Saxon frontman Biff Byford has been belting his heart out over heavy metal thunder since Jim Callaghan was prime minister in the 1970s, and has overseen the Barnsley metal legends’ ascent from smoky taprooms to the world’s biggest stages.
He’s been there, done that, and used the t-shirt to staunch a tour van’s oil leak, so there was a lot of ground to cover when we sat him down with a hatful of your probing questions. Despite turning 74 in January, Biff was bristling with enthusiasm for the task – especially when we asked about tea…
Denim OR leather?
Matthew Haley, Facebook
“Ooh, I don’t know, I like ’em both! But I think probably denim. I should say leather, being a biker, but I like a nice pair of denim jeans, definitely. Also, if you wear leather onstage it doesn’t last two minutes, it becomes unwearable with the sweat. So denim’s much better, actually!”
Back in the lean years of the 90s, did the band ever come close to calling it quits?
Nigel Taylor, Facebook
“No, we didn’t. We were very lucky – around 1990 we signed with Virgin in Germany. We were in that no-man’s land between record deals after EMI, and Virgin came to my house to offer us a deal. Solid Ball Of Rock was our first album for Virgin, and that was a big album for us. We went through the 90s on the strength of that, really. Our organisation was based out of Germany back then, so we didn’t do a lot of touring in the UK. We were a bit out of favour at that time, so we went to where we were able to keep going.”
What’s the greatest riff in metal?
Ben Saunders, Facebook
“I don’t think there’s a single one – there were so many great riffs just in the 60s and 70s – but for metal I’d probably say Iron Man. Iron Man has a lingering impact, and sounds just as good today as it did originally. Obviously Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love is a great one too… Ask me in an hour, I’ll probably say something else!”
What’s the worst gig you have ever played? Adam_Boon, Instagram
“It was in Temple, Texas. It wasn’t that bad a gig, but no one was there! We were touring the US with [former Accept and current U.D.O. lead singer] Udo Dirkschneider, and we got this gig offer in Temple – it was in a big barn made out of cardboard, not far from Waco. We asked if there’d been any advertising, and the guy said, ‘We had a line-dancing concert a couple of weeks ago, and we flyered everybody there.’ We were like, ‘You do know we’re not a country and western band, don’t you?’ So nobody came, because nobody knew we were playing. But it was funny, us and Udo just had a big jam onstage together, which was great fun!’"
Former TV/radio presenter Justin Lee Collins once said he would run into a burning building to save Saxon. Who would you brave the flames to save? Alice Wilkes, email
“There isn’t a band I wouldn’t save. I wouldn’t stand outside and say, ‘I’m not saving them!’ Obviously if Priest or Maiden were on fire I’d save them, but a better question is, if 12 bands are in a burning building, which ones do you save first? Hmm!’"
Is there a Saxon song you regret?
Dunipace83, Instagram
“Some of our songs have had some bad press, but I don’t regret any - I probably regret who produced them. With Sailing To America [in 1984] we got hammered by the British press about selling out. It was misconstrued as us trying to break America, but it was about the Pilgrim Fathers setting out on the Mayflower. It was a historical song, but it got a bit misrepresented. It was produced quite lightweight, so it doesn’t have the power that it would if we recorded it today. Swings and roundabouts!”
Which artists, dead or living, would you love to collaborate with?
Vlad Magnifico, Facebook
“So I could choose Beethoven?! Actually, I’d have liked to have collaborated with Gary Moore. I knew Gary quite well in his heavy rock and metal days, and we never really worked together, so it would have been nice to write some riffs with him.”
How did the Amon Amarth collab come to be? Freek742617000027, Instagram
“We met them a few times when they first came onto the scene. The thing is, they’re from Sweden, and in the 80s we were absolutely humongous in Sweden. So a lot of those young Swedish musicians, who were learning in that period, were really into Saxon – we were one of their favourite bands at that time. And we got on really well with them. Obviously they drink, and Nibbs [Carter, Saxon bassist] is their big drinking buddy, so we had a drink and a chat, and I asked Johan [Hegg, Amon Amarth vocalist] if he’d sing on the song Predator. They’re a good band, their riffs are great, and Johan’s voice is not so brutal that you can’t hear what he’s singing, which is always good for us older guys!”
HAMMER: Who would win – Saxons or Vikings?
“Actually, the Saxons did win at Stamford Bridge! Obviously [a few weeks later] they lost to the Normans, but yeah, we beat the Vikings. I tell that to Amon Amarth all the time! The video we did with them for Saxons And Vikings was a bit Stamford Bridgey, and I was like, ‘You do realise we won this battle?’ ‘Ja, we realise, ja.’ ‘Well don’t forget mate, and I won’t keep mentioning the war!’ So yeah, we would win!”
How are you still making a killer album every two years?
Numpty’s Dusty Ruts, email
“I think it’s just a matter of focus. There’s a lot of time choosing riffs and working on stuff. After a couple of hours a day for a month, we’ll have 10 or 12 songs that will be good. So by the time we’re in the studio, we’ve done the hard work, we just need to play great. I mean, the next album might be the last album, we don’t know, we haven’t decided yet. We know we’ve got to try and make it as good as Hell, Fire And Damnation, which is going to be hard actually. That was a great album!”
What’s your personal favourite Saxon album? Daniel Armstrong, Facebook
“I think Denim And Leather is my favourite from the 80s. It really summed up that era. With the title song, other bands might think it’s cheesy, but it’s a song from the heart to our fans, that’s why people like it so much. It gets thousands and thousands of streams in America - I don’t think half of them even know whose song it is, they just love the song! There have been three periods of Saxon. From a later one, I think [1991’s] Solid Ball Of Rock was a great album, I really enjoyed doing that, and then Doug [Scarratt, guitars]’s first album, [1997’s] Unleash The Beast, is a great album, it really is.”
How do you make the perfect cup of tea?
Dale Watts, Facebook
“Ah, this is it, see. Obviously it has to be Yorkshire Tea, the only brand we use! The secret used to be… when I was a lad it was all loose tea, so it was a teaspoon for each person and one for the pot, but nowadays it’s a bag per person. So you need a warm teapot, pour the boiling water straight onto the teabag, and let it brew. We always drink out of mugs, not cups – and we don’t do the little finger in the air thing! The colour of the tea is important; you can make it stronger or weaker if you put milk in last.”
How did you feel about thrash – and the bands you inspired – in the 80s?
TrueNorthBeardCo, Instagram
“I think ourselves and Motörhead helped start it, didn’t we? That style of fast and furious playing, with aggressive lyrics and a ‘Fuck ’em all’ attitude. We liked thrash, it excited us. We were a bit fed up with the slow, melodic plods that some of the bands were doing at that time. I think that’s one of the reasons why Lemmy liked us and took us on tour in ’79 – we weren’t like the usual bands, we were pushing the envelope a bit.”
What’s your all-time favourite Lemmy memory? Jaritheone, Instagram
“There’s a few! We met them tons of times, and me and Lem spent a lot of time together talking about things – private things really, that you wouldn’t mention to anyone else. He had a quick wit. We were playing Newcastle’s City Hall, there must have been 800 people outside the venue when we arrived. He was getting off the bus and someone shouted, ‘Lemmy, you’re God!’ And Lemmy said, ‘Nah, I’m not. God’s taller.’ To me, that really sums up Lemmy!”
Hell, Fire And Damnation is out now via Silver Lining Music. Saxon tour the UK in November.
