SAXON's BIFF BYFORD Releases Music Video For 'Scarborough Fair' From 'School Of Hard Knocks' Solo Album

February 21, 2020

Legendary SAXON frontman Biff Byford has released the official music video for his new solo single "Scarborough Fair". The song is taken from Byford's first solo album, "School Of Hard Knocks", which is being released today (Friday, February 21) via Silver Lining Music.

"The new single 'Scarborough Fair' is a Yorkshire folk song about the town on the east coast of England," explains Byford. "Apart from the song, Scarborough is also famous for its medieval market and takes its name from a Viking chief called Scar, I believe. We shot the video on a freezing early morning... Enjoy!"

"Scarborough Fair" was famously covered by SIMON & GARFUNKEL. Byford and OPETH guitarist Fredrik Åkesson's arrangement breathes new life into the legendary song.

With his roots firmly in the north of England, Biff has earned the right to be considered The Heavy Metal Bard Of The North and his debut album reflects the man and his personality, his loves and his musical versatility.

"School Of Hard Knocks" features Byford on vocals (and a spot of four-string thunder) along with Åkesson on guitars, drummer Christian Lundqvist and bass player Gus Macricostas. The album also features guest appearances by Phil Campbell (MOTÖRHEAD),Alex Holzwarth (RHAPSODY OF FIRE and TURILLI/LIONE RHAPSODY),Nick Barker (VOICES),Dave Kemp (WAYWARD SONS) and Nibbs Carter (SAXON). The album was produced by Byford, recorded by Jacky Lehmann at Brighton Electric Studios in Brighton (U.K.) and mixed at Queen Street Studios in Stockholm (Sweden) by Mats Valentin.

"School Of Hard Knocks" fulfils Byford's long-standing wish to explore rock 'n' roll a little more. The album is a personal journey highlighting his life and his passionate interests, from the history of the Middle Ages to growing up in the industrial North. A classic, masterfully constructed old-school British hard rock album, "School Of Hard Knocks" embraces a variety of musical genres.

Byford recently announced his first-ever solo tour dates. The tour begins in the U.K. in April and continues to Europe in May. The show, in the form of "An Evening With...", will be split into two halves. The first features Biff in conversation with Don Jamieson (American comedian and star of VH1 Classic's "That Metal Show") on all aspects of his life and career. After the break, Biff and his band will play some new songs, covers and, maybe, a SAXON song or two.

Biff says: "It's a show I've wanted to do for a long time and one which I don't think has been done in hard rock before. It'll be something different and a lot of fun."

Find more on Saxon

Prev More News Next

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).