SAXON BIOGRAPHY

SAXON
Biography

Saxon are a heavy metal band formed in November 1975 in Barnsley, Yorkshire, England. They were one of the bands that led the new wave of British heavy metal, placing eight albums in the UK top forty during the 1980s — four of them in the top ten and two in the top five — and they are still working half a century later, with Biff Byford at the centre of the band throughout.

Son of a Bitch — Barnsley (1975-1978)

The band came together in Barnsley under the name Son of a Bitch. Every source agrees on four of the five: Biff Byford on vocals, Graham Oliver and Paul Quinn on guitars and Steve Dawson on bass. They differ on the year and on the drummer — the English Wikipedia gives November 1975 and John Walker, the band's own official biography 1977 and Pete Gill — and both are recorded here rather than one being chosen.

The name was changed to Saxon around the time the band signed to the French label Carrere, which judged the old one unmarketable for radio. The sources differ here too: Wikipedia gives July 1978, the official biography 1979.

At the head of the new wave (1979-1981)

The debut album, Saxon, appeared on Carrere in May 1979. Wheels of Steel, released on 3 April 1980, reached number five in the UK and produced the singles "747 (Strangers in the Night)" and "Wheels of Steel"; Strong Arm of the Law followed on 7 November the same year and reached eleven. Two albums in one year put the band at the head of the wave.

Denim and Leather, released on 25 September 1981, went gold across Europe. Its title track describes the audience the band were playing to, and it has stayed in the set ever since, as have "Princess of the Night" and "And the Bands Played On". The drummer Pete Gill left that year after a hand injury and Nigel Glockler took his place.

Harry Shearer travelled with the band as an observer on the 1981 Strong Arm of the Law tour and drew on what he saw for the character of Derek Smalls in This Is Spinal Tap (1984).

From Carrere to EMI (1983-1988)

Power & the Glory, from March 1983, reached fifteen in the UK. It was produced by Jeff Glixman at the Record Plant in Los Angeles, the band's first album recorded in America. Crusader, released on 30 January 1984, was their last for Carrere and includes a version of Sweet's "Set Me Free".

The band moved to EMI in 1985 and released Innocence Is No Excuse on 2 September. It was produced by Simon Humphrey, who had worked with Simple Minds and U2, and its polished sound was aimed at the American market; it is also the last Saxon album with Steve Dawson. Elton John guested on piano on Rock the Nations, released in September 1986.

Destiny, from March 1988, was their last album for EMI, and the label dropped them after it. Nigel Durham played drums and Nibbs Carter played bass; Carter has been the band's bassist ever since.

The A- and B-sides of the singles they released from 1979 to 1988, on Carrere, Parlophone and EMI, are collected on BGO Records' three-CD A's and B's 1979-88 (43 tracks), which has a release date of 13 November 2026.

The Virgin years and a change of guitarists (1991-1997)

Solid Ball of Rock was released by Virgin's CBH in 1991, with Nigel Glockler back on drums, and reached thirty-one in Germany. Forever Free, from 1992, is the last full album with Graham Oliver, a guitarist in the band since it was formed.

Oliver left after Dogs of War in September 1995, having led the sale of a 1980 live recording without the band's permission. Doug Scarratt took the guitar chair and Unleash the Beast, from May 1997, was the first album with him. The chair has not changed since.

The dispute over the name (1999-2003)

In 1999 Graham Oliver and Steve Dawson registered Saxon as a trademark and claimed exclusive rights to it. In 2003 the High Court ruled for Biff Byford and the serving members, who owned the name. Oliver and Dawson then worked as Oliver/Dawson Saxon.

SPV/Steamhammer to UDR (1999-2015)

The band moved to SPV/Steamhammer with Metalhead in 1999, with Fritz Randow on drums. Killing Ground, from 2001, reached twenty-six in Germany, and Lionheart, from 20 September 2004, is the only studio album with Jorg Michael on drums.

Nigel Glockler returned in 2005 and has held the drum chair from The Inner Sanctum in 2007 to the present. Into the Labyrinth, released on 9 January 2009, reached six on the UK Rock & Metal chart and twenty-three in Germany. The band moved to UDR with Call to Arms on 3 June 2011; Sacrifice, from March 2013, was the first album Andy Sneap produced for them, and Battering Ram, from 16 October 2015, reached three on the UK Rock & Metal chart.

Silver Lining Music (2018- )

Thunderbolt, released on 2 February 2018, was their first for Silver Lining Music and reached five in Germany. Its song "They Played Rock and Roll" is for Motorhead after the death of Lemmy Kilmister in 2015.

Inspirations, their first covers album, appeared on 19 March 2021 and More Inspirations followed on 24 March 2023. Between them, Carpe Diem, released on 4 February 2022, reached seventeen in the UK, their highest British placing since Power & the Glory in 1983.

Brian Tatler of Diamond Head joined on guitar in 2022. Paul Quinn retired from touring in March 2023 but remains a member of the band. Hell, Fire and Damnation was released on 19 January 2024, and the twenty-fifth album is Gods of Thunder, with a release date of 22 January 2027.

Current line-up

These five are the members the band’s own official biography lists. Paul Quinn, a guitarist since 1975, retired from touring in March 2023; the English Wikipedia still counts him a member and the official page does not name him, so he is recorded here in words rather than in the table.

Member	Instrument	Years
Biff Byford	lead vocals	1975-
Nigel Glockler	drums	1981-1999, 2005-
Nibbs Carter	bass	1988-
Doug Scarratt	guitars	1996-
Brian Tatler	guitars	2022- (of Diamond Head)

Japanese shows

The band last played Japan in April 2025, three shows billed as the Hell, Fire And Damnation ~天誅のヘル・ファイア~ JAPAN TOUR 2025: Yogibo META VALLEY in Osaka on the 25th, Daikanyama UNIT in Tokyo on the 26th and Shibuya Stream Hall in Tokyo on the 27th. Doors were at 18:00 and each show started at 19:00; tickets were 15,000 yen in advance and 15,500 yen on the door, drink not included. The tour had been set for November 2024 and BURRN! ONLINE announced the new dates on 10 November 2024.

A note on sources

The facts here rest on the English Wikipedia article about the band, on the Wikipedia article for each album and on the band's own discography table, on MusicBrainz release rows for dates, labels and running orders, on Spotify embed payloads for album identity, and — for the 2025 Japanese concerts — on the venue page at unit-tokyo.com and the report at BURRN! ONLINE, with Songkick for the schedule ahead. All were read on 28 September 2026.