dimension (2002) Blood & Belief (2004)
