* Old school heavy metal fans were left crying into their patchouli oil in December, when legends of UK rock Saxon were forced to cancel their show. The gig, at the O2 Academy, was pulled when drummer Nigel Glocker was rushed to hospital after suffering a brain aneurysm. The good news is that Nigel is on the mend after two surgical procedures, and Saxon are back on the road — with a rescheduled date at the same venue on February 6.

While he is recovering well, Nigel is still not well enough to take the sticks, however, and will be replaced by Sven Dirkschneider, the son of shaven-headed german heavy metal singer Udo Dirkschneider — of the band Accept.

He will be joined by frontman Biff Byford, guitarists Paul Quinn and Doug Scarratt and bassist Nibbs Carter.

Biff told us: “It’s great to see Nige on the mend, he will get the chance to see the band from out front for a change.”

The Oxford date is the penultimate show in their 38-date European Warriors of the Road 35th anniver-sary tour, and will feature tracks from what is known to the fans as ‘The Holy Trinity’ — Saxon’s seminal albums Wheels of Steel, Strong Arm of the Law and Denim and Leather.

Existing tickets remain valid. New tickets are still available for £29.25 from ticketweb.co.uk

* Bacon sandwiches were simultaneously dropped in delight on The Oxford Times Weekend desk this week, when the organisers of Henley Festival unveiled the first of their headliners.

Gracing the bill on Thursday July 9, is ‘80s legend Lionel Richie. The multi-award winning superstar has shifted well over 100 million albums worldwide with hits like Hello, All Night Long and Dancing On The Ceiling.

He said: “I’m looking forward to playing at Henley Festival as I don’t think I’ve ever played on a floating stage on the River Thames before! There’s been some great acts perform over the years at Henley, so I’m very excited for it to be my turn.”

Also gracing that floating stage are Chinese piano prodigy Ji Liu, jazz singer Gregory Porter and award-winning trumpet soloist Alison Balsom, who star in a celebration of George Gershwin’s music called Who Got Rhythm?!

The show also features the entire Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Troy Miller and Fabio D’Andrea.

The festival runs from July 8-12.
Just 6,000 tickets will be available for each evening from henley-festival.co.uk, going on sale at 9am on January 26, priced from £35.