SAXON's BIFF BYFORD On Touring With MOTÖRHEAD In 1979: 'It Was A Big Eye Opener'

In a new interview with Trust In Rock, the YouTube channel launched by former MTV's "Headbangers Ball" presenter Vanessa Warwick, SAXON frontman Biff Byford was asked to name his most enduring memory from the world of metal. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think that one of my early memories was touring with MOTÖRHEAD in 1979. It was the first tour we ever did, the first time we ever went on a tour bus. And they invited us on the bus to travel with them. And we were very naïve Yorkshire lads then, and, well, still are, probably, but back in the day we had not seen the sort of glam side of it. We traveled to London. They were doing [British music chart television program] 'Top Of The Pops', and obviously we weren't, so we had to hang around there watching the show and everything. And they came out of the 'Top Of The Pops' studio with about seven girls… It was the first time we'd ever seen that many sort of groupies, I suppose you'd call them. And it was a bit of an eye opener, actually. And [MOTÖRHEAD leader] Lemmy was on everything, like he was, trying to get us to take everything, and we weren't really into that type of thing. But I remember it was a big eye opener. [It was] a little bit surreal."

He continued: "We were up in the front of the bus and they were at the back of the bus. And, yeah, it was a great time, and they helped us a lot in our early career, MOTÖRHEAD. They were big friends of ours and remained friends forever, but I always remember that first tour we did with MOTÖRHEAD. It was like a big eye opener, because that was, like, 30 dates or something, no days off and every day on the bus and the hotel. They were doing multiple nights everywhere. The beginning the tour there'd be one [show in] Birmingham, one in London, and by the end of the tour, we'd have done like three [dates in] Birmingham and three [shows at] Hammersmith. It was like an ongoing thing. So, I think that's one of the big memories."

SAXON recently announced the "Hell, Fire And Steel" tour of continental Europe which will not only see the band performing songs from its latest album, "Hell, Fire And Damnation", but will also the whole of "Wheels Of Steel" (released 45 years ago next year) as well as other fan favorites and hits from across the group's career.

The "Hell, Fire And Steel" tour kicks off in Bremen, Germany on February 4 and concludes on March 5 in Leipzig, Germany.

"Hell, Fire And Damnation" came out in January 2024 via Silver Lining Music. The LP sees SAXON investigate all areas of history and mystery amidst ten of their most confident and thunderously powerful songs yet.

On "Hell, Fire And Damnation", Byford delivers his richest vocals in years, Nigel Glockler and Nibbs Carter on drums and bass, respectively, lay down the rhythmic law with bombastic power, and the guitars of Doug Scarratt and Brian Tatler are fresh and fiery, a perfect complement to each other, carrying an overall energy and fury which will have fans salivating. Musically, SAXON bring it all to the table. There's a furious tribute to actual heavy metal in the denim-and-leather-coated super-sprint "Fire And Steel", a wonderful nod to the NWOBHM's birth in the electric mid-pace "Pirates Of The Airwaves", but maybe the true treasure amidst the jewels is "There's Something In Roswell", with the sort of expansive groove and embrace which deserves arenas.

Produced by Andy Sneap (JUDAS PRIEST, EXODUS, ACCEPT) and Byford, with Sneap mixing and mastering, "Hell, Fire And Damnation" strides the perfect line between confident, current power, and gloriously irreverent flexing of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal muscle which SAXON co-created.

"I think this album's one of the best he's done sound-wise, and he's done a lot of albums," Biff declared. "It has a really raw, vibrant sound... if you compress the total time making this album, it was four weeks tops… you can hear everything brilliantly, nothing's overcomplicated, nothing's over compressed. The guitar sounds are fucking immense, they're just great, raw guitar sounds. And we haven't done a lot of overdubbing on there, it's just playing. I really, really like it."

Early last year, 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 by DIAMOND HEAD's Brian Tatler.

Brian has already joined fellow guitarist Doug Scarratt, drummer Nigel Glockler, bassist Tim "Nibbs" Carter and Byford for a number of shows in 2023 and 2024, but will continue to be a member of DIAMOND HEAD.

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".