BIFF BYFORD Says SAXON Put 'Denim And Leather' Heavy Metal Look 'On The Map' With 1981 Song And Album

At this year's edition of the Rockharz festival, vocalist Biff Byford of British heavy metal legends SAXON spoke to Katrin Riedl of Germany's Metal Hammer magazine about the inspiration for the band's classic song "Denim And Leather", which was the title track of SAXON's fourth studio album. Biff said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, I still think it is an anthem for metal fans around the world. It's a big song. Well, really, I'm writing the lyrics about the audience there, and I think it was one of the first songs, really, that we actually got the fans to come down and sing on the record — by mail, letters and telephone. So, it was a bit of a big deal for us at the time. Some people didn't really like it, but we thought, 'Fuck it. Let's do it. It's a song about the fans, so let's include the fans.' And it's a good groove. "

Biff continued: "At the time, we were big fans of MONTROSE, of the first MONTROSE album. There was a song on there called 'Rock Candy', and we loved the drum beat. So we sort of used that sort of groove for the basis of 'Denim And Leather'. So, yeah, it was great, great, great. People liked it. It's probably the biggest album of the three — 'Wheels Of Steel', 'Strong Arm Of The Law' and 'Denim And Leather'. 'Cause it had two [other] big songs on there, 'Never Surrender' and 'And The Bands Played On'."

Speaking about SAXON's association with the biker scene, particularly as the "Denim And Leather" back cover featured a photo of the bandmembers on motorcycles, Biff said: "Well, we were a biker band — from me, really, 'cause I was a big biker. [I] still am, really. I like motorbikes. I haven't really got one at the moment. But, yeah, I've had hundreds of bikes. So I was just singing from my upbringing, really, which was all about motorcycles, making cars go faster. My brother was a big petrolhead. So from those days, I was just writing about my life and life of my friends. And I just think that the whole concept of the band at that time was to write about things that we liked. So I think the inspiration behind 'Denim And Leather', because by 1981, we were pretty big in the U.K. and Europe, probably one of the biggest bands of the newer bands. And [I wanted] to sing a song about the audience. And because everybody at that time started wearing denim jackets [with] cutoff sleeves and leather jackets, it was a bit of a uniform. I mean, I think it went away a bit in the '90s, but recently, in the last 10 years, it's come back again, and a lot of younger fans are wearing battle jackets. So it's a great thing — it's a great thing to be connected to that movement, really. You can be into hardcore metal or death metal or classic metal — it doesn't matter, as long as you're wearing the jacket with your favorite bands' patches on there. That's the main thing."

Asked how important of a song "Denim And Leather" was for SAXON, Biff said: "Well, I think it was fairly important to us. We'd had three albums out very quickly — one in '79, late '79, two in 1980 and then one in '81, 'Denim And Leather'. So it was pretty important for our rise, I think."

On the topic of SAXON's stage clothes, particularly the fact that the bandmembers later wore spandex and sneakers, Biff said: "To tell you the truth, they weren't really that important. We just wore jeans and leather jackets back in the day. I think the spandex thing started years before that. So we just emulated bands that we wearing them at the time, really, from the '70s. But mostly it was leather jackets, really — black T-shirts and leather jackets; that was our uniform. And the bullet belts. Me and Lemmy [MOTÖRHEAD] were quite well known for wearing bullet belts at the time. But, yeah, it was a good look. It was biker, but it wasn't too extreme of a look. Lemmy was the same. I don't think Lemmy really was a biker, but he was associated with that sort of look. I mean, he did own a motorcycle, but I don't think he rode many of them. So, yeah, 'Denim And Leather', on the back [there] was a picture of us on motorcycles, so it's a bit of a giveaway, really."

After the interviewer noted that the denim-and-leather look has come to symbolize the heavy metal genre to the mainstream, Biff concurred. "Yeah, I did have some denim stuff made for that tour, but just jackets with the stuff on the back," he said. "And I think over the years that look has become iconic with metal and hard rock. So, yeah, I think we started a great trend. It was already there, but we've sort of put it on the map, if you like, with that song and that album… I mean, the song's known all over the world, and not everybody knows it's our song. But they all know the song."

SAXON recently entered the studio to begin recording the follow-up to its 24th studio album, "Hell, Fire And Damnation", which came out in January 2024 via Silver Lining Music.

A little over two months ago, Byford shared a video update in which he said he had completed the final round of chemotherapy in his fight against bowel cancer.

Although Biff released a video message in August in which he implied that he underwent an operation to remove "a small tumor" from his "prostate gland", he later clarified that he was actually diagnosed with bowel cancer, which is cancer that is found anywhere in the large bowel, including the colon and rectum. Byford was later treated with chemotherapy for "a short period", resulting in the cancelation of a couple of shows and the postponement of several others.

Earlier in the year, SAXON announced the cancelation of 10 summer shows and festival appearances while Byford was recovering from the cancer surgery.

In August 2024, Biff underwent a "procedure" to treat atrial flutter, a type of heart rhythm abnormality, or arrhythmia, that causes the heart's upper chambers (atria) to beat too quickly.

In September 2019, Biff suffered a heart attack and underwent an emergency triple bypass surgery.

"Hell, Fire And Damnation" was produced by Andy Sneap (JUDAS PRIEST, EXODUS, ACCEPT) and Byford, with Sneap mixing and mastering.

In early 2023, SAXON guitarist Paul Quinn announced that he was stepping back from touring with the band. As a result of his decision, SAXON canceled its April 2023 South American tour as well as the appearance at the Monsters Of Rock cruise. Quinn has since been replaced on the road and in the studio by DIAMOND HEAD's Brian Tatler.

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 "Princess Of The Night", "Wheels Of Steel" and "Power And Glory".