After loan spells with Fulham and Newcastle United he joined Birmingham City in search of regular first team football.

However, by the time Blackburn were promoted to the newly created Premier League in 1992, Gayle had fallen down the pecking order in favour of expensive new signings Mike Newell and David Speedie, and with the arrival of national record signing Alan Shearer that summer, it was clear that Blackburn manager Kenny Dalglish felt that Gayle was surplus to requirements at Ewood Park.

Gayle joined Halifax Town in the newly renamed Division Three but managed just five league appearances as they were relegated to the Football Conference.

As an overage player, he helped England win the 1984 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, in which he scored a goal in the final against Spain.

[6] In August 2016, it was reported that Gayle had turned down a nomination for an MBE for his work with "Show Racism the Red Card", saying it would be "a betrayal to all of the Africans who have lost their lives, or who have suffered as a result of Empire.