Former Iron Maiden frontman prepares for first Omagh gig

THE former singer with Iron Maiden is returning to Ireland this week for a tour marking 30 years since he joined the iconic British heavy metal band.

Between 1994 and 1999, Blaze Bayley replaced Bruce Dickinson and recorded two albums – The X Factor and Virtual XI – with the legendary rockers.

The Birmingham-born vocalist, who is also known for his work with the band Wolfsbane – as well as his prominent solo career – will play a string of shows in Warrenpoint, Belfast, Dublin, Limerick and Cork, as well as a special show which will see him making his way to Omagh for the first time in his career.

I caught up with Blaze this week for a chat about all things Ireland and Iron Maiden ahead of his run of highly-anticipated Irish shows, which will see the metal vocalist perform a wealth of material from his five-year stint with the legendary group.

Recalling his first time in Ireland in the 1980s, Blaze began, “I have had so many great times in Ireland over the years.

“Wolfsbane actually played in Ireland in support of Iron Maiden and I’ve been back a number of times over the years with both Iron Maiden and as a solo artist. However, I never got to see much of the country beyond the venues we would play.”

“One of my favourite things about coming to Ireland was always the drinking and the banter, however, I don’t drink anymore, so when it comes to down-time on this tour I’m hoping to rest my voice and see a bit of the country.

“I would love to see more of the West Coast.”

Offering a teaser of what fans can expect on the upcoming tour, Blaze explained, “I will be playing my favourite songs from the two Iron Maiden albums I recorded.

“Songs like ‘Sign of the Cross’, ‘The Clansman’, ‘Lord of the Flies’ and ‘Man on the Edge’.”

Recalling fond memories of recording these songs, most notably ‘Man on the Edge’, he continued, “When we were writing that album, I never imagined that one of the songs I was writing would be chosen as the first single.

“It went to number one in some countries – it was incredible.

“I had been working for years with Wolfsbane and we had our own level of success, but to be in Iron Maiden and be heard by a more world-wide audience was just amazing.”

Blaze described having the chance to revisit these songs as a ‘guilty pleasure’ and ‘a lot of fun’, commenting that, “It’s like seeing old friends in new clothes.”

He continued, “I do my own versions of the songs.

“I’m not coming out to copy them note for note as they were performed with Maiden.

“I have my own ‘Blaze Bayley’ style.

“With Maiden, the bass is a big part of their sound, and my vocal is very different to Bruce Dickinson.

“I love what Bruce does, but my vocals sit in a different place in the music, so I’ve changed the songs up a bit so they’re more comfortable for me.”

Having chosen to tour around the anniversary of joining Iron Maiden, Blaze said he selected the dates because that’s were the ‘excitement’ lies amongst his own memories of fronting the band.

“Maiden have done a lot of groundbreaking things and I was so lucky to work with a group of people who have achieved so much and had such great success.”

Recalling the audition process that earned him his place in Iron Maiden, Blaze explained the experience that would see him embark on an unforgettable chapter in his life.

“They had received 1,500 tapes for auditions,” he explained.

“They managed to narrow that down to 12 guys who were all invited to the studio to rehearse.

“If they liked you in rehearsal, they would then record with you, allowing them to tell if they could make a record with that person.”

Having earned his place with the iconic metal band, Blaze recalls that they spent nearly a year in the studio writing songs before his first ‘terrifying’ first show.

“My first gig with Maiden was in Israel and it was terrifying.

“Obviously not for any reasons relating to what’s going on there now, it was just the nerves, man…

“Also, I must say, singing ‘The Number of the Beast’ in Bethlehem, that was something else altogether, quite an unreal and somewhat bizarre experience.”

Looking back on his career in music, Blaze concluded that, “The wonderful thing about what I’m able to do is that, wherever I go, whether it’s Brazil, Ireland, France or Sweden, fans are all just there for the music.

“It’s so cool.

“I must admit though that the nineties were dark days for metal music as we were up against grunge at the time.

“British magazines back then were so egotistical in declaring that metal music was dead but for me, metal was always about a personal feeling of empowerment and grunge could not replace that.

“I feel that grunge was very much a case of ‘look at me’, while metal was definitely more ‘come with me’.

“They said metal was dead, but we were still playing to 10,000 people a night all over Europe.

“Whether it’s 10,000 people in an arena, or 100 people in a club, at the end of the day, I’m just so grateful for the experience as a whole, and this tour will be very nostalgic for me.”

For more information about Blaze Bayley’s Irish tour, visit www.blazebayley.net.