Saxon’s Paul Quinn Steps Away From Touring After Four Decades

Saxon guitarist and one of the band’s two remaining co-founding members, Paul Quinn, has announced that he’s stepping away from touring after four decades of shows with the band.

Quinn and fellow co-founding frontman Biff Byford had previously played in Coast before forming the group initially named Son of a Bitch. They officially adopted the name Saxon in 1978 and both Quinn and Byford have been with the band ever since. But, in a new statement, the band revealed that Quinn has decided to step away from touring, but still will continue to record with the group and may make the occasional live appearance as well.

The band’s statement reads as follows:

After much soul searching our great friend and fellow warrior Paul Quinn has decided to step back from touring with Saxon. After many years on the road, with the subsequent stress and tiredness that accompany long tour schedules, Paul doesn’t want his performance to suffer and let his fellow bandmates and fans down.

Paul will continue to record with the band and may play select special shows in the future.

Saxon stand by Paul’s decision and will keep you all informed regarding our next journey.

The current run of March shows in Europe will continue as is but the band will be cancelling their April dates in South America and the MOR Cruise to give time to re-group. These territories will be re-booked as soon as time permits.

All summer festivals will continue as booked.

Keep the faith!

READ MORE: 10 Pioneering Speed Metal Songs Released Before the Birth of Thrash

The group has recorded 24 studio albums over the course of Quinn’s time with the group and he’s expected to be part of the 25th album, More Inspirations, which is expected to arrive on March 24. You can look for the band on the road at these stops.