About Saxon
Saxon are an English heavy metal band formed in Barnsley in 1975. As leaders of the new wave of British heavy metal , they had eight UK Top 40 albums during the 1980s including four UK Top 10 albums and two Top 5 albums. They had numerous hit singles on the UK Singles Chart and experienced success all over Europe and Japan, as well as in the United States.
During the 1980s, Saxon established themselves among Europe's most successful metal acts. The band tours regularly and have sold more than 23 million records worldwide.
Saxon came together from components of two Yorkshire bands: S.O.B. and Coast. The former was initially called Blue Condition, forming in 1970 with Graham Oliver on guitar, Steve "Dobby" Dawson on bass, and John Walker on drums. Their style was blues rock and hard rock. Shifting the line-up, Blue Condition changed their name to S.O.B. in 1974, taking inspiration from the 1972 Free album Tons of Sobs. Meanwhile, Coast was a local rival rock band named after the 1972 song "Coast to Coast" by Trapeze. Coast contained a singing bass player Peter "Biff" Byford, and guitarist Paul Quinn. In 1975, Coast was falling apart, and S.O.B.'s lead singer and guitarist Steve Furth left to go solo, so in November 1975 a new band was formed by S.O.B.'s Oliver, Dawson and Walker, and Coast's Byford and Quinn. Byford became the new lead singer. They adopted the name Son of a Bitch for its more aggressive tone, and they pushed toward a heavier sound. They recorded a demo known as Tapestry in late 1975, and gigged extensively during 1975–1978. Walker quit after a couple of years, and was replaced briefly by Dave Cowell in 1977. Former Glitter Band member Pete Gill soon replaced Cowell as drummer.
In 1978, the band began negotiating with the French disco-oriented record label Carrere Records, run by Freddy Cannon in the UK. Carrere refused the band name Son of a Bitch because it would be impossible to obtain radio airplay, so the band changed their name to Saxon in July, and signed a contract with Carrere in September. They began by supporting established bands such as Motörhead and Ian Gillan Band, and released their first album Saxon in 1979.
Wheels of Steel, released in 1980, charted at No. 5 in the UK Albums Chart. It resulted in two hit songs: the title track and the crowd favourite "747 ". As a result, Saxon began a series of long UK tours. On 16 August, they earned a positive reception at the first Monsters of Rock festival, commemorated by the following year's "And the Bands Played On". Their set was recorded, but not officially released until 2000. In April, Saxon made the first of many appearances on Top of the Pops, performing the hit "Wheels of Steel".
Strong Arm of the Law was released later in the year, charting at No. 11 in the UK. Two singles were issued: the title track and "Dallas 1PM", the latter about the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy. Sold-out tours of Europe and the UK followed as the album charted in several European countries. The band was also popular in Japan, where the single "Motorcycle Man" stayed in the charts for almost six months.
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