Blaze Bayley

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The prices for the Blaze Bayley - Iron Maiden Anniversary Tour 2026 in Germany are very reasonable, starting at 34 - 39 EUR.
 
He also down the Friday night rock show on Planet Rock here in the UK. I know these are often prerecorded, but it takes up time.

Also, he provides lots of guest vocals for songs by other artists.

I would say he is busy enough!
 
Cat Milk Supreme said:
Yah, he's not comin my way on the Maiden tour. The Silicon Messiah set seems a good mix of both. Works for me as I'm not super familiar with his solo stuff, only heard that album once. Liked it though
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I think a Silicon Messiah-themed tour is the best possible introduction to Blaze Bayley’s catalog. That said, the Circle of Stone tour felt a bit short, only about 25 dates, before the Maiden and Silicon Messiah anniversary shows began. War Within Me received two tours, and although the Unstoppable tour had some cancelled dates due to Blaze’s health, they played the entire War Within Me album on selected shows. I think they could have done the same with Circle of Stone for this year, or at least presented a combined Circle of Stone / Silicon Messiah setlist. That said, I’m happy with a Silicon Messiah-focused setlist, I’ll be attending three shows on the 2026 leg. And of course, you still get a solid chunk of Maiden material as well. I might fly to London for the Maiden anniversary show in December, but I’ve already seen the Maiden anniversary shows in 2024 and 2025. Because of that, I’m really hoping for some Wolfsbane shows in late 2026. If that happens, I’ll prioritize those, as I’ve never seen Wolfsbane live. And hopefully, we’ll get a new Blaze Bayley album with a corresponding tour in 2027!
 
MaryPelon said:
I am a big fan of Blaze and don’t think it is fair to say he is not in high demand. He was booked for many festivals, his tickets sell well and he will add more dates to his tour.
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I am a big fan too, and I go to his shows most of the time he is somewhat close to me (though it will be a 2.5 hour drive this time around). But no, he isn't in that big demand, which is obvious by the attendance numbers. I have twice seen him play to less than a hundred.
 
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Last night he played in spain. Bigger stage than the show i went but now with only one guitar player. If in the last tour some songs sounded like a bad copy of iron maiden songs i cant imagine how it sounded now.
 
Yax said:
Because he isn't in that high demand, and extensive touring would saturate the markets that are financially viable for him. I presume they all, perhaps Blaze excluded, have part-time jobs.
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It’s not as if the live music scene is neatly divided into “high demand” and “low demand” across all genres and venues. There are many different setups, stadiums, theaters, clubs, along with different genres and very different approaches to touring. In Europe, if we focus on the metal scene at the club level, there is actually strong demand for musicians affiliated with well-known bands. Dave Ellefson is selling out clubs with his Megadeth: Countdown to Extinction tour. Tim “Ripper” Owens has just announced a second European tour within five months, repeating and expanding on many of the same venues he played in December. Carl Sentance is doing the same, as are Mark Boals, Michael Angelo Batio, the list goes on. So what is the benchmark for being considered “high demand”? Does it require stadium sell-outs to qualify? Looking at Blaze’s 2026 tour schedule, multiple shows already appear to be sold out, with venues inviting him back year after year and requesting his return as soon as possible. He operates within a club-level ecosystem that also includes many new bands who need these venues to get started. Without this scene, where are new metal bands supposed to grow? In that context, I would argue that Blaze is in high demand, precisely because he helps keep grassroots-level venues alive. In Sweden, for example, many venues depend on guaranteed sell-out shows from Blaze and other smaller but established metal acts in order to take risks on newer bands, either by booking them as opening acts or by giving them a chance to promote and headline their first shows. A sold out Blaze show means a new band can be given a chance the next weekend ;) Sure, Blaze isn’t in high demand for stadium shows, if we want to put it in that context, I’ll give you that. But metal, to me, has never been about being the most commercial or popular, or, in your words, “high demand.” That’s not what success in metal means to me.
 
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07-SMS:A1L said:
It’s not as if the live music scene is neatly divided into “high demand” and “low demand” across all genres and venues. There are many different setups, stadiums, theaters, clubs, along with different genres and very different approaches to touring. In Europe, if we focus on the metal scene at the club level, there is actually strong demand for musicians affiliated with well-known bands. Dave Ellefson is selling out clubs with his Megadeth: Countdown to Extinction tour. Tim “Ripper” Owens has just announced a second European tour within five months, repeating and expanding on many of the same venues he played in December. Carl Sentance is doing the same, as are Mark Boals, Michael Angelo Batio, the list goes on. So what is the benchmark for being considered “high demand”? Does it require stadium sell-outs to qualify? Looking at Blaze’s 2026 tour schedule, multiple shows already appear to be sold out, with venues inviting him back year after year and requesting his return as soon as possible. He operates within a club-level ecosystem that also includes many new bands who need these venues to get started. Without this scene, where are new metal bands supposed to grow? In that context, I would argue that Blaze is in high demand as it helps the grassrot level venues alive.
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Blaze Bayley went from playing between 500 (that's where the absolutely smallest Maiden shows were)-10 000+ with Maiden to what he is playing now.
Let's say that he averages at 250 this year, for the 63 or so shows that have been anounced. The real figure may be lower if you discard any festival appearances. That'll result in a 15 750 total attendance rate over a year. Let's say the average ticket price is 30 euros and Blaze and co get to pocket 20 euros. That's 315 000 euros over a year to, along with a bunch of t-shirts sold each gig, will account for all costs associated with touring + paying everybody else in the band. No, I wouldn't say that constitutes being in high demand. He is in enough demand that he can get by, sure, and he gets to travel and play. I don't think there's a market for him to play, say, 160 shows. Hell, he stopped playing my town 15 years ago. The first time I saw him they definitely lost money because barely anybody showed up.

And Ripper, yeah, he has literally said he doesn't play much in Europe because it's really hard for him, as a solo artist, to move enough tickets to make it worthwhile.
 
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Yax said:
Blaze Bayley went from playing between 500 (that's where the absolutely smallest Maiden shows were)-10 000+ with Maiden to what he is playing now.
Let's say that he averages at 250 this year, for the 63 or so shows that have been anounced. The real figure may be lower if you discard any festival appearances. That'll result in a 15 750 total attendance rate over a year. Let's say the average ticket price is 30 euros and Blaze and co get to pocket 20 euros. That's 315 000 euros over a year to, along with a bunch of t-shirts sold each gig, will account for all costs associated with touring + paying everybody else in the band. No, I wouldn't say that constitutes being in high demand. He is in enough demand that he can get by, sure, and he gets to travel and play. I don't think there's a market for him to play, say, 160 shows. Hell, he stopped playing my town 15 years ago. The first time I saw him they definitely lost money because barely anybody showed up.
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Your definition of what constitutes “high demand” isn’t clear to me. Even British Lion are playing small venues. Without artists touring this circuit, the club scene would be dead. There is demand for bands that can consistently fill clubs, and British Lion and Blaze Bayley clearly do exactly that. Being booked year after year, and repeatedly returning to the same venues, should reasonably be considered a sign of being in demand, albeit within a club circuit of smaller venues. If financial success or stadium-level shows are the only criteria for “high demand,” then fine, British Lion and Blaze Bayley would not qualify.
Yax said:
And Ripper, yeah, he has literally said he doesn't play much in Europe because it's really hard for him, as a solo artist, to move enough tickets to make it worthwhile.
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He did a European tour in December, selling out half the club shows. He is doing it again in May. So a total of 30 shows in 6 months!
 
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