As a Saxon fan since the release of Denim And Leather in 1981, I have seen the band live countless times. I have read everything about the band I could get my grubby mitts, the majority of the information provided to me via popular British music magazines, like Kerrang, Sounds, Metal Hammer, etc. So, when offered the opportunity to interview Saxon lead vocalist Peter “Biff” Byford, there was no way I was going to pass on this golden opportunity.
As our scheduled 6:30 PM meeting approached, prior to their killer gig at the Galaxy Concert Theatre in Santa Ana, California, I must confess that the nerves were starting to rattle me.
Byrford, professional as he is, actually met with me several minutes before our appointment. As if my nerves were not enough, my digital audio recorder decided that “now” would be a good time to give me some problems. Biff, however, was patient, and, noticing my anxiety, told me, “If you want, you can come back in half an hour. I’m not going anywhere.”
In coordination with his understanding and patience, the recorder decided to go ahead, and behave. Thank you! Also present in the Galaxy dressing room was longtime Saxon guitarist Doug Scarratt who remained, for the most part, very quiet.
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First, I want to say…the first time I saw Saxon was after the release of Denim And Leather. The single “Princess Of The Night” was in wide MTV rotation.
Biff: Yeah, we started to get some recognition from the U.S.
You guys played four shows at The Whisky. And, uh, you had an opening band…
Biff: …Metallica.
Yeah, exactly. You remember.
Biff: Just made us play better that night.
Your have a new album, your 19th, entitled Call To Arms. When did your world tour actually start?
Biff: Well, we started the tour, back in March. We did our first shows in Greece, then pretty much covered all of Europe. After that, we went over to Japan. Then, we came here.
First show was the other night, at the Key Club ( Hollywood, CA). How’d that go?
Biff: Great. Very enthusiastic crowd. We haven’t been in the U.S in 15 years.
When you begin a tour, does it take a few shows under your belts, to get a rhythm flowing?
Biff: : Oh, no. We pretty much jump right into it. Actually, it takes a few shows to get the jet-lag out of the system. That’s pretty much the problem — the damned jet-lag. Eight hours flying, eight hours time difference.
Takes a toll.
Biff: Oh yes.
I guess as seasoned veterans, you don’t really need to find your footing?
Biff: (laughs): Oh, no. We’ve been doing this far too long, not to know what to do, or how to do it. We also, um, we don’t really rehearse all that much prior to a tour.
You have the songs all down, second nature.
Biff: Yeah. We run thru some things, if we throw in a song we haven’t done in awhile, but, uh…..yeah, we pretty much know all the songs.
Going back to the early 80s, when the British unleashed something known as the New Wave of British Heavy Metal…
Biff: Yeah, I remember that (laughs).
Saxon seemed to be in the middle of the pack. By that, I mean, you kept your success going, long after bands like Samsom, Preying Mantis, or Mama’s Boys had long gave it up. But yet, you never reached the same success plateau as, say, Iron Maiden…
Biff: Yeah, well…I think with Iron Maiden, and especially Def Leppard…..um, they had a better team.
Meaning?
Biff: Oh, better managers, better promotion. More backing.
But, you still had a sniff of success, just not at that level. That mega-success plateau.
Biff: Yeah, but, I mean….Iron Maiden, and, especially Leppard, they got the airplay thing going. They got more airplay in the UK, and, obviously, in the States.
You did sell a lot of albums in America, regardless.
Biff: Oh, definitely. We did have success overseas (in America), we sold, actually, a lot of albums in America, regardless. But for that Maiden or Leppard success, we just weren’t, if you will, the chosen ones.
Just a matter of timing?
Biff: Pretty much. You either make it, or don’t. But, I sure as hell am not going to complain about where we are. Most bands would give anything to reach our level.
One aspect of Saxon that I have always loved is that the band is as heavy as say, Black Sabbath, but yet, very melodic. The choruses are memorable, and the band is almost somewhat pop-oriented. How do you straddle that fine line, between heavy and melodic, without leaning too heavily on either?
Biff: Just happens. Not intentional, either way. We have always emphasized on the big power chords, the heavy guitar riffs. I cover that with the melody, the singing. It just balances out, just the way we write, is all. Maiden do the same.
But, I think Saxon are more arena-rock, you know, those sing-a-long choruses, that Maiden don’t have.
Biff: Well, then I guess, that’s our thing then, isn’t it?
Call To Arms. Just received a copy, haven’t had a lot of time to really dive into it, yet. But, just based upon my first listen, you still maintain that Saxon sound, but somehow don’t become, predictable, or stagnant.
Biff: Doing our jobs then, eh?
Did you ever think the band would have such longevity?
Biff: No. I mean, how could you? No one could.
Surprised at all? I mean, did you think, ‘Hey, maybe I can churn out one decent album, and hope for the best’?
Biff: It’s like an athlete. You run a marathon, and you’re not satisfied with that. You keep striving for more.
But, still…19 albums. That is an amazing feat.
Biff: Well, I have never went down that rock star drug road. I suppose we are all lucky in this band, the current line-up anyways. We love what we do. The music is what is important, you know?
The music is always the goal.
Biff: Yeah, exactly. We just want the music. We never demanded four bags of coke on our dressing room tables.
Doug: (finally joining in): The beer works just fine for us.
Biff: (continuing): We don’t care about the drugs. I’ve seen it destroy bands. Bands with promise, shot down because they were wrecked with excessive drug abuse. That’s not us. We are, when you come down to it, simply working class blokes. We were, if you will, raised on the streets. It’s always, the music is what is important to us.
Keeping away from the booze, and the drugs, contributes to a band’s longevity, then, right?
Biff: It keeps you better focused. You make better decisions, whether business, or in regards to the music, so, uh, yeah. Definitely.
The music is what you continuously strive for, instead of the next fix?
Biff: Exactly.
Saxon has undergone multitudes of personnel changes…
Biff: All bands do.
Yeah, of course. But you and (original guitarist) Paul (Quinn) have remained in the lineup, after all these years.
Biff: Well, it’s bloody hard to kick yourself out of your own band, isn’t it? (laughs)
That’s true!
Biff: Obviously you’re forgetting…..Doug’s been in the band, oh, what is it now?
Fifteen years.
Biff: Fifteen years.
Sorry Doug, wasn’t leaving you out of the conversation. You’re just so quiet.
Doug: Oh, no. Not at all. Carry on (laughs).
Biff: Uh, Nibs (Carter, bass) has been with us, what, 23 years?
Doug: Something like that.
I knew he was a long-time member, didn’t realize it had been that long, actually.
Biff: Yeah, time flies. Uh, Nigel (Glockner, drums), ah, he’s in and out, but it’s like, what 23 years, too, I think. But, Nibbs has been more consistent. Nigel comes and goes. Doug is the baby of the band, then. But, uh, these guys have been in this band longer than the original guys, so, they’re more Saxon, than the original line-up you may be referring to.
(Somewhat embarrassed)Well, I didn’t really think of it that way. But, what works? I mean, why do some stay, some go?
Biff: It’s all chemistry. Plain and simple. No surprises there. Get the right band members, the right chemistry.
And that was what has lacked in the past.
Biff: Yeah. You know, in the early days, it’s all, ‘Oh, let’s be this, or whatever,’ but, uh…you settle sometimes. You think you have the right guys, you think it’s all going to work out. But, you fool yourself, sometimes. And, you realize, ‘Ah, this isn’t right.’
You don’t realize until later.
Biff: Yeah. Um, you know, it ends up in arguing and fighting. They (bands members) go thru these ego periods, and then managers and producers get involved. ‘He says this, he says that’ nonsense.
How do you balance your set-list? You are out to promote new material, but don’t want to disappoint your old fans.
Biff: You can’t, it’s just impossible. Yeah, you can’t keep everyone happy. We have gone thru a lot of albums. Power And The Glory was big for us.
(The single from Power And The Glory) “Princess Of The Night” was huge.
Biff: Yeah, so, we had to promote that whole album, back then, but we don’t want to be a nostalgia act.
But the fans are pretty damn loyal.
Biff: Oh, don’t have to tell me that. But, if we have a new album, we can’t spend the night being a bloody Vegas lounge act. But, uh…we play for what? Two hours, or whenever they pull the power on us. So, we do cover a lot of ground.
Where does the band go from here, tour-wise?
Biff: To South America, then we go back to Europe. Call to Arms is doing well there, so…
Gotta promote.
Biff: Yeah. Yeah, back to Europe and…and the fucking snow.
Is it hot for you here in California?
Biff: Not really. I mean, ah…Japan was, what?
Doug: It was 85 there.
Oh, I didn’t know it got that hot there.
Doug: Oh, trust me, it does.
Ever tempted to, oh, maybe side-step Saxon’s style, bring in an additional writer, churn out a radio-friendly hit.
Biff: No. That’s not us. That’s not what it’s about. We are Saxon, and our fans expect a certain…
…Criteria?
Biff: Yeah. A style from us. It’s not about the money. It’s the music. I mean, during the 80s, every metal band did some pop bullshit. Priest did it with Turbo, and, hey, it worked for them. I’m not knocking it. But, it is just not for us.
Your songs are so, you know…sing-a-long, anthem-oriented. Do you consider Saxon more of a live act?
Biff: No, we love the studio. We work hard in the studio. We love writing songs. It’s not that easy to write songs. At least songs that people like. It’s much easier to write songs that people don’t like, than songs that people do.
But, as years go on, your audience becomes more critical.
Biff: Exactly. And it becomes tougher to satisfy your audience. You have to be happy with yourself, as a band, than anything else.
Final question here, before I let you guys chill before the show.
Biff: Oh, we never chill. We ride on adrenalin.
More times than not, when I have seen Saxon, you have been in the opening act status. I have seen you open for Rush, Iron Maiden, WASP, Mötley Crüe…yet every time you guys just absolutely blow the roof off the arena. You always have presented a challenge to the headliners.
Biff: We just keep it steady. Always in overdrive.
But do you get a little more motivated, as an opener? Like, ‘Yeah, you may be headlining, but, follow this!’
Biff: Oh, no. We just do what we do.
Natural ass-kickers?
Biff: If you will. It’s a competition, but a friendly competition. I mean, we have nothing to prove. Our music speaks for itself.
Because you are Saxon.
Biff: Exactly.
Photo by Laura Kirazian
