Biff Byford recently appeared on Planet Rock / Raised On Radio. During the interview, which can be heard below, the Saxon vocalist confirms that he suffered a heart attack in September 2019. An excerpt has been transcribed as follows:

"It was a heart attack, but it wasn't like a Hollywood heart attack, when you drop on the floor with your legs up in the air. I was biking, I was on my bike — I do a lot of biking and walking. And I was getting a bit breathless, more so than I normally do. And I went to the doctor. They found that one of my heart rhythms was reversed. They sent me in to the hospital straight away. One of my arteries was getting blocked. They couldn't get to it easily; it was risky. So they gave me a heart bypass. And so while they were in there, they did all three… So, yeah, they did all three. And then I came to, and that was it. I was really ill."

School Of Hard Knocks, the first full-length offering by legendary Saxon 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", which can be viewed below.

“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 is available on CD, vinyl, digital formats and special D2C bundles at this location.

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.

Tracklisting:

"Welcome To The Show"
"School Of Hard Knocks"
"Inquisitor"
"The Pit And The Pendulum"
"Worlds Collide"
"Scarborough Fair" *
"Pedal To The Metal"
"Hearts Of Steel"
"Throw Down The Sword"
"Me And You"
"Black And White"

* not available on 12” Vinyl

"Me And You" video:

"School Of Hard Knocks" video:

"Welcome To The Show" lyric video:

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 will take an “evening with” format and will be split into two halves. The first half will feature a spoken word show compared by American comedian and star of VH1 Classic’s That Metal Show, Don Jamieson, where Don will quiz Biff on all aspects of his life and career. The second half will consist of a live show with Biff and his band.

Biff states: “The show will consist of some old songs, some new songs, some cover versions and some songs off the solo album. It’s going to be great and I am really looking forward to it. It’s going to something a little bit different, but it will be very cool, so I’ll see you all there!”

Tickets are available at myticket.co.uk and all usual outlets.