Gut Reactions (post-gig memories and other trips): Saxon, "Seize The Day" World Tour, Glasgow Barrowlands. Monday 21st November, 2022

This gig was rescheduled more times than we've had prime ministers this year. Originally due to take place in 2019 at the Braehead Arena, celebrating Saxon's forty years in the business, with Black Star Riders and Girlschool in support, it got postponed to allow time for lead singer, Biff Byford, to recover from triple-bypass heart surgery. A new date was arranged for March 2020, now at the Barrowlands but without BSR. That date got moved to 2021 because of Covid and then moved again to 2022. Two albums later, it's still at the Barrowland but now has Machine Head as special guests. At least it gave them long enough to sell out the venue.

I first saw Saxon in 1984 on their Crusader tour (for the princely sum of £4.50 - no booking fees back then). It was my second-ever gig and they were amazing with their massive castle set filling the Glasgow Apollo stage. Biff Byford, a proud Englishman, was funny, teasing the Scottish crowd to be better than his countryman in raising the roof. We were so good we almost demolished the place.

The next time I saw them was in '86 at the Edinburgh Playhouse, with Loudness in support. That gig was a joke of almost Spinal Tap proportions - the lights went down and Saxon didn't appear for ages. When they did, the front smoke booms fired too early and had cleared by the time the band rushed on stage making them look like they were running late for school. Biff's vocals were strained and, by then, they were chasing the American dream so their new material was aimed at cracking that market. The power and the glory was lost.

While other bands of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal continued to play large arenas, Saxon faded, unable to keep up with the times. However, lately, their career took a massive upswing thanks to a couple of decent, well-received albums. They've been selling out bigger venues again and their dignity has returned.

It felt like old times heading along to the Barrowlands. Many of the punters wore denim jackets, proudly displaying their heavy metal band patches on the back. With shoulder-length hair, you couldn't tell their age until they turned around. To misquote Aerosmith, Dude looks like a grandpa.

Inside, the venue was already rammed, despite it being a good forty minutes before the special guests, Diamond Head, were due on (at 8 pm). The crowd was mainly male and older so perhaps that explained why it felt so busy. Men of my age tend to be on the larger side. However, youth was still well represented. They were just further forward.

I found a spot with a good view behind a few ladies who were shorter than me and waited for my pals to arrive. At 7.45 pm, the lights went down with still no sign of my friends.

Diamond Head were better than I expected. The singer's vocals were powerful, as was his presence, and they sounded great, far better than most Special Guests. I even knew two of their songs: In the Heat of the Night and Am I Evil? A superior support act I'd say. I did find it amusing how the bald lead singer would try to chinbang with his ginger beard. I suppose it was a statement gesture.

During the break, my pals found me, including one superfan from Dunbar who'd taken Bob's spare ticket after Doug dropped out. The big punters also started to push their way in, including two tall blokes with a pint in each hand who stood in front of us, while we had our backs turned. Nothing you can do though except wait for the band to come on and hope they move.

Saxon were loud and noisy, sometimes to the detriment of the tune. Biff Byford still has a striking presence, albeit a more portly, jowly one and his vocals often rely on after-effects to carry the sound. At seventy-one, you can forgive him this though. He still has that twinkle of humour behind his eyes and isn't afraid to laugh at himself for not remembering it was a Monday, not Friday. At least he knew he was in Glasgow. I wasn't sure why he kept touching his crotch though. Maybe his prostate was playing up.

They played a good mix of old and new songs and I particularly enjoyed The Power and the Glory and Dallas 1pm. I don't think they were as good as when I first saw them but they put on a good show for us. I think the stage was a little smaller than they were used to but it was nice to see the eagle emblems on the Marshall speakers even if we couldn't get the massive eagle lighting rig of their shows of yore.

During the set, another two tall punters, a man and a girl, forced their way forward, leading the way through the crowd with their pints. By then, the two tall blokes were now on our right, having edged over. The new pair pushed past them and stopped directly in front. Words were exchanged, one tall bloke unhappy at someone even taller blocking his view. His pal abandoned him to get more alcohol. It turned out he needn't have bothered. The argument escalated and the one who remained ended up with half a pint chucked over his face, the tall girl having had enough of his jostling. Bob and I couldn't help but chuckle. The tall bloke was fuming but impotent to respond. It was the funniest thing I'd seen in ages. The tall couple left shortly afterwards, probably because she needed to replace her drink.

Ticket price: £30 (plus bf).

Setlist

Motorcycle Man

Carpe Diem (Seize the Day)

Wheels of Steel

Age of Steam

Heavy Metal Thunder

Razamanaz (Nazareth cover)

Strong Arm of the Law

Dogs of War / Solid Ball of Rock

The Eagle Has Landed

Never Surrender