During a recent appearance on the Scars and Guitars podcast, Steve Harris said he appreciates Blaze Bayley’s role in keeping Iron Maiden going.
The bassist said they didn’t consider downtuning for Bayley. They only noticed issues with his singing when they performed live. “The weird thing is that he was really confident when we were rehearsing, and then a couple of times on a couple of songs, we got out live, and there was maybe an issue or two here and there,” Harris stated. “But in general, he just handled it really well.”
The musician added, “It is what it is, I suppose. In retrospect, you can do all kinds of things, but Blaze helped keep the band alive through that period, so we owe him a lot.”
Over the years, Bayley faced negative comments about his role in Iron Maiden and his singing, with some saying he can’t sing. Despite the harsh criticism, Bayley stayed in Maiden for five years and later started his own band.
“I’m very lucky that I experienced this in my life, that when I nearly lost my leg in a motorcycle accident, when I joined Iron Maiden, I managed to fight back,” the singer previously talked about criticism against him. “They said to me, ‘You’ll probably never walk again.'”
He continued, “And I said, ‘You don’t know me.’ So somebody said to me, ‘You’re just not a good singer.’ Somebody else said, ‘You can’t sing.’ Somebody else said, ‘You’re never gonna make it.’ I said, ‘I don’t care what you say. You don’t know me.’ And that is what I think some people don’t know. You don’t have to listen.”
Bayley was Iron Maiden’s lead singer from 1994 to 1999. The albums he worked on, ‘The X Factor’ and ‘Virtual XI,’ sold less and had lower chart positions. After leaving the band, Bayley released several albums under the names Blaze and his own.
