YOU have to go way back to the seventies to find the roots of Saxon. At a time when Britain's charts were awash with the spittle of punk bands like the Sex Pistols and The Clash, there were a number of musicians who refused to join in – refused to cut their hair and mock the bombast of the prog rockers who had gone before, and who continued to listen to heavy rock pioneers Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath.

One such was Biff Byford.

By 1980, his band, along with the likes of Iron Maiden, Def Leppard and Judas Priest, had kick-started a decade of British heavy metal.

Throughout the eighties Saxon had eight Top 40 albums and five Top 40 singles, among them Wheel Of Steel and 747.

They haven't bothered the charts since, but Saxon continued to sell tickets in Germany and Japan.

Then two years ago they were back in the public eye in Britain with a new album, Inner Sanctum.

One assumed that was due to their appearance on Get Your Act Together, the TV show in which a heavyweight music promoter sought to help them return to the spotlight.

But Byford isn't convinced that was all.

"There are a number of reasons," said the 58-year-old.

"We've got a new agent and we're spending a lot of time concentrating on the UK as opposed to Europe. The new album is doing well and people are writing about us again."

He said there had been a general revival of all things rock.

"The Iron Maiden reunion, with Bruce Dickinson coming back, created a big stir; then there was the Judas Priest reunion and more recently the Heaven and Hell thing, so people are interested in the whole scene again.

"We've not done anything new. We've learned over time what people want from us and we've stuck to that."

Despite being in their 50s, the band maintain a famously hectic touring schedule. To support the release of the Inner Sanctum album, they embarked on a 60-date world tour with only 15 days off.

Their latest album, Into The Labyrinth, is being promoted on a similar scale.

"This will be our second UK tour of this album. I've had a virus recently, but that's clearing now and I'm quite lucky at the moment, because my voice is holding up. Obviously, the voice won't be as good on the 19th night of a tour as on the first if you've had no time off, but it's about keeping the clarity in the voice – so not too many bottles of wine!"

He said the tour marked the 30th anniversary of the band and he has been inviting fans to help choose the songs played.

"We'll stick in a couple of new tracks but we're looking to mix it up. On our website, we're inviting fans to submit set-lists and if we like it, we'll use it.

"Fans can register on the forum and let us know what they'd like to hear."

To do that go to www.saxon747.com