BIFF BYFORD Says SAXON Never Really Had Problems With Alcohol And Drugs

In a brand new interview with the "Toby And The Whole Truth" podcast, SAXON frontman Biff Byford spoke about the fact that many artists turn to drugs or alcohol in order to cope with mental health issues that often result from being on tour or simply being part of the music industry.

He said: "When you're touring at a high level, it's very easy to indulge yourself in lots of different things. It's very easy when people offer you — you know, they'll give you anything. People just wanna be your friends, I suppose. With us, we didn't really have a problem with drugs. I know the other guys had tried drugs. Me and Quinny [Paul Quinn, guitar], we used to have the odd joint now and again. It didn't really get into a habit; we didn't get hooked on it. I know some people that had it first thing in the morning, [smoked] it all day until they would sleep at night. It's a bit of a brain destroyer if you take too much of it.

"Nobody had a massive alcoholic problem," he continued. "People had experimented with LSD and stuff, and that was the game/drill in the '70s. Cocaine — I had some cocaine a couple of times. So I've really got nothing to be depressed about, to tell you the truth. I wasn't married at the time. You have to remember that Steve [Dawson, bass] and Graham [Oliver, guitar] were married, so they just did things differently.

"I don't think we had a massive amount of pressure on us. Because we wanted this bloody thing for so long, when we actually got it, we were aware that we didn't want to throw it away on self-indulgence.

"Some people do have a gene in them that get addicted to lots of different things, and some people get addicted to drugs, and it's bad — it is really bad," he added. "Luckily, we didn't have that sort of problem within the band. It doesn't mean to say we weren't debauchering our way across the planet — we were — but no one, at least in my mind, was addicted."

Byford and Quinn are the sole remaining original members in SAXON's current lineup.

Originally from South Yorkshire, England, SAXON has gone on to sell about 23 million albums and has produced such classic songs as "Denim And Leather", "Princess Of The Night", "Wheels Of Steel" and "Power And Glory".

Byford's first solo album, "School Of Hard Knocks", was released on February 21 via Silver Lining Music.