Denim And Leather

Denim and Leather is the fourth studio album by British heavy metal band Saxon released in 1981. The namesake of the album and song of the name was inspired by the popular attire of metalheads in the early 1980s, defined by denim pants and leather jackets. 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 (NWOBHM). This was the last album with the classic line up of Saxon, as drummer Pete Gill would ultimately leave the band to join Motörhead; this was also seen as the last of their triumvirate of classic albums (the previous two being Wheels of Steel and Strong Arm of the Law), which saw them stop making albums for over a year following the release of Denim and Leather, leading to them trying to reach mainstream success in the United States.

Though the album isn’t Saxon’s best selling, it spawned two of their most successful singles, “And the Bands Played On” and “Princess of the Night”. There are nine songs on this album, which are noted for their heavy subject matter about a wide range of topics. “Princess of the Night” is a song about a powerful train and “And the Bands Played On” is about the resiliency of the heavy metal (particularly NWOBHM) bands. Other themes for the songs include: partying, the spirit of the music, fighting, and, like many of their songs, motorcycles.