Saxon frontman Biff Byford and his band are scheduled to play the Metal Hammer stage at High Voltage this evening. For now, Biff does what most festival guests do: basking in exceptionally glorious weather!

Sitting on a chair outside his trailer, he’s pulled out of relaxation-mode when his PR reminds him that some press folk are lined up for interviews. I’m one of them.

Music-News:
Saxon have been going for a very long time, and very successfully at that. What’s the secret?

Biff Byford:
Absolutely no idea. Some good songs in the early days perhaps, and some good albums in the last ten years or so kept us going. And I think the fans as well. Also, I think the cycle has gone round a bit, because a lot of young fans are into the band now as well. So that’s good, because it regenerates everything.

MN:
Within the 30-years frame that Saxon has been playing, do you think there’s been a big change going on in the metal scene?

BB:
I think there’s been a big change within the last ten years with the audience. A lot of fans from the 80’s have come back again to watch bands and a lot of young people got into this type of music. People are getting back into rock music, whether it’s prog, metal or classic rock, you know. Even punk rock is getting more interest again.

MN:
From the current scene, what kind of artists/music do you like?

BB:
Well, I think that rock music is more of a specialised thing, you know, because other than that, you will always get music for the masses that’s been played on the radio or TV. Young fans getting into rock music are getting into it for live, just as I did when I was a teenager. I just think, “You go different ways” you know. Doesn’t mean that you don’t like things like Lady Gaga and stuff, because it is really catchy, you know. It’s just that your main love is rock music, that’s really what it’s all about.

MN:
Your last album was recorded not only in England, but in Germany and Spain as well.
Why different countries?

BB:
Convenience really. We were playing festivals, and it was easier to get in and out from Germany than from England. So that’s why we did it. And the studio is quite nice there.

MN:
I want to ask you about one particular track, namely ‘The Demon Sweeney Todd’. What inspired you to it, I mean, why Sweeney Todd and not some other villain?

BB:
I read the book, the original Victorian book – ‘The Demon of London Town’ it’s called. It’s quite interesting because it’s an early story about this serial killer, you know. There have been quite a few films made about it, obviously the Johnny Depp one. The musical is probably the most controversial. I thought it was a great topic and the band came over with a really good, fast riff. We wrote the chorus first and the bridge, so it just came, you know. I think it’s a good subject really for a heavy metal song.

MN:
Who draws up the ideas for the elaborate Saxon album covers, and how much thought goes into a design?

BB:
The ones that seem to stand out are the ones that a guy called Paul Gregory does for us. Obviously they are all oil paintings, so they do take quite a long time. Sometimes we use airbrush artists and sometimes we use computer, you know, graphic designers. The last one was a Paul Gregory one. The one before was a Russian paintbrush artist. So you know, we do change around. Most of our fans seem to prefer the Paul Gregory stuff, because it’s a bit more gothic and a bit more Saxony. And a bit of Celtic symbolism as well. So people quite like that. But I don’t know who’s gonna do the next one, you know. We don’t make decisions until we got some titles together.

MN:
What can we expect from the show that Saxon will play at the first ever High Voltage?

BB:
It will be a mixture of 80’s, 90’s and 2000-whatever material. There will be a couple of songs or maybe one song from the last album. But I think that most of it will be material from the 80’s. I mean, this one is a bit of a classic rock festival, isn’t it really.

MN:
Do you think it’s the High Voltage audience in particular that will relate to your 80’s songs the most, or festival audiences in general?

BB:
I think the majority of people want to hear our big hits from the 80’s.

MN:
So what’s after High Voltage?

BB:
After High Voltage we got one festival in France, and then we’re finished until September - and then we’re off to South America. A new album should be out next year, in March or so.