Formation and early years (1975–1979) 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 1969
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 singer and 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. In 1981, the band released their fourth album
Denim and Leather, and Saxon was forced to record their eighth studio album
Rock the Nations without a replacement. After this Oliver and Dawson renamed their band
Oliver/Dawson Saxon. Fritz Randow left the band in 2004. His replacement was former
Stratovarius member
Jörg Michael. 2004 also saw the release of
Lionheart their 16th studio album. The album title was inspired from
Richard Lionheart,
King of England. "Beyond the Grave" was released as a single and a music video. The album received positive reviews and the title track remains a fan favourite. Nigel Glockler rejoined the band in 2005. In 2006, the band released the live album,
The Eagle Has Landed – Part III. The band were due to play that year's
Dubai Desert Rock Festival and perform alongside
Megadeth. Just before the band were due to play Dubai's Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing had withdrawn the band's permission to play the festival. It was rumoured that the historical lyrics in
Crusader were the reason for this.
Re-establishment in the UK (2007–2010) In 2007, Saxon were the subject of an episode of ''
Harvey Goldsmith's Get Your Act Together''. As part of his programme, Goldsmith wanted to try and restore their popularity and reputation. He drafted in two new producers to oversee the production of a new single "If I Was You" (a song about gun culture), which went to number one in 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 half sold out Sheffield City Hall. Saxon also performed at the 2008
Download Festival. Saxon's
The Inner Sanctum album, released in Europe on 5 March 2007, and North America on 3 April, was seen by critics as their best work in years. The band then started a world tour in support of the album. in
Pori, Finland Saxon released a new studio album,
Into the Labyrinth, on 12 January 2009. The album received positive reviews and continued the success that
The Inner Sanctum had created. The band also headlined the Wacken Open Air Festival in Germany. In February, it was announced that the band were cancelling the Spanish leg of their European tour with
Iced Earth, due to scheduling issues. At the start of 2009, they toured the UK with
Doro, and again at the end of the year they did a UK tour, co-headlining with Motorhead. In August of that year, they played at
Sonisphere. In September Saxon announced the release of
Heavy Metal Thunder - The Movie, a documentary on the band's history from the beginning. Continuing their success in the UK, Saxon performed at the 2010 Download Festival, which took place at
Donington Park between 11 and 13 June. The band played the
Wheels of Steel album in its entirety to mark the 30th anniversary of its release.
Call to Arms and Sacrifice (2011–2014) Saxon released their nineteenth studio album,
Call to Arms, on 3 June 2011. It debuted at number 6 on the UK Rock Albums chart. The band embarked on a world tour which saw them visit the US; Saxon also revisited the UK for a second leg of the tour. The band announced on their Call To Arms tour that a number of fans at each venue, each paying £10, would be able to watch them soundcheck. This was donated to the Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy and Childline charities. Saxon were billed as special guests supporting Judas Priest at Hammersmith Apollo on 26 May 2012. Saxon also played Download Festival 2012, and were recorded playing "Wheels of Steel" for the festival's Highlights show shown on Sky Arts. On 13 February 2012, the band announced that they were releasing a new live DVD and CD package entitled
Heavy Metal Thunder - Live: Eagles Over Wacken, which compiled their 2004, 2007 and 2009 performances at the
Wacken Open Air across various formats. In March, Saxon won the
Metal Hammer 2012 Golden God award for 'Best UK band'. They played at
Wacken Open Air in August 2012. In October, the band announced that their next studio album would be titled
Sacrifice and it was released in March 2013. On 11 December 2012
Heavy Metal Thunder - The Movie saw an international release and was the first Blu-ray release for the band. 2013 also saw the release of a new compilation album
Unplugged and Strung Up. 2014 saw the release of a new live album named ''St. George's Day Sacrifice - Live in Manchester''. The band also embarked on a tour in October of that year named Warriors of the Road.
Battering Ram, Thunderbolt, Inspirations, Carpe Diem (2015–2022) During an interview in November 2014, Biff Byford revealed that: "We're making the new album in January, February and March". In a March 2015 interview, Byford described the album as a mixture of
rock and roll and heavy metal. When asked about a possible release date, Byford said: "We're looking at maybe at a summer release. It just depends on whether it's ready or not. We're looking at finishing the album by the end of April. We're keeping our fingers crossed." On 1 August 2015, the band announced 16 October as the release date of
Battering Ram and also premiered the official video of the title track. 2016 On 14 September 2016, Biff Byford announced on Facebook that Saxon were working on a new album with producer
Andy Sneap, for an early 2017 release. In October 2016, the band announced a tour in the U.S. for the early spring of 2017 with
UFO. In a 16 March 2017 interview with former
Anthrax vocalist
Neil Turbin on Canada's The Metal Voice in
Los Angeles,
California, Biff Byford gave an update on the new album saying that several songs were already recorded with a few more to complete, with an estimated release date for early 2018. On 15 June 2017, Byford revealed that the title of their new studio album was
Thunderbolt. Saxon and UFO teamed up again for another round of shows in North America for the fall. On 7 November 2017, the band announced that the album would be officially released on 2 February 2018. To support the album, they briefly toured Europe and the UK with
Diamond Head,
Rock Goddess and
Magnum from late February to early March 2018, and were the support act along with
Black Star Riders for
Judas Priest's
Firepower World Tour from mid March to early May 2018. Saxon released their first covers album
Inspirations on 19 March 2021. Their 24th studio album
Carpe Diem, was released on 4 February 2022, with the band embarking on the
Seize The Day tour in support of the album.
More Inspirations, Hell, Fire and Damnation and next album (2023–present) The follow-up covers album
More Inspirations was released on 24 March 2023, with a further new studio album to be released in 2024. During this time, Saxon toured Europe with German thrash metal band
Rage as support. On 10 March 2023, the band announced guitarist Paul Quinn's retirement from touring, although they stated that he would continue his work in the studio.
Diamond Head guitarist Brian Tatler was announced as their touring guitarist, but would continue to remain a member of his main band. Byford said that the band began the demo sessions for the next album. The resulting album titled
Hell, Fire and Damnation was released on 19 January 2024. Saxon promoted the album by joining
Judas Priest and
Uriah Heep on the European Metal Masters tour in the spring of 2024, followed by a headlining North American tour (again with Uriah Heep). Tatler has since become a permanent member. In February 2025, Byford revealed that Saxon have begun writing new material for their next album, which they plan to release around late 2026. In 2025, the band participated in the
Hell's Heroes music festival held at the White Oak Music Hall in
Houston. Former Saxon drummer Nigel Durham, who played on their 1988 album
Destiny, died on 26 April 2026 at the age of 60. ==Legacy==