Biff Byford's Album 'School of Hard Knocks' Out Now

School of Hard Knocks, the first full-length offering by legendary frontman Biff Byford is out now via Silver Lining Music. To celebrate its release, Byford unveils the new video of his take on the classic song, 'Scarborough Fair.'

"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!"

School of Hard Knocks features Biff Byford on vocals (and a spot of four string thunder) along with Fredrik Åkesson (Opeth) on guitars, drummer Christian Lundqvist and bass player Gus Macricostas. The album also features guest appearances by Phil Campbell (Motörhead/Phil Campbell & The Bastard Sons), 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 Biff Byford, recorded by Jacky Lehmann at Brighton Electric Studios in Brighton (UK) and mixed at Queen Street Studios in Stockholm (Sweden) by Mats Valentin.

Byford recently announced his first ever solo tour dates. The tour begins in the UK 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."

April UK tour dates:

Friday 17th Gateshead Sage 2

Saturday 18th Birmingham Town Hall

Monday 20th Glasgow St. Lukes

Tuesday 21st Leeds City Varieties

Wednesday 22nd Bath Komedia

Friday 24th Liverpool Arts Club

Saturday 25th Aberdare Coliseum Theatre

Monday 27th Milton Keynes Stables

Tuesday 28th London Islington Assembly Hall

Wednesday 29th Brighton Old Market

As a special bonus, fans buying tickets prior to 2nd of March 2020 for the European shows only will receive a personally signed 10"x8" photo together with entry into a draw to win one of 10 VIP Meet and Greets for each show.

As a teenager Biff played bass for a number of groups in the Barnsley area while working at a colliery during the day. One of the bands included guitarist Paul Quinn with whom Biff would form Saxon. With Biff now focusing on lead vocals, Saxon released their eponymous debut album in 1979 becoming one of the new wave of British heavy metal bands.

Saxon quickly gained popularity and scored no less than eight consecutive UK Top 40 albums and five Top 40 singles between 1980 and 1988. Wheels Of Steel (1980) reached Number 5 in the UK album chart and achieved Platinum status.

Ever popular in Europe, and particularly in Germany, Saxon continued to be at the forefront of the British heavy metal scene and returned to the UK charts with their 2007 album The Inner Sanctum. Saxon's 2018 album Thunderbolt was their first to reach the Top 30 album chart in 30 years and became their highest charting album in Germany and Switzerland reaching the Top 10 in both countries.

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