Former SAXON guitarist Graham Oliver diagnosed with Parkinsons disease

Published September 8 2023 at 15:46

Graham Oliver, co-founder and former guitarist of British NWOBHM legends SAXON, has been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.

Oliver, who is featured on every Saxon album from their self-titled 1979 debut to 1994's 'Dogs of War', has vowed to play on, and has no plans to call time on a career that is no stranger to adversity.

"I'm just going to keep going till I can't".

The NWOBHM pioneer's guitar career has survived a severed finger and a mini-stroke, and he is not prepared to call time on it now.

Speaking to The Classic Rock Podcast, Oliver, who turned 71 in July of 2023, said that he first thought that it was just a bit of old age, maybe a trapped nerve or some arthritis.

"I've had this complaint since lockdown and thought it was a trapped nerve," he said. "I didn't know what to put it down to. I just put it down to inactivity, a bit of old age or arthritis, or a trapped nerve."

Oliver says the condition's progress has been slow, and he is taking medication.

He is the latest high-profile metal veteran to be diagnosed with the condition, with Judas Priest's Glenn Tipton announcing in February 2018 that he was stepping down from touring following his diagnosis.

Ozzy Osbourne has similarly been diagnosed with Parkinson's.