Saxon planning on celebrating 40th anniversary with "special shows" in 2019

Saxon

Saxon frontman Biff Byford says the band are planning on celebrating their 40th anniversary in 2019.

They’ve just kicked off the UK and European leg of their Thunderbolt tour and are currently in Norway. And the vocalist says that once this year’s shows wrap up, they’ll turn their attention to 2019 to mark the career milestone.

Byford tells Moshpit Passion: “We’re touring until December – but we’ve got something planned next year for our 40th anniversary. 

“We're looking forward to that. There should be some festivals and maybe two or three special shows.”

When pressed for further details, Byford replies: “I can’t share it – it’s top secret.”

Last week, Saxon released a video for their Thunderbolt track Predator which features a guest appearance from Amon Amarth frontman Johan Hegg.

Earlier this month, Saxon also released a tour edition of Thunderbolt.

Along with all 11 album tracks, the special edition features the Raw Version of Nosferatu, along with two live cuts: Thunderbolt, recorded in Frankfurt in March, and Nosferatu (The Vampire’s Waltz), which was captured during Saxon’s performance in Los Angeles in April.

Saxon 2018 Thunderbolt tour dates
Sep 27: Oslo Rockefeller, Norway
Sep 28: Trollhättan Apollon, Sweden
Sep 29: Stockholm Arenan, Sweden
Oct 01: Berlin Huxley’s, Germany
Oct 02: Pratteln Z7, Switzerland
Oct 04: Stuttgart LKA Longhorn, Germany
Oct 05: Milan Live Club, Italy
Oct 06: Marseille Le Moulin, France
Oct 07: Lyon Le Transbordeur, France
Oct 09: Toulouse Bikini, France
Oct 11: Madrid La Riveria, Spain
Oct 12: Bilboa Santana 27, Spain
Oct 13: Barcelona Razzmatazz, Spain
Oct 15: Paris Bataclan, France
Oct 16: Utrecht Tivoli, Netherlands
Oct 18: Glasgow Barrowlands, UK
Oct 19: London Roundhouse, UK
Oct 20: Portsmouth Guildhall, UK
Oct 21: Manchester Academy, UK
Nov 08: Bath Forum, UK
Nov 09: Hafan y Môr Hard Rock Hell, UK
Nov 10: Nottingham Royal Concert Hall, UK
Nov 11: Newcastle City Hall, UK
Dec 08: Geiselwind Christmas Bash Festival, Germany

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent 35 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott keeps Louder’s buyer’s guides up to date, writes about the best deals for music fans, keeps on top of the latest tech releases and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more. Over the last 10 years, Scott has written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald newspapers, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.