Denim and Leather

Between 1978 and 1983, Great Britain spawned a DIY uprising of over 500 heavy metal bands. Many soon became the household names of the 1980s metal invasion...many others did not. For the first time, author Michael Hann captures the whole snout-to-tail story of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal in all its power and glory, exploring the bands, clubs, radio, magazines, festivals, and the majesty and misfires of the NWOBHM in over 100 interviews with members of Venom, Def Leppard, Iron...
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Between 1978 and 1983, Great Britain spawned a DIY uprising of over 500 heavy metal bands. Many soon became the household names of the 1980s metal invasion...many others did not. For the first time, author Michael Hann captures the whole snout-to-tail story of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal in all its power and glory, exploring the bands, clubs, radio, magazines, festivals, and the majesty and misfires of the NWOBHM in over 100 interviews with members of Venom, Def Leppard, Iron Maiden, Diamond Head, Angel Witch, Samson, UFO, Tygers of Pan Tang, Vardis, Judas Priest, Saxon, Whitesnake, Girlschool, Witchfynde, Demon, Thin Lizzy, Rainbow, Gillan, Led Zeppelin, and more. "Louder, faster, funnier...a number of lively vignettes... fascinating and entertaining"-The Telegraph "Denim and Leather captures a moment in time. The book is an honest portrayal, directly from the horse's mouth."-Phil Collen, Def Leppard "[An] entertaining and poignant oral history...part of the book's charm is Hann's rendering of local accents, even as his interviewees hold forth on their lurid flirtations with the dark side."-Financial Times "Entertaining and informative... an extraordinary feat of structural engineering, Denim and Leather corrals the contributions of more than a hundred interviewees into a cohesive story of a movement that was at best disunified. The book is often funny, and even ribald. It is to Michael Hann's credit that [a] sense of poignancy permeates almost every page. There's more than enough here to make this exhaustive labor of love the equal of other standard-bearing oral histories such as Everyone Loves Our Town and Please Kill Me."-Kerrang! "Finally, a book about one of the most overlooked and unfairly derided movements in music history. There is so much in here, metal music that shaped everything that came afterwards, joy, pathos, humour and darkness. I learned so much; now excuse me while I go brush up on Witchfynde."-Frank Turner "An exhaustively researched and entertaining book full of new interviews with most of the key players, offering genuine insights into a movement that changed the face of rock for the better."-Louder Than War