Blaze Bayley; At The End of the Day (Book)(Author Larry Paterson)

It's not often that a drummer writes an official history of the band he currently brandishes the sticks for, however Larry Paterson, current drummer in Blaze Bayley, has already put pen to paper on around ten books covering Second World War and U-Boat history. Therefore the leap to documenting the ups (many) and downs (more so!) of his band's lead singer, along with the merry go round of musicians to join his ranks over the years doesn't seem quite so unusual. In style the book is chatty and humorous and while you will find music books out there that contain greater prose and "weight" than that shown here, what Paterson has achieved is to convey the passion, pride and drive that Blaze Bayley the man and the band approach every album, song and gig with. The other point that comes across loud and clear is that when you are not operating at the very top end of the music business, then circumstance can and often do outweigh the most meticulous planning and the humour and determination that is required to overcome what is thrown at a band.

Now let's be honest here, most biographies that spend page upon page retelling the childhood of the subject have to be extremely well written not to be boring as hell, as it's the information about the person while they are doing what we know them for best that is the reason the book was bought in the first place. This is not a trap into which "At The End of the Day" falls into, as Paterson gives a brief flavour of Blaze's and the other members upbringings, however the focus is placed squarely on the musical activities of the band. Obviously Blaze is the main focal point of the book and we get a slightly too brief detail of Wolfsbane and then Iron Maiden. The book is about the band that was BLAZE and the current Blaze Bayley band, however a little more time spent on Maiden from Bayley's point of view would have been welcome. That said there are interviews, some new, and quotes from all the main players in the Iron's camp, none more so than Steve Harris himself and the honesty and respect that remains from the band towards Blaze is good to see. Bayley himself is remarkably candid about his thoughts regarding his time in the band and the book gives frank descriptions of why a parting of the ways became the only possible outcome at the time, even if performance wise Blaze was more satisfied with his contributions to Maiden than ever before. Hearing about the inner workings in Maiden from a perspective other than current members of the band is also interesting, as for a band so big and organised, some of the way Blaze was managed does appear to have been to his detriment.

Dotted throughout the book are black and white pictures from every era of Blaze and the band's career and they add to the flow of the book. There are also the standard colour pics in the centre of the book and while there is the odd typo, the book is wonderfully presented and extremely easy to read. In fact I flew through it in a matter of days due to its fast flowing style. The only criticism of the layout of the book, is that after every chapter there is a list of all the tour dates that were played during the time covered in that section. Whilst it highlights the band's work ethos, it does break the book up a little and would have been better placed at the rear alongside the selected discography.

As mentioned above, what is most striking in the book is the level of honesty contributed by everyone quoted, one of the best examples being Paterson's own opinion of the Chokehold debut album (which he played on) being that it "Sucked yards of cock!" However equally openly dealt with are the poor career decisions made by Blaze at certain times, possibly the worst being when he believed a guy in a bar that he managed The Scorpions and then proceeded to allow him to manage his band with catastrophic ineptitude that eventually led to the other band members being isolated from Blaze and began the breakup of that line up. The deep depressions and tough times that Bayley went through while he was bandless are not side stepped and it's rewarding to see his future wife lift the man's spirits and put him back on a stage, where he belongs fronting a band playing classy metal.

Once Larry actually joins the band the approach of the book alters slightly, from being a history of the band and its members, the feel is more of a diary or well written blog and the book becomes more about the day to day running of the band and how the tours and albums progressed and either did or didn't come together. Some of it is a little repetitive, for example I am now well versed in which airlines I should and shouldn't travel with to avoid being charged excess baggage fees. That said there are more genuine laugh out loud moments during this part of the story and it is always a pleasure to keep turning the pages even if the style is less authoritative and informed.

The tragic death of Blaze's wife Debbie, who was also the band's manager is tactfully covered and it's obvious through reading this section what a huge blow this was to not just Blaze but to everyone that Debbie came into contact with. The amazing ability of the band to continue their commitments at that time and Blaze using the situation as inspiration to honour Debbie is uplifting and a lesson we could all learn from.

"At The End of the Day" is an excellent document of what being in a band day to day is like and the trials, tribulations and triumphs that are encountered when you are. It really is one of those books that all young musicians starting out should read to help them follow a smoother path and for those of us who just have a hankering to know more about Blaze Bayley, the man and band and in fact, the metal music business in general, then there is much here to be enjoyed and wondered at. Highly recommended.

Added: October 17th 2010
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Blaze Bayley online
Hits: 1517
Language: english

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