Saxon are an English
heavy metal band, formed in 1976 in Barnsley
, Yorkshire
. As leading lights in the
New Wave of British Heavy
Metal they had huge success in the 1980s with 8
UK Top 40 albums including 4 UK Top 10 albums.
Saxon also had numerous singles in the Top 20 singles chart.
Between
1980 and 1987 Saxon established themselves as one of Europe's biggest metal acts, they also had success in
Japan
and in the USA
. In
Japan, the single "Motorcycle Man" stayed in the charts for over 5
months. They still tour heavily and regularly. Their latest tour is
their largest in the UK since the late 1980s. Saxon have sold more
than 13 million albums worldwide and heavily influenced bands such
as
Metallica,
Megadeth,
Sodom and
Running Wild.
There is another incarnation of Saxon featuring two former band
members who hold the legal rights to the name - "
Oliver/Dawson Saxon".
History
Saxon began with a lineup of
Peter "Biff"
Byford on
vocal,
Paul Quinn and
Graham Oliver on
guitars, Steve "Dobby" Dawson on
bass and
drummer Pete
"Frank" Gill. Early in their career the band changed their name
from
Son of a Bitch to Saxon, and
gained support slots on tour with more established bands such as
Motörhead.
In 1979 the band signed to the
Carrere
record label and released their eponymous
debut album. In 1980 follow-up album
Wheels of Steel (UK no 5)
spawned two hit singles: the title track, and the crowd favourite
"747 (Strangers in the Night)". The
Strong Arm of the Law album (UK
no 11), considered by fans to be one of their best recordings, was
released later that same year, and chart success continued with
singles from their next release,
Denim and Leather (1981 UK no 9). The
title track to that album is seen as an anthem of the early 1980s
metal movement. Later legal issues with Carrere negated most if not
all of the financial gains seen during their early success.
A relentless series of headlining tours around the UK capitalised
on this success and a sold out tour of Europe with support act
Ozzy Osbourne highlighted Saxon's
immense ability on the road and was set in stone with the live
release
The Eagle Has
Landed (1982 UK no 5).In America they were supported by,
amongst others, Metallica and they finished the U.S. tour with four
sold out shows in Los Angeles.
As the NWOBHM movement began to fade 1983's
Power & the Glory, their
highest selling album to date, saw Saxon establish themselves as
one of the major European metal acts together with
Iron Maiden and
Judas
Priest. The "Power and Glory Tour" of 1983 was an arena tour
that began in Europe and was a huge success.
The US leg of the tour
with support act Accept proved
successful and Saxon found themselves on the verge of becoming a
major act in the US as the album, in its first week of release,
sold more than 15,000 copies in Los Angeles
alone. The emerging Glam Metal scene in
America would however put a dent in the bands conquest of the
American market.
Crusader, released
in 1984 (UK no 12) sold over 2 million copies and the 1984 world
tour "The World Crusade" was again a success both in Europe and
America. In the US they had
Mötley
Crüe and
Krokus as support for
parts of the tour as the band spent one year on the road. Though
still heavy, critics detected a more americanized sound on
Crusader and fans began to wonder what direction the band
was taking.
They signed with EMI in 1985 and took a more commercial direction
with their new record company.
Innocence Is No Excuse released
in 1985, was a question mark to many fans as the raw, heavy
Saxon-sound had been polished to gain US attraction. The album has
however gained more critical acclaim with the years. A huge world
tour followed but in early 1986 bassist Steve Dawson left the band
and Saxon was back in the studio recording their 8th studio album
Rock the Nations without a
bass player. With Elton John guest playing on 2 tracks Byford laid
down the bass parts, as usual
Paul Quinn on lead guitar and soon
hired Paul Johnson to fill the spot and a European arena tour
followed.
In 1987 they headlined the Reading Festival and toured the
U.S.
With American success hard to find, the release of the
disappointing
Destiny
(1988) did not help and Saxon were later dropped by EMI. They found
new life in 1990, signed to
Virgin
Records and released five studio albums in the 90s before
becoming increasingly popular in the new millennium with a string
of strong album releases.
Headlining Wacken Open Air, Bloodstock and Monsters of Rock
continued their momentum and cemented the bands 25 year long
reputation as one of metal´s great live acts.
Saxon's
The Inner Sanctum
album, released in
Europe on March 5, 2007,
and
North America on
April 3, was seen by many critics as their best work
in years. In 2007, they started a world tour in support of
The
Inner Sanctum which saw them have only 15 nights off from 60
dates.
Saxon released a new studio album entitled "Into the Labyrinth" on
12 January 2009. In February, it was
announced that the band were cancelling the Spanish leg of their
European tour with
Iced Earth, due to
scheduling issues.
Collaboration with Harvey Goldsmith
In 2007, Saxon was the subject of an episode of
Harvey Goldsmith's Get Your Act
Together.
As part of his program, Goldsmith wanted to try and restore their
popularity and cement their reputation as a great band once again.
He drafted in two new producers to overlook the production of the
new single
If I Was You (a song about gun culture), which
went straight to number one of the Rock Charts in over 10 countries
(becoming their most successful single for over 12 years).
At the end of the programme, Saxon played at the sold out Sheffield
City Hall. Saxon also performed at the
2008
Download Festival.
Line-ups
Throughout the band's history line-up changes have been common, but
with Byford and Quinn remaining as constants. Gill left in 1981
after injuring his hand, to be replaced by
Nigel Glockler, formerly of
Toyah Willcox's band, who was himself replaced
twice – briefly between 1987 and 1988 (by
Nigel Durham), and, more permanently, following
an injury of his own in 1998. Glockler rejoined the band in 2005
after his neck and shoulder injury had been healed.
Gill later went on to play for
Motörhead. Dawson departed in 1986 – his
replacement, Paul Johnson, lasted two years before leaving.
Nibbs Carter has filled the position
ever since.
When Graham Oliver left in 1995 (replaced by Doug Scarratt), the
band split into two different Saxon groups - one dominated by
vocalist Byford and his cohort Quinn and the other consisting of
original Saxon members Oliver and Dawson. A period of legal actions
ensued, resulting in both groups having the right to use Saxon in
their name (although former member one must be indicated as
"
Oliver/Dawson Saxon").The
line-up of Byford's Saxon has been fairly stable apart from the
departure of a few drummers.
Following Glockler's departure, German
Fritz Randow took up the position until
2004. His replacement was former
Stratovarius man
Jörg Michael.
The line-up that played on the Lionheart album consisted of Byford
on vocals, guitarists Quinn and Scarrat, Carter on bass and Michael
on drums. The German originally agreed to perform on the album as a
session musician, but following his
firing from
Stratovarius was hired as a
full-time member. Following the rapid reunion of Stratovarius,
Michael departed after only a year in the job, opening the door for
Glockler to return to Saxon. Saxon recorded
The Inner Sanctum after the release
of the live album
The
Eagle Has Landed - part 3, which features Glockler and
Micheal on drums, as well as former drummer Fritz Randow.
Line-up history
Founding members of Saxon listed in
bold
Son of a Bitch (1976-1978)
Saxon (1978-present)
Original lineup (1978-1981)
Second lineup (1981-1986)
Third lineup (1986-1987)
Fourth lineup (1987-1988)
Fifth lineup (1988-1994)
Sixth lineup (1995-1999)
Seventh lineup (1999-2004)
Eighth lineup (2004-2005)
Present lineup (2005-present)
Discography
Live Albums
- 1982 : The Eagle Has
Landed
- 1989 : Rock 'N' Roll Gypsies
- 1990 : Greatest Hits Live !'
- 1996 : The Eagle Has Landed part 2
- 1998 : BBC Sessions/Live at Reading
- 2006 : The Eagle
Has Landed - part 3
- 2007 : Transmissions: Live at Nottingham Rock City
1990
Compilations
- 1984: Strong Arm Metal
- 1990: Back on the Street
- 1991: Best of Saxon
- 1996: Champions Of Rock
- 1999: A Collection of Metal
- 2000: Diamonds & Nuggets
- 2001: Beast of Rock
- 2001: Masters Of Rock
- 2002: The very best Saxon album ever
- 2003: Heavy Metal Thunder
- 2007: The Very Best Of Saxon: 1979-1988
* Note that rock music markets is worthy full-up with tons of
compilations, covers, tributes etc... ()"Tribute To Judas
Priest", dans lesquels ils ont très bien rendu hommage à Judas Priest avec "You've Got An Other Thing
Coming"). For instance, Metallica
made many covers from ((Saxon|band]]and Judas Priest as debuts, where the introduction
of British Heavy Metal got its
influence in the US.
Videography
- 1983 : Live in Nottingham, UK
- 1985 : Live Innocence
- 1990 : Hits Live
- 2002 : Classic Rock Legends
- 2002 : Live Innocence & The Power & The
Glory
- 2003 : The Saxon Chronicles
- 2007 : To Hell And Back Again
- 2009 : Out coming DVD Coolhead
Production with co-producers (pre-orderers)
External Links
Catégorie:New
Wave of British Heavy Metal BandsCatégorie:New
Wave of British Heavy MetalCatégorie:British Metal
BandsCatégorie:Heavy Metal
BandsCatégorie:1970
BandsCatégorie:1980
BandsCatégorie:1990
BandsCatégorie:2000
Bands
Catégorie:Groupe de
metal britanniqueCatégorie:Groupe de heavy
metalCatégorie:Groupe
de musique des années 1970Catégorie:Groupe
de musique des années 1980Catégorie:Groupe
de musique des années 1990Catégorie:Groupe
de musique des années 2000
References
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