Saxon plot new live package to celebrate their 40th anniversary

Saxon (Image credit: Militia Guard/Silver Lining Music)

Saxon have announced that they’ll release a new live package later this year in celebration of their 40th anniversary.

It’s titled The Eagle Has Landed 40: Live and it’ll arrive on August 2 through Militia Guard / Silver Lining Music and will contain 40 tracks spanning Saxon’s four-decade career.

A statement on the release reads: “From State Of Grace to Machine Gun, from the blistering 20,000ft to the thunderous Battering Ram, Saxon bring you on a victorious, boisterous journey through the human waves at Wacken, the stalwart supporters in Berlin, the mad dogs and Englishmen in London and other illustrious international cities via a selection of songs chosen by none other than Biff Byford himself.  

“There are also tributes to their old friends and former colleagues Motorhead, with the supercharged They Played Rock’n’Roll and a cover of Ace Of Spades featuring an appearance from the dearly departed ‘Fast’ Eddie Clarke.”

To mark the news, Saxon have released a video for 747 (Strangers in the Night) which can be watched below..

The Eagle Has Landed 40: Live will be released in various packages, including the 747 Signature Edition box set which will be limited to just 747 copies.

It will come with a 23 plectrum set featuring album artwork from all 22 of Saxon’s studio albums and a limited edition The Eagle Has Landed 40: Live plectrum.

The box set also comes with Biff Byford's hand-written lyric sheet of 747 (Strangers In The Night), with each print numbered and signed by the Saxon frontman.

It's currently available to pre-order exclusively through the Saxon website.

Saxon are currently gearing up to hit the road across Europe on the Castles & Eagles tour, which will kick off with a set at the Sweden Rocks Festival on June 8.

The 747 Signature Edition box set

The 747 Signature Edition box set

Saxon: The Eagle Has Landed 40: Live

Disc 1
1. State of Grace (Berlin 2007)
2. Red Star Falling (Berlin 2007)
3. Attila the Hun (Berlin 2007)
4. If I Was You (Sheffield 2007)
5. Witchfinder General (Berlin 2009)
6. Demon Sweeney Todd (Berlin 2009)
7. The Letter + Valley Of The Kings (London 2009)
8. Machine Gun (London 2009)
9. Live to Rock (Berlin 2009)
10. Hammer of the Gods (Berlin 2011)
11. Back in '79 (Berlin 2011)
12. I've Got to Rock (to Stay Alive) [Berlin 2011]
13. Call to Arms (Berlin 2011)
14. Rock 'n' Roll Gypsy (Berlin 2011)
15. Chasing the Bullet (Berlin 2011)
16. Play It Loud (Berlin 2011)

Disc 2
1. Sacrifice (BYH Balingen 2013)
2. Night of the Wolf (BYH Balingen 2013)
3. Conquistador + Drum Solo (BYH Balingen 2013)
4. Stand Up and Fight (BYH Balingen 2013)
5. Crusader (Wacken Open Air 2014)
6. Battalions of Steel (Wacken Open Air 2014)
7. The Eagle Has Landed (Wacken Open Air 2014)
8. Power and the Glory (Wacken Open Air 2014)
9. Dallas 1PM (Wacken Open Air 2014)
10. Princess of the Night (Wacken Open Air 2014)
11. Denim and Leather (Wacken Open Air 2014)

Disc 3
1. Eye of the Storm (Zoetemeer 2015)
2. 747 (Strangers in the Night) [with Phil Campbell] [Live In Helsinki, 2015]
3. Killing Ground (London 2016)
4. Ace of Spades with "Fast" Eddie Clarke (London 2016)
5. 20,000 FT. with Andy Sneap (San Antonio 2018)
6. Thunderbolt (San Antonio 2018)
7. Sons of Odin (Los Angeles 2018)
8. This Town Rocks (Los Angeles 2018)
9. Nosferatu (the Vampire's Waltz) [Manchester 2018]
10. Predator (Manchester 2018)
11. They Played Rock and Roll (Stockholm 2018)
12. The Secret of Flight (London 2018)
13. Battering Ram (London 2018)

Saxon: The Eagle Has Landed 40: Live

Saxon: The Eagle Has Landed 40: Live
Saxon will celebrate their 40th anniversary with The Eagle Has Landed 40: Live. It'll contain a total of 40 tracks which have been picked by Saxon frontman Biff Byford.

Scott Munro
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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.