Watch Saxon’s high-octane cover of Deep Purple’s Speed King, a raucous celebration of rock ’n’ roll history

Saxon have shared their cover of Deep Purple’s Speed King, as the second single to be released from their forthcoming Inspirations covers album.

“Without ‘Speed King’ there would be no Motorcycle Man,”says vocalist Biff Byford, explaining the importance of the Deep Purple In Rock single on Saxon’s early career. “I love the attitude, energy and driving speed of this song, not to mention those screaming vocals! I’d never sung it before, and I had great fun with it!”

The NWOBHM legends have also tackled classic tracks by Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Black Sabbath, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones and their good friends Motörhead on the 11-track collection, which is available to pre-order now.

“We wanted to do an album based on our influences, the songs and bands that inspired us to write what we did and still do,” continues Byford, “and it was also interesting to see what my voice could do as I haven’t sung many of these songs before.”

“We didn’t want to change any of the songs too much, just play them more like Saxon,” concludes Byford, “and we also think it’s very important to have – and share with the fans – some fun in these dark times.”

Inspirations will be released on March 19, 2021 via Silver Lining Music.

Inspirations track listing: 

1. Paint It Black (The Rolling Stones)
2. Immigrant Song (Led Zeppelin)
3. Paperback Writer (The Beatles) 
4. Evil Woman (Black Sabbath) 
5. Stone Free (Jimi Hendrix) 
6. Bomber (Motörhead)
7. Speed King (Deep Purple) 
8. The Rocker (Thin Lizzy) 
9. Hold The Line (Toto)
10. Problem Child (AC/DC) 
11. See My Friends (The Kinks)

Source: loudersound.com