Saxon (band)
| Saxon | |
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Saxon performing at Wacken Open Air, 2016
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Labels |
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| Website | www.saxon747.com |
| Members |
Biff Byford Paul Quinn Nigel Glockler Nibbs Carter Doug Scarratt |
| Past members |
Graham Oliver Steve Dawson Pete Gill Paul Johnson Fritz Randow Jörg Michael Nigel Durham |
Saxon are an English heavy metal band formed in 1977, in South Yorkshire. As one of the leaders of the new wave of British heavy metal, they had eight UK Top 40 albums in the 1980s including four UK Top 10 albums and two Top 5 albums. The band also had numerous singles in the UK Singles Chart and chart success all over Europe and Japan, as well as success in the US. During the 1980s Saxon established themselves as one of Europe's biggest metal acts. The band tours regularly and have sold more than 15 million albums worldwide. They are considered one of the classic metal acts and have influenced many bands such as Metallica, Mötley Crüe, Pantera, Sodom.
Saxon began with a lineup formed by Peter "Biff" Byford on vocal, Paul Quinn and Graham Oliver on guitar, Steve "Dobby" Dawson on bass; and drummer Pete Gill and were originally named "Son of a Bitch". The band changed their name to Saxon shortly afterwards. They started out by gaining support slots on tour with more established bands such as Motörhead. In 1979, the band signed to the UK record label Carrere run by Freddy Cannon and the first group signed to the UK label and released their eponymous debut album.
In 1980, the band's follow-up album Wheels of Steel, was released and charted at #5 in the UK. It spawned two hit singles: the title track, and the crowd favourite "747 (Strangers in the Night)". The album quickly provided the band with success and they began a series of long-lasting tours across the UK. On 16 August 1980 Saxon appeared at the first Monsters of Rock Festival where they received a very positive reception from the crowd. The band's set was recorded but was not officially released until 2000. On April 1980, Saxon made the first of many appearances on Top of the Pops, where they performed the hit single "Wheels of Steel".
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