598 Goodbye Saxon - I Can't Wait Anymore

Chart  entered :  30  April  1988

Chart  peak :  71

With  all  the   glamorous   new  metal  acts scoring  hits it  was  inevitable  that  some  of  the  old  guard  would  disappear. Saxon  were  particularly  vulnerable  , their  chisel-chinned frontman,  Biff  Byford , not  really  cutting  it  when  up  against  Jon  Bon  Jovi  and   Joey  Tempest. In  fact , Saxon  hadn't  made  the  Top 30  since  1981   but  a  loyal  fanbase  kept  giving  them  minor hits. EMI  had  taken  them  on  in  1985  but  hadn't  seen  much  of  a  return on  their  investment. There  had  been  one   or  two  line  up  changes.  In  1981  drummer  Pete  Gill  injured  his  hand  and  had  to  be  replaced  by  Nigel  Glockler, formerly  with  Toyah.  In  1986  bassist  Steve  Dawson  was  fired  and  replaced  by  Paul  Johnson, formerly  with  Heritage. In  1987  Nigel  left  - temporarily  as  it  turned  out - and  was  replaced  by  Nigel  Durham.

"I  Can't  Wait  Anymore "  was  the  second  single  from  their  number  49 album  "Destiny"  , the  first , a   cover  of  the  Christopher  Cross  number  "Ride Like The  Wind" , having  done  slightly  better  than  their  other  singles  for  EMI. It's  a  far  cry  from  their  early  singles  . Biff's  voice  is  still  recognisable  but  otherwise  the  sound  has  been  smoothed  out  for  the  American  market with  a  similar  metallic  drum  sound  to  contemporaries  Def  Leppard  and  shiny  keyboards  laid  over  the  guitars  apart  from  a  rather  dull  solo. The  lyrics  are  just  a  string  of  girl-done-me-wrong  cliches. The  chorus  is  passable   but  all  in  all  it's  pretty  forgettable. It  spent  a  single  week  at   71  here  and  America  remained  impervious  to  their  charms.

EMI  realised  their  mistake  and  dropped  them.  Nigel  G  reclaimed  the  drum  seat  and  Paul    was  replaced  by  a  guy  called  Nibbs  Carter.  They  were  still  popular  in  Germany  and  went  over  to  Hamburg  to  record  their  next  LP  "Solid  Ball  of  Rock".  The  AOR  trappings  were  dropped  and  it  was   back  to  metal. The  production  is  still  shiny  and  modern  but  the  music   is  ponderous  and  one  track  sounds  much  like  another. Virgin  released  it  in  the  UK  and  put  out   "We  Will  Remember"  a  tribute  to  dead  rockers  as  a  single  but  neither  charted.

Saxon  released  another  four  LPs  in  the  nineties  which  only  charted  in  Germany  ( and  once  in  Switzerland ).  Halfway  through  that  run  guitarist  Graham  Oliver   was  sacked  after  a  business  dispute.  He  got  together  with  Steve  and  Pete ( who'd  had  a  spell  in  Motorhead  in  the  meantime ) as  Son  of  a  Bitch  ( Saxon's  original  name ) . In  1999  Nigel  D  replaced  Pete  and   they   registered  the  name   Saxon  as  a  trademark  for  themselves  . Biff  took  them  to  court  and  eventually  forced  them  to  operate  as  Oliver/ Dawson  Saxon.

The  main  band  trundled  on , kept  afloat  by  European  support. Graham  was  replaced  by  Doug  Scarratt. Nigel  had  to  take  an  injury  break   between  1999  and  2005  but  returned  once  more.

Nothing  much  changed  in  Saxon's  world  until  2007  when  they  featured  as  the  subjects  of   the  first  episode  of  the  TV  show  Harvey  Goldsmith's  Get  Your  Act  Together  in  which  the  rock  promoter  advised  faded  acts  on  how  to  improve  their  fortunes.  Goldsmith  set  out  to  raise  their  profile  in  the  UK  and  had  to  battle  against  their  innate  conservatism. However  they  did  try  out  his  ideas  for  good - the  gig in  front  of  duped  Cure  fans where  the  band  were  clearly  moved  at  playing  in  the  UK  again  - and  bad  - an  air  guitar  stunt  at  half  time  in  a  Sheffield  Wednesday  match  where  the  fans  took  their  displeasure  at  being  2-0  down  out  on  the  hapless  rockers. The  climactic  gig  at  Sheffield  City  Hall  was  a  success  and  the  band  were  probably  more  grateful  for  his  efforts  than  they admitted.

Although  the  series  itself  was  a  notable  failure , it  does  seem  to  have  had   some   lasting  effect  on  the  band's  fortunes  as  the  five  albums  released  since  the  programme  have  all  charted  in  the  UK  ( unlike  the  previous  seven )  and  they  now  tour  here  regularly  in  addition  to  their  European  commitments. The  band  currently  include  Biff, loyal  lieutenant  Paul  Quinn  and  Nigel  G  from  the  hitmaking  line  ups

Owen'Dawson  Saxon  remain  a  going  concern  although  Nigel  D  quit  in  2010. They  have  put  out  some  new  material  but  pretty  much  rely  on  Saxon  songs  in  their  live  sets.

Pete  is  said  to  be  in  poor  health  and  not  able  to  play  anymore

Paul  became  a driving  instructor  and  played  in  a  metal  tribute  band  called  Guns n  Oatcakes  for  a  time.

Nigel  D has  been  with  a  hard  rock  outfit  called  Morpheus Rising  since 2013.