Graham Oliver was Saxon's founding guitarist and part of the classic line-up between 1976 and 1995. Born in 1952, he formed with Paul Quinn the guitar pairing that defined the band's sound in its most influential phase. Within that pairing, Oliver took the loose side. His phrasing comes from blues and 1970s British hard rock, with wide bends and a certain unpredictability, and it is the contrast with Quinn's precision that gives Saxon's twin harmonies the relief they have. He is on Wheels of Steel (1980), Strong Arm of the Law (1980), Denim and Leather (1981) and Power & the Glory (1983) — the records that made the band one of the three central reference points of the NWOBHM. He left in 1995, and what followed was a dispute. Oliver went to court claiming the right to use the Saxon name, in litigation with Biff Byford and Paul Quinn that ran for years and ended with the rights remaining with the latter two. He remains active alongside Steve Dawson, also a founder of the band, in a group performing the classic-era repertoire under the name Oliver/Dawson Saxon.
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