Legendary German guitarist Uli Jon Roth joined SAXON on stage last night (Monday, July 10) at the Time To Rock festival in Knislinge, Sweden to perform a few songs, including “Denim And Leather” and “747 (Strangers In The Night)” . Video of his appearance is available below.
DIAMOND HEAD‘s Brian Tatler made his live debut as SAXON‘s new touring guitarist on Friday, July 7 at the Rockwave festival in Athens, Greece.
Two months ago, Tatler spoke to Ernest Skinner of Border City Rock Talk about the announcement that he was joining SAXON as the replacement for recently departed founding guitarist Paul Quinn.
“Paul Quinn has stepped down from touring because — I think partly it’s his age,” Brian said. “I mean, he’s been doing it for so long — 45, 47 years or something. And all respect due; I mean, he’s a fantastic player. So I was happy to accept the offer. And I’m looking forward to it. I’m at home busy learning the set.”
In addition to a dozen or so already-announced festival appearances in 2023, SAXON has revealed that it will support JUDAS PRIEST on a U.K. tour in early 2024. “We’re playing really big venues,” Brian said. “And it’s JUDAS PRIEST, SAXON and URIAH HEEP. And I’m amazed to be… I’ve never been on a tour with JUDAS PRIEST before. The closest DIAMOND HEAD‘s come in the past is we’ve been on the same festival bill. I’m a big PRIEST fan and have been since maybe 1975. So to be on tour with them where we can watch them every night and get to know ’em a little bit and chat will be fantastic. I’m stoked about that. That’s only come in a couple of weeks ago, and I’m excited for that already. It’s not till March 2024, but I’m already looking forward to that.”
Brian has joined fellow guitarist Doug Scarratt, bassist Nibs Carter, drummer Nigel Glockler and Byford for shows throughout 2023 but will continue to be a member of DIAMOND HEAD.
In March, Quinn thanked fans for their “outpouring of love and respect” after his announcement that he was “stepping back from touring”.
As a result of Quinn‘s decision, SAXON canceled its April 2023 South American tour as well as the appearance at the Monsters Of Rock cruise.
In a recent interview with Robert Cavuoto of Myglobalmind, Byford spoke about Quinn‘s decision to retire from the road. The singer said: “Yeah, it’s gonna be a change. The thing is it wasn’t a surprise. It was talked about for a few years now that he might retire. And the thing is the band are getting bigger, and we’re busy and we’re doing longer tours and bigger venues. I just think he wants to rest now. So it wasn’t really a shock. We talked about it a few times, the fact that he gets very tired quite quickly. There’s a lot of pressure on you when you’re touring in a band. So, he’s gonna be around. He’s gonna be doing show till the end of the year with us, and he’s gonna doing the new album with us. So pretty much he will be there, but not there, if you know what I mean.”
SAXON‘s new album, “More Inspirations”, arrived on March 24 via Silver Lining Music. Following the release of “Inspirations” in 2021, “More Inspirations” is the second “deep dish” serving of the influences which have fed SAXON‘s immensely successful 40-plus-year career.
Produced by Biff, with Seb Byford helping record the music alongside mixing engineer Jacky Lehmann, “More Inspirations” includes takes on RAINBOW, ZZ TOP and CREAM, as well as “Razamanaz” by NAZARETH, THE WHO‘s “Substitute”, and URIAH HEEP‘s “Gypsy”.
Byford and Quinn are the sole remaining original members in SAXON‘s current lineup.
Some great shots tonight at Time To Rock Festival, including one with our friend Uli Jon Roth, who played a few songs with us!
#themightysaxon #timetorockfestival #ulijonroth #livegigs
Posted by Saxon on Monday, July 10, 2023