It’s a scary thought but it was 27 years ago when Saxon came into my world, giving my age away I was fourteen at the time. My first introduction to the legends that are Saxon came via “747 (Strangers In The Night)” whilst listening to the iconic Tommy Vance on the Friday Rock Show. The song really grabbed me with its glorious guitar riff, soaring melodic playing, Biff's earthy vocals and its drama, thanks to the sound effect of airplane engines whooshing across the speakers. I got the “Wheels Of Steel” album for my birthday and never looked back.

At school I had three close friends who, like me, had embraced the wonderful world of heavy rock. Graham was hooked on Iron Maiden, Dave on AC/DC and myself on the mighty Saxon. The next step on my life’s journey with the band was to catch them live and, in the eighties to early nineties, I managed to do this with regularity. Newcastle City Hall was always on the tour schedule and we Geordies loved the lads from Yorkshire. They always put on great shows and brought worthy support bands.

As I have got older (but not wiser) I have kept up to steam with all the Saxon releases, even going as far as to buy all the re-released, remastered and repackaged CDs of recent times, replacing the old worn out vinyl. They're in my blood and, as the years have gone by, they have delivered some of the finest hard rock this country has ever produced.

“Never Surrender (Or nearly Good Looking)” is the autobiography of Saxon and vocalist Biff Byford and is a warts and all account of his life from boy to man and of his first steps in the world of music right up to the present day and the latest Saxon album “The Inner Sanctum”. The book features two sections of colour pictures (a lot of which Saxon fans will already have seen), a full discography and of course 270 pages telling the story of Biff and Saxon.

If like me you are a fan of the band Never Surrender is essential reading and reveals things about Saxon that you will never of heard of until now. Biff is well known for his humour and amiable nature and, as a storyteller, he is a natural. The narrative is written as if Biff is there with you and I found myself putting his lilting Yorkshire accent to the words in my head, which really did provide me with a special read. Biff goes into detail about his family life, early employments and gives the reader a very clear picture of where he came from. What struck me immediately about Biffs first steps into the music world was how passionate he was in every project he got involved with. It becomes very apparent early on that Biff was very determined to make a life for himself playing music. One could say he felt it was his “destiny” He leaves no stone unturned as to how Saxon took shape. It truly is fascinating.

As the book develops Biff covers every album the band have released including all the highs and lows, the successes and the failures. He is brutally honest as he mentions the band's inconsistency must have drove the fans wild in the late eighties. He comments about some of the disappointing mixes of albums like “Crusader” and “Rock The Nations” but also reveals why these situations arose. The band was victims of some very bad decisions. There would be instances of the band knowing which producer they wanted but at the eleventh hour their management and record company would supply a different producer, often untried or tested in the rock music genre. One has to read the book to appreciate just on how many occasions the band ended up in this situation.

On many occasion I laughed out loud as Biff described their tour alongside Motley Crue in America. Biff would make a great lunch speaker as he has endless stories, both happy and sad, about life on the road. Some of the most interesting sections in the book are when Biff reveals why personnel changes took place. I always wondered why Pete Gill left and what the circumstances behind Steve Dawson moving on were. The book reveals all. Also Biff tells all about the sad Graham Oliver saga. After discovering why Oliver was sacked I now know Biff had no real option but to sack him. In all fairness Biff covers this section of the Saxon story with dignity and one senses that the whole saga must have been very stressful and also deeply saddening for him on a personal level.

What all Saxon fans know is that the departure of Oliver was also the beginning of a new chapter for the band, but even in the nineties they have been plagued by strange decisions and debts but, like the warriors they are, Saxon have battled through and one can safely say are now well and truly on the other side. Biff talks with real pride about “Metalhead” (1999) and the noticeable consistency that the band now seem to have.

The book really does cover every inch of Saxon ground from the touring, support bands, relations with other bands, the festivals, the fire at Biffs house and detailed information about some of Saxon's most well known songs. It is a veritable treasure trove of information and also most importantly an entertaining read. Even in print Biff can raise a smile from his audience. The book brought back many great memories and for Saxon fans everywhere this book is a must have

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