1977 will always be remembered as the defining moment for punk rock. But it was also in that year that one of Britain’s greatest heavy metal bands was born. From Yorkshire, and working-class heroes to a man, Saxon rose out of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal at the turn of the 80s alongside Iron Maiden and Def Leppard. And while Saxon would never attain global superstardom as Maiden and Leppard did, theirs is a mighty legacy that sustains them to the present day. As singer Biff Byford proudly declares: “We’re one of the quintessential English heavy metal bands.”
Originally named Son Of A Bitch, the renamed Saxon made their initial breakthrough in 1980. In this, the year of Back In Black, Heaven And Hell, Ace Of Spades and so many other all-time great hard rock and heavy metal albums, Saxon delivered not one but two genre-defining classics: Wheels Of Steel and Strong Arm Of The Law.
