Saxon is one of the brightest bands in British heavy metal along with Diamond Head, Def Leppard и Iron Maiden. Saxon already has 22 albums. The leader and key figure of this rock band is Biff Byford.
History of the Saxon Group
In 1977, 26-year-old Biff Byford created a rock band with the slightly provocative name Son of a Bitch. At the same time, Bill did not come from a wealthy family. Before taking up music seriously, he worked as a carpenter's assistant and as a boiler engineer in a mine. In addition, from 1973 to 1976 he played bass in the three-piece rock band Coast.
Byford was the vocalist in Son of a Bitch. In addition to him, the group also included Graham Oliver and Paul Quinn (guitarists), Stephen Dawson (bassist) and Pete Gill (drums).
At first, the Sun of a Bitch team performed in small clubs and bars in England. Gradually, his popularity increased. At some point, talented rockers were offered to sign an agreement with the French label Carrere Records. However, the label's representatives set a condition - Byford and the team were obliged to abandon the old name. As a result, the rock band became known as Saxon.
The band's first five studio albums
Saxon's debut album was recorded from January to March 1979 and was released the same year. They called this record simply, in honor of the group (this is a very common move). It only had 8 songs. At the same time, some critics noted that it was not sustained in a single style. Some songs were like glam rock, some like progressive rock. But the release of this record seriously increased the recognition of the group.
However, the group became popular only after the public got acquainted with the second album, Wheels Of Steel. It went on sale on April 3, 1980 and managed to reach number 5 on the UK Albums Chart. In the future, he was able to acquire a "platinum" status in the UK (more than 300 thousand copies were sold).
This album included one of the most famous songs of the group "747 (Strangers in the Night)" (we are talking about the big blackout in the United States in November 1965). Then power outages occurred in several states at once. The event forced the planes, which were at that moment in the sky of New York, to postpone their landing and fly over the city in the dark. This song was able to get into the top 20 of the British charts.
In November of the same year, the album Strong Arm of the Law was released, cementing the band's success. Many "fans" consider him the best in the discography. But it wasn't as successful on the charts as the Wheels Of Steel album.
The third album Denim and Leather was released already in 1981. In fact, it was the first audio album to be recorded outside the UK, at Aquarius Studios in Geneva and Polar Studios in Stockholm. It was this album that included such hits as And the Bands Played On and Never Surrender.
Cooperation with future world stars
Then the Saxon group, in collaboration with the legendary Ozzy Osbourne organized a large-scale tour of Europe. And a little later (already without Osborne) she performed with concerts in the USA. Once, as part of this tour, the Saxon band was "opening up" for the Saxon band Metallica (this rock band was just beginning its career). Saxon also took part in the Monsters of Rock festival, which took place in the English village of Castle Donington.
It was during this period that the drummer changed in Saxon. Pete Gill was replaced by Nigel Glockler.
In March 1983, Saxon released their fifth LP, Power & the Glory. It was recorded in the United States and was aimed primarily at an American audience. He was able to get into the main American charts Billboard 200, but took only 155th position there.
Creativity of the group from 1983 to 1999. and controversy over the name
In 1983, musicians from the Saxon group broke off their contract with Carrere Records due to financial disagreements. They moved to EMI Records. This marked a new stage in the work of the team. The musicians began to work in the glam rock genre, and Saxon's music became more commercialized.
Then four studio albums were released: Crusader, Innocence Is No Excuse, Rock the Nations (Elton John recorded keyboard parts for some songs on the album), Destiny, which were released by EMI Records from 1984 to 1988.
All of these albums were commercially successful. However, most of the band's old fans did not like them. Saxon's work was also negatively affected by the fact that in early 1986, bassist and songwriter Stephen Dawson left the band. Paul Johnson was taken in his place, but this could not be called a full-fledged replacement.
After the release of Destiny (1988), which did not hit the Billboard 200, EMI Records did not collaborate with Saxon. The team was going through hard times, and its prospects seemed uncertain. As a result, Virgin Records became Saxon's new label.
In 1989 and 1990 the group organized two major European tours. The first tour was with Manowar. The second is a solo tour under the slogan 10 Years of Denim and Leather.
And in February 1991, the tenth studio album Solid Ball of Rock went on sale. It was very successful, the "fans" of the Saxon group perceived it as a "return to the roots". In the 1990s, the band released four more LPs: Forever Free, Unleash the Beast, Dogs of War and Metalhead.
Lineup changes
This decade was not without changes in the composition of the group. For example, in 1995 guitarist Graham Oliver left the band. And in his place came Doug Scarratt. Interestingly, a little later, Oliver teamed up with Stephen Dawson. Together they even tried to secure the Saxon name for themselves by registering it as a trademark.
In response, Byford sued to have the registration invalidated. Long proceedings began, which ended only in 2003. Then the British Supreme Court was on the side of Byford. And Oliver and Dawson had to rename their rock band from Saxon to Oliver / Dawson Saxon.
The Saxon Group in the XNUMXst century
Saxon is remarkable in that it has remained relevant even in the 1980st century (and not all hard rock legends of the XNUMXs succeed in this). This happened largely due to the fact that at some point the rockers from the Saxon group made a bet on the German audience.
On albums such as Killing Ground (2001), Lionheart (2004) and The Inner Sanctum (2007), Saxon collaborated with renowned German producer and sound engineer Charlie Bauerfeind. He specialized mainly in working with bands playing in the power metal style (this style is very popular in Germany).
As a result, this collaboration allowed the musicians from the Saxon group to find a modern sound. And as a result, the guys have won a significant number of new fans in Germany. Including among the youth.
The results of the latest 22nd album Thunder Bolt (2018) testify that Saxon have chosen the right path. In the main German hit parade, he took 5th position. In the British chart, the collection took 29th, in Swedish - 13th, in Swiss - 6th position. An amazing result, especially considering that the Saxon group has been around for about 40 years, and its lead singer is already almost 70.
And that's probably not all, because there is no talk of ending a musical career yet. In an interview, Byford said that the rock band could release a new album in 2021.
