1977 will always be remembered as the defining moment for punk rock. But it was also in that year that one of Britain’s greatest heavy metal bands was born. From Yorkshire, and working-class heroes to a man, Saxon rose out of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal at the turn of the 80s alongside Iron Maiden and Def Leppard. And while Saxon would never attain global superstardom as Maiden and Leppard did, theirs is a mighty legacy that sustains them to the present day. As singer Biff Byford proudly declares: “We’re one of the quintessential English heavy metal bands.”
Originally named Son Of A Bitch, the renamed Saxon made their initial breakthrough in 1980. In this, the year of Back In Black, Heaven And Hell, Ace Of Spades and so many other all-time great hard rock and heavy metal albums, Saxon delivered not one but two genre-defining classics: Wheels Of Steel and Strong Arm Of The Law.
The band’s popularity remained high until the mid-80s, when an attempt to refine their sound for the American market alienated diehard fans and coincided with the departure of totemic bassist Steve ‘Dobby’ Dawson, whose extravagant moustache and on-stage finger-pointing antics were the inspiration for the character of Derek Smalls, played by Harry Shearer, in This Is Spinal Tap.
In the early 90s they turned the ship around. A series of heavier albums restored Saxon’s credibility and fan base. And although another founding member, guitarist Graham Oliver, left in 1994, Byford has led the band through the beat part of five decades, with his trusty lieutenant, guitarist Paul Quinn, at his side. Quinn retired from touring in 2023.
In the current line-up of Saxon, a shared history runs deep. Drummer Nigel Glockler has been with the band, on and off, since 1981; bassist Nibbs Carter has been a permanent fixture since 1989; even the ‘new boy’, guitarist Doug Scarratt, is now a Saxon veteran of more than 20 years. And filling in for Quinn? Another much-loved veteran of the NWOBHM, Diamond Head's Brian Tatler.
In the band’s long career there have been 24 studio albums, two covers collections and 12 live sets. Byford admits that “there was a period when we lost our edge”. But as proven on latter-day albums such as Scarifice (2013) and, most recently, Hell, Fire and Damnation, this veteran band still deliver on Byford’s mission statement from 1981: to “fill your heads with heavy metal thunder”.
