Denim and Leather: The Rise and Fall of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal

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 nose-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.

“Entertaining and informative… In 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!