The Diamond Head co-founder and guitarist Brian Tatler was recruited by Saxon to become their touring guitarist after the original guitar player Paul Quinn decided to retire from touring. In an interview with Talk Louder (Transcribed by Blabbermouth), the guitarist said that he would like to join the Metal band permanently.
Brian Tatler says he would like to join Saxon permanently
“(We are) on the same label and we’ve got the same manager, Adam Parsons from Siren. We’ve got to know each other over the years. We’ve done festivals with them. We’ve done support dates with them. And in last year we did a big tour — we did 33 dates across Europe and the U.K.”
“And I think everybody was getting on really well, and they probably realized I’m a nice guy and I can play, et cetera. So I got the call in March from the manager to say Paul Quinn’s stepping down. Would I be interested in taking over from Paul? And I said, ‘Yes. Absolutely.'”
“Diamond Head’s great — it’s always been my baby and we’ve been going a long, long time — but to have a fresh challenge now at my age and this time in my life, a new set to learn a new band to go out with. They’re of a higher level, a tour bus level. I mean, Saxon will headline a festival like a Wacken or something, whereas Diamond Head, we’ve done Wacken, but we’d be on a smaller stage, let’s say two o’clock in the afternoon, three o’clock in the afternoon sort of thing. So it’s gonna be a big jump for me. But I’m excited for the challenge. I think it’s great. I thought it was fabulous of them to offer it to me. I’m really grateful.”
“I think it’s too early to say (He would join them permanently. I’ve gotta at least do one gig, I think, and then maybe we’ll talk again. I think… I mean, who knows? But I’d like to. But I think we’ve probably gotta do some gigs first,” Brian Tatler said.
Although Paul Quinn decided to retire from touring, the band said that he will continue to be a member of the band and will work with them in any studio albums they make in the future. Saxon already has many scheduled tour dates in 2023 for Europe, South America and Mexico.