"I'm outside of the mainstream, and that's how I like it": Blaze Bayley's debut solo album flopped 25 years ago - but now he's taking it on the road

Still a member of the reunited Wolfsbane, former Iron Maiden frontman Blaze Bayley has just embarked on an anniversary tour performing his debut solo album Silicon Messiah in its entirety.

How is it even possible that Silicon Messiah is twenty-five years old?

It’s just mad, isn’t it? I had some ideas intended for my third album with Maiden, which didn’t happen, of course, but they became the core of Silicon Messiah. I had learned so many lessons from working with Steve Harris, and those also came out with the album. Playing Silicon Messiah from start to finish has been incredible.

Does it present a torrent of emotions – joy, relief, uncertainty, fear?

I see where you are going with that question, and in some cases it does. But what I was able to do was take my feelings at the time – fear, loneliness and isolation – and place them within the characters in songs like Ghost In The Machine, which I got from [sci-fi author] Ray Bradbury.

Back then, with the album, was there a moment when you knew that things would be okay?

No! Not at all! [Laughs]. I mean, I was hopeful. I knew I’d made a good record; I’m not talking Grammy level or anything, but Silicon Messiah was stillborn. For reasons I won’t get into, it came out in the same week as Brave New World, Maiden’s first album with [the returning] Bruce Dickinson, and got completely overshadowed. Some people thought I’d given up or retired.

The same with the next album, Tenth Dimension [2002], nobody knew about it. Twenty-five years later, I’m completely independent and I work with a great team, and it’s only now that Silicon Messiah is coming to life. It’s finally doing what I always hoped it would.

Unless you’re an artist in that top ten per cent, the market seems to be shrinking by the month…

[Interrupting] Does it?

Well, grass-roots venues are closing down and live attendances are dropping off.

I have a different view to you because I’m out there in the world. I’ve played everywhere. I’ve done arenas but now I play small rooms, and my attendances are not dipping. Now I choose rooms where I can be close to my audience. I play independent venues, not the O2 halls, and we work in partnership with them. After our shows they ask: “Same time next year?”

It’s not some big corporate thing. I’m outside of the mainstream, and that’s how I like it. And yes, our legendary older bands are literally dying away, but there is fresh blood. I’m talking about Tailgunner, Green Lung and Wytch Hazel. Things are not dying, they’re changing. That’s how I look at things.

What was the logic behind Wolfsbane re-recording their 1989 debut album Live Fast, Die Fast?

Well, the master tapes had become lost, we couldn’t put it on Spotify, and there were a couple of issues with the production [by Rick Rubin]. We play the songs a little bit differently now, and we thought: “Wouldn’t it be nice to put things right?”

Has there been any feedback from Rubin? Do you even care what he might think?

We haven’t heard anything from Rick. I don’t know him that well, but my suspicion is that he wouldn’t even be bothered. He did his best for us at the time but it wasn’t a particularly great marriage. However, for us [Wolfsbane] this is absolutely massive. The gods of metal have been kind and most of our fans tell us that they love its new sound.

Blaze Bayley's Silicon Messiah tour is now underway. Check his website for dates and tickets.