''Denim and Leather'' is the fourth studio album by English heavy metal band

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

released in 1981. The album was certified Gold status in the U.K. This was the last album with the classic line up of Saxon, as drummer

Pete Gill Peter Gill (born 9 June 1951) is an English former heavy metal drummer, formerly a member of The Glitter Band, Saxon and Motörhead. Gill was one of the two drummers in The Glitter Band, then formed part of the original line-up of Saxon in ...

would leave the band due to a hand injury, later joining

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a precu ...

; this was also seen as the last of their triptych of classic albums (the previous two being ''

Wheels of Steel ''Wheels of Steel'' is the second studio album by English heavy metal band Saxon. Released in 1980, it was their first album to enter the UK Albums Chart, peaking at number 5, and is their highest-charting album in the UK Albums Chart to date. ...

'' and ''

Strong Arm of the Law ''Strong Arm of The Law'' is the third studio album by English heavy metal band Saxon. It was released in 1980, seven months after '' Wheels of Steel'', and debuted on the UK chart at #11. The last track, "Dallas 1 PM" concerns the assassinati ...

'').

Song notes

The album spawned two of their most successful singles, "

And the Bands Played On "And the Bands Played On" is a single by heavy metal band Saxon from their 1981 album ''Denim and Leather''. It peaked at number 12 on the UK Singles Chart and is Saxon's most successful single to date. The album version has a cold ending at 2:4 ...

" and "

Princess of the Night ''For the flower colloquially known as "Princess of the Night", see Epiphyllum oxypetalum.'' "Princess of the Night" is a single by British heavy metal band Saxon, featured as the opening track and single from their 1981 album ''Denim and Leathe ...

". There are nine songs on this album, which are noted for lyrics about a wide range of topics. "Princess of the Night" is a song about a powerful steam locomotive and "And the Bands Played On" is about 1980 Monsters of Rock Festival – name checking Rainbow. Other themes for the songs include: partying, the spirit of the music, fighting, and, like many of their songs, motorcycles. "Midnight Rider" is a song about Saxon's 1980 North American tour. The name of the album and song was inspired by the popular attire of

metalheads A metalhead is a member of the heavy metal subculture. Metalhead may also refer to: Music * ''Metalhead'' (album), 1999 album by Saxon * "Metalhead", a song by Blotto * "Metalhead", a song from the 2008 Miss Kittin album ''BatBox'' * Metalheadz ...

in the early 1980s, defined by either denim jeans and jackets or a leather biker jacket (often worn with a denim cut-off waistcoat). The song is seen as a tribute from the band to their fans while describing the history of the sub-culture and the rise of the

new wave of British heavy metal The new wave of British heavy metal (commonly abbreviated as NWOBHM) was a nationwide musical movement that started in England in the mid-1970s and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. Journalist Geoff Barton coined the term i ...

(NWOBHM).

Reception

The album peaked at #9 in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

. The album is regarded as a classic in the band's discography, and has been received positively by critics and fans. Eduardo Rivadavia of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

called the opening track "Princess of the Night" an "infectiously anthemic opening statement", whilst praising the title track for also being an "unqualified classic". He considered "Out of Control" and "Rough and Ready" to be strong tracks, whilst regarding "Fire in the Sky", "Midnight Rider", and "And The Bands Played On" as "spectacular". Canadian journalist

Martin Popoff Martin Popoff (born April 28, 1963) is a Canadian music journalist, critic and author. He is mainly known for writing about the genre of heavy metal music. The senior editor and co-founder of ''Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles'', he has additionally ...

had mixed feelings about ''Denim and Leather'', which he considered "Saxon's stadium rock album... boppier and sillier than ''Wheels of Steel'', but still catchy", denouncing "the band's progressively feeble song skills while gaining points for conviction."

Track listing

*Bonus tracks 12-18 recorded live on the ''Denim and Leather'' Tour, 1981.

Personnel

Biff Byford Peter Rodney "Biff" Byford (born 15 January 1951) is an English singer best known as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Saxon. Early life Byford was born in Skelmanthorpe, West Yorkshire, the youngest of four children to Ernest Ch ...

– vocals * Paul Quinn – guitars *

Graham Oliver Graham Oliver (born 6 July 1952) is an English guitarist who was born in Mexborough, South Yorkshire. He was a founder member in the heavy metal band Saxon from 1976 to 1995. Career Oliver was a budding guitarist while working in a factory i ...

– guitars *

Steve Dawson ''yes'Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen Notable people with the name include: steve jops * Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people * Steve Adams (disambiguation), several people * Steve ...

– bass *

– drums ; Production * Nigel Thomas – production * Andy Lyden – engineering * Aquarius Studios,

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

– recording location *

Polar Studios Polar Studios was a recording studio in Stockholm, Sweden, which operated from 1978 through 2004. The studio was formed by ABBA musicians Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson and the band's manager Stig Anderson, owner of the Polar Music recording ...

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

Song notes

Reception

Track listing

Personnel

Charts

Album

Singles

Certifications

References