B.B. King Blues Club & Grill – Downtown Magazine

Formed in England 40 years ago, Saxon was one of the leaders of the new wave of British heavy metal. In the 1980s alone, Saxon had eight Top 40 albums in the U.K., four of which hitting the Top 10, two of which reaching the Top 5. In turn, Saxon has sold over 15 million albums. Metallica, Mötley Crüe, and Pantera are among the major artists that have called Saxon a major influence. Even Elton John was a fan, having played piano on a few Saxon tracks.

Unlike most of its hard rock peers, Saxon never broke up or went on hiatus. 2015 brought the release of the group’s 21st studio album, Battering Ram, as produced by Andy Sneap. Vocalist Biff Byford and guitarist Paul Quinn — both original members — remain in the Saxon fold, as rounded out by guitarist Doug Scarratt, bassist Timothy “Nibbs” Carter and drummer Nigel Glockler; Doug is “the new guy,” having only joined Saxon 21 years ago in 1996.

On the eve of band’s 2017 studio release, Saxon will be touring the United States with UFO. The two iconic British groups — who last toured together in the 1980s — will be playing at B.B. King’s on Mar. 29 and 30 with support from Jared James Nichols and DJ Alex Kayne. Downtown spoke with Biff in late 2016 about what’s coming up for Saxon and plenty more. Saxon can be visited online at www.saxon747.com. Biff is on Twitter as @Biff_Byford, while the quintet keeps an account as @SaxonOfficial.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3ARKxGplvU

What do you wish more people knew about Saxon?

Biff Byford: I wish they knew that we’re really good at what we do.

How would you describe your latest album Battering Ram to a long-time Saxon fan that hasn’t yet heard it? Is there also a new album in the works?

BB: It’s a mixture of old and new. We hate to be predictable and I don’t think any of our albums are. Neither is the new album we are recording now.

Saxon songs are generally renowned for having memorable guitar riffs and sing-along choruses. When writing a song, does the music usually come first? Or does the vocal hook?

BB: There aren’t any rules. At the moment, my writing partner is Nibbs so if I have a specific melody we write to that or I may write within an idea.

In your song “Play It Loud,” you mention listening to Deep Purple. Was that the first hard rock band that inspired you?

BB: I think I liked the early Purple stuff, it moved me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=551z5RxDn40

The villain in the first two Back To The Future movies is named Biff and the primary villain in the third Back To The Future movie is named Buford. Is that a coincidence, or do you think there was a Saxon fan involved with the movies?

BB: In the U.S.A., people called Biff are quite preppy, but there could be a connection. Maybe the director was a fan in the 80s?

Was the experience of writing your autobiography Never Surrender enjoyable? What inspired you to write a book?

BB: I liked writing the book. It’s a great way to put things in perspective.

What do you remember about your first-ever gig in New York?

BB: I think it was L’Amours, maybe? I loved New York — a crazy and wild place!

Your voice has held up remarkably well over the years. What do you do to take such great care of your voice?

BB: I don’t really do anything but just try not to strain too much.

Next year marks Saxon’s 40th anniversary. Are there any plans to celebrate that accomplishment?

BB: No, but we will be celebrating in 2019 from when our first album came out and we changed our name to Saxon.

What’s the latest on the movement to make heavy metal a recognized religion?

BB: It is a recognized religion in the U.K.

When you’re not busy with your career, how do you like to spend your free time?

BB: Just chilling with my family.

Do you have a favorite album of 2016?

BB: Motörhead.

Finally, Biff, any last words for the kids?

BB: Yes! Keep the faith. We’re on our way.

Dick Gregory began his career as a comedian while serving in United States Army in the mid-1950s. His first big break came in 1961, when Hugh Hefner saw him perform and went on to hire him to work at the Chicago Playboy Club. An appearance on Tonight Starring Jack Paar followed not too long after, leading to countless other television bookings.

While “stand-up comedian” is how most people describe Dick Gregory, it is only one of the career paths he has excelled within. He was very active within the Civil Rights Movement, marching in Selma, and also being one of the notables involved with the National ERA March. He has written more than a dozen published books. He has appeared in movies and television shows as an actor, including Wonder Showzen. He has hosted radio programs. Dick has also thrived within the health food industry, founding Dick Gregory Health Enterprises, Inc. in 1984.

At 85 years young, Dick remains active as ever and will be playing at the B.B. King Blues Club & Grill alongside Richard Pryor’s main writer Paul Mooney on Feb. 10. Dick spoke to Downtown by phone about his history with New York, and some highlights of that chat are posted below. More on Dick — a very smart, talkative and entertaining man, to say the least — can be found at www.dickgregory.com.

When did you play New York City for the first time? What do you remember about it?

Dick Gregory: I was scared, not because of show business, but you know coming out of St. Louis and you hear about New York. I get there and I see all these fruit stores. “Hey man, where is the Mafia? Where is the gangsters?” I say, “Wait a minute, every time you walk down the street, every corner there is a fruit store.” That was the most wildest thing in New York. It is different now because you’ve got health food stores…But then every corner, there is three or four stores with people going in buying fruits and that was my biggest thing…I still can’t understand that today, every corner there is a newsstand…Wait a minute, newspapers? I never really heard anything where everybody in New York goes to buy a newspaper every morning. (laughs)

Do you remember the first club that you played at in New York?

DG: Oh yeah, The Blue Angel, probably one of the most romantic clubs in the world. I mean, that was the elite, that was like the Rolls Royce of clubs. So you go there, you see what I didn’t understand…What I found out in New York, those type of clubs people go out to spend money…They don’t eat nothing at no damn nightclub, you go to a restaurant and eat…The average bill at The Blue Angel was about, you know, maybe $2,000, because they came in there to drink. They didn’t come in to eat or get a sandwich…I hadn’t seen anything like it in my life.

You mentioned before about people eating fruit and eating healthy. New York City is very much known as one of the first places to advocate for eating healthy and eating organic. Where did your interest in that come from in the first place?

DG: Well, let me say this…I thought good nutrition is whatever you eat did not run out till you’ve had enough. Bad nutrition is when say you were still hungry. Now even back then, wasn’t nobody talking about organic, health food stores, not just in New York but nowhere…Let me tell you one of the myths about “organic.” People with little money say, “Oh I wish I could eat organic but it is too expensive.”

Well, here is what is “expensive” is: I’ve got a 20-year old car. I’d use three times more gasoline in a new car…And so “organic” is, “I am used to eating ten potatoes and now I am eating organic, all I have to eat is two and I get more nutrition with the organic than I did with the 10.” So the one thing that the industry has done a good job of is convincing people, you eat less and you get more…

Also, remember I am 85 years old. So when I was younger, you know nobody understood nothing about nutrition…I do a joke way back in the day, I said, “I go home to St. Louis, my drugged-out cousin, he is sitting on the park bench, cocaine dust on his nose, powder all over his coat, and I wake him up and say, ‘Hey man, here is an apple.’ He says, ‘Is it organic?’”

(laughs) Right.

DG: Now here is what most folks don’t know. If I am sitting with you and I cut my wrist, I bleed, right?

Sure…

DG: Once you cut an apple and people go get fruit salad, once that fruit salad is cut in the morning, it bleeds just like you do. So by the time you eat it, it ain’t got no nutrition in it and that is why when you go to the better restaurants in the world. Or in New York City, they make the salad right there at the table…

I used to drink a fifth of scotch every day, so after I changed my lifestyle and I didn’t drink, I was called a health nut. I used to smoke a full pack of cigarettes and nobody called me a health nut…so you can have some friends and you go in a bar, and you just pick a wine and drink it like the cowboys used to do. Just drink it down, give me another one then you change your lifestyle. Then you can go in and get you a six-ounce bottle of calcium and you can drink it down and they say, “You ain’t supposed to drink that much.” I say, “Nobody told me that when I was drinking whiskey.” (laughs)