In one episode, Harvey, at considerable risk to himself, decided to help the heavy metal band, Saxon, to recover their former glory. He set himself a dead line of six months.

In the early eighties, Saxon were the kings of rock who ruled over the British heavy metal scene outselling Iron Maiden and Def Leppard. They were the inspiration behind the movie 'Spinal Tap' but after 25 years, the band had fallen on hard times.

They had maintained some appeal in South America and mainland Europe but had been unable to fill UK venues. Their record sales had plummeted.

Harvey commented: "They've become a bit of a laughing stock and that's unfortunate. They were legends and, when bands like this disappear, it's like losing a piece of musical history."

Harvey believed an overhaul or reinvention would put this right but, first, he had to win over Biff Byford, the band's boss and lead singer, who was reluctant to change anything about the band.

Biff often looked more enthusiastic about landing one on Harvey than he did about achieving monetary success for his group! He especially hated Harvey's criticism of the band as 'pedestrian'.

He constantly questioned Harvey's right to make any criticism at all as Harvey had not even written one song unlike the band who had written hundreds.

Harvey tried to be tactful although that is not always his strong point:

"I think there is a lot more in you than what you are doing. I think you should be doing a lot better. What's the difference between Iron Maiden's music and yours? In my opinion it's no better… I want to get you to the point where you can sell out every venue in England because everybody is talking about you."

He worked out a clear plan about how to take Saxon forward:

I've got to change their sound - modernise it.

I've got to change their image - from roadies to superstars.

They have to have press coverage in England.

Byford seemed more concerned about his history than his future:

"We have a history. We can't just change overnight just because Harvey Goldsmith says it's a **** good idea."

Harvey could clearly sense the opposition to his plans! He tried to counter this by reminding them of his vision for their glorious future.

"I am worried because they don't really want to change that much. They know they've got to change. I, honestly, don't think they know how to do it. They don't know where they are going. They want the comfort of what they know and they are absolutely petrified of moving out of the box."

Harvey decided to test the band out on a young British audience. If they liked Saxon, he, himself, would have the confidence to move on to the next stage.

He set up a free gig and leaked the rumour that 'The Cure' were playing to make sure he had a big enough crowd. Byford appeared undaunted by the fact that the audience had come to hear another band:

"I am just going to go in and play some **** English heavy metal and they can **** like it or not like it and it makes no **** difference to me. We're going to blow the wall off the place. When we're on the stage, we are different people. We go **** nuts. If the audience come with us on the ride, that's great for them but if they don't - forget about it. It doesn't bother us one **** iota."

But by the second song, the audience were totally involved. Everyone was "thrashing and slamming around". This was fortunate for Harvey who had been ready to make a fast exit if things went horribly wrong! One young headbanger, who was stripped to the waist, even gave him a high five.

Harvey encouraged Saxon: "This is just a start!"

A bonus result of the gig was the first full page article about the band in the British press since the 80's. The Lincolnshire Echo had photos and headlines:

"Mystery band have SAX Appeal!"

There was even a nice comment about Harvey Goldsmith:

"Harvey is one of the few people in the music business you can really trust. He is a genuinely nice man"

"Obviously doesn't know you then," joked Biff after some thought!

To raise the band's profile, Harvey took them to a prestigious rock awards ceremony in London.

Harvey and Biff networked well but the manager, Thomas, who looks like a bare knuckle prize fighter, looked lost and the other band members huddled together on the sidelines ' or in Harvey's words:

"Stood there like ***** plonkers!"

Later Harvey told Thomas:

"You have to take every opportunity. It's promotion, promotion, promotion."

The band now worked on a new single which Biff hoped might appeal to a younger audience:

"It's basically about knife and gun crime!"

Harvey was not impressed with the demo. He called in two leading record producers to make it more modern. Bill, reluctantly, agreed to the experiment:

"But, we don't want to change too much."

Harvey could see some daylight ahead:

"At the end of the day, Biff sprouts and shouts but, behind it all, he's actually listening. We may end up in the ring at the end of this saga but so what!"

I think Harvey, too, is a bit of a head banger!

Harvey suggested the band return for their re-launch to their original venue - Sheffield City Hall. This is where Saxon played their first gig 25 years ago. It is a shrine to rock and roll.

Harvey now had 1800 tickets to sell. The band were beginning to sound the part but Harvey decided they needed to look the part as well.

Byford hated the idea of spending time with a stylist:

"I think Harvey should go and see a **** stylist. A **** rock promoter should look a bit more rock and roll."

Biff had a point!

Harvey was only a little impressed by the results of the makeover as shown in a publicity photo:

He thought Biff looked like an Indian Chief without the feather - Biff quite liked the look!

Harvey next introduced the new single, 'If I was you and you were me', to the music press. Rock journalists were invited to witness his vision for the band. He told Biff:

"Get out there and sell what the single is about. This is sell your soul time."

Biff told them that the single was about knife and gun crime and that he himself was a bit of a criminal when he was young:

"I could easily have been in jail at any point in my career."

This kind of comment always seems to go down well in any project involving young people! The single was well received. One journalist commented:

"Saxon are a shining light for a new wave of British heavy metal."

XFM promised to play the single on Sunday night.

Harvey was pleased: "So - it's happening!"

Even Biff was pleased:

"Great! I'm turning into a Harvey Goldsmith fan! Harvey is doing a great job; I can't fault him. I 'd like to fault him and I think he'd like to fault me but we're both getting it together now. It's cool."

But ticket sales were not going well. Only 207 seats were sold.

Harvey planned a 'roctacular' stunt at an upcoming football match between Sheffield Wednesday and Sunderland. The idea was to break the air guitar record of 4,000 people simultaneously pretending to play the guitar.

If things went well, 30,000 fans might play air guitar for five minutes at half-time and break the record. Harvey explained the plot:

"If we get this world record you will have fans for life because they will be part of history."

The stunt did not go as planned. The Sheffield Wednesday fans were disgruntled because their team was 2-0 down and the Sunderland fans were rubbing this in with shouts of "TWO - NIL TWO NI-IL"

I could see only one or two youngsters in the crowd having a go at air guitaring! The rest looked mystified or bored!

Harvey pulled the band off after three minutes. Biff was furious and humiliated:

"That's the worst three minutes I've ever **** spent in my life."

Harvey, too, was furious or pretended to be so that he could provoke the band into a great performance:

"I think they've been pedestrian because they didn't know any different. Someone like me has to rattle them enough to do the performance of their life time. All I want out of them is to go the extra mile."

He called the band together:

"Saturday was at best cr**. You looked embarrassed. You didn't go out there and kick ass… You didn't really give it to them. It looked a mess."

At this point, Biff refused to stay in the same room as Harvey:

"You put us on that *** field. We did our best. We dealt with it how we deal with it. If anybody made a mistake going on the football field it was you. Going out onto a field with Sheffield Wednesday two nil down… You could have at anytime said: "Forget it lads, we're not doing it." I am not talking about it any more."

Again, Biff had a point. Why agonize over past humiliations? Later, Biff wondered why Harvey had provoked the band just a few hours before their big performance:

"Why did Harvey provoke the band. I think it's just a tactic to get us mad. But it works, dunnit? Yeah!"

The performance was a huge success. The large stage allowed them to strut their stuff in style. Some new young fans were delighted:

"Saxon are back! Saxon are back!" "I'd like to see them hit the big time! Brilliant!"

Harvey was delighted and at peace with the band: "You sure as **** weren't pedestrian tonight."

Saxon's latest album shot to no 4 in the rock charts and they are now preparing for their biggest UK tour in 20 years. Harvey and Saxon had achieved a huge success.

The main success lessons were:

Don't fight your mentor. If you have a problem either deal with it yourself or if you do ask a mentor for help, give him, or her, a chance to improve your situation. Show some trust. If you are the mentor, you will need courage and a will of steel.

Have a clear vision of the future. Saxon should fill every venue in the UK. What is your vision for your future?

Plan for success by deciding what needs improving just as Harvey planned to improve the sound, image, press coverage and all round effort of Saxon.

Take every opportunity available to promote your plans or move them onwards. Don't hang around 'like a plonker' when others are busy working. Go and talk to people if that will help. Most humans like to be helpful.

Don't look embarrassed. Give it your all every time you perform. Do your job with 100% effort and don't be inhibited by other people who may not share your passion.

Don't be put off by a big failure or humiliation even if it is in public. Just move on like Lady Godiva.

Don't be afraid to move out of your box or comfort zone.

Use whatever motivation is available even if it is a negative emotion like anger or humiliation.

Remind yourself frequently of your vision of the future and imagine yourself already possessing it.

Age is no barrier to success. Status Quo and Eric Clapton are still touring and The Who have recently released a new album. The best piper in my bagpipe band was the oldest.

Occasionally go berserk and become larger than life, like Saxon on stage. Go flat out without worrying if you are carrying your fellow human beings with you or not! You, at least, will feel much the better for it!