Gayle - making his first appearance in almost a month - struck twice as the Magpies saw off Garry Monk's Leeds United to go five points clear at the top of the Sky Bet Championship.
His first goal came in bizarre fashion, as former England 'keeper Robert Green spilled Jack Colback's speculative effort from distance, leaving the frontman with a simple finish from barely two yards out.
If there was a touch of good fortune about their opener, the same could certainly not be said for the Magpies' second. Ayoze Perez and Vurnon Anita linked up cleverly on the right, and the Dutchman slid a superb low ball across the face of goal, which Gayle duly converted at the back post.
The former Crystal Palace forward thought that Newcastle were quick out of the traps in Yorkshire, their hosts playing before a capacity crowd for the first time in six years.
"We've had two weeks off, a lot of the boys have been away, we've come back strong and it was the perfect away performance," he told nufc.co.uk. "We talked before the game about the importance of coming out all guns blazing. After an international break, you can be asleep sometimes and you don't want to get an early goal against you.
"The last few months, we've been coming out really fast, and silencing the (opposing) fans as such. I thought we did that again today, which is credit to the quality in the team.
"There was a bit of luck involved in my first goal, but you always have to follow in and hope for the best. Luckily it dropped for me, and it helped us to push on from there.
"With Ayoze in the hole, there are always going to be good bits of play. He is a fantastic player and he worked well today. Luckily when the ball was played across I was there to get the goal for the team."
After a blistering start to the season, Gayle's own momentum was jeopardised by a hamstring injury last month, with the frontman sitting out the Magpies' last two outings in the Championship.
But, having marked his return to action with a brace, the frontman insists he is well-placed to help United continue their recent form - Rafa Benitez's side now nine points clear of third-placed Reading.
"The injury has cleared up - the physio has been fantastic with me," he said. "I've just been doing my rehab and I haven't been rushed into anything. It feels good, and I'm looking forward to playing week in, week out.
"It's important not to get complacent. As we've seen before, any team in the Championship can beat you if you don't turn up. We need to have the same work-rate and intensity every week, and if we do that we have a chance. But as I say, we have to keep working hard."
