DENIM AND LEATHER: The Rise and Fall of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal

Great book!

Very good book

I own a lot of Heavy Metal Biographies etc & this book DEFINITELY stands out as VERY well written & informative about the NWOBH era. I HIGHLY recommend it 🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘

This book arrived in great condition. It’s a fun read for fans of Heavy Metal!

The absolute definitive book on the NWOBHM movement told not esoterically by some outsider looking in with a singular perspective but through the words of many of the people that were there and were part of the movement. Exceptionally detailed, granular, and vivid in its description. It probably helps if you loved the movement, it really is a love letter of sorts, but it would be enjoyable and informative for anyone.

Unless NWOBHM is literally all you breathe, eat and sustain you, unless the particular initial period of this particular movement of this particular kind of music is all that matters to you, you do not need this book. Chapters are basically back-to-back quotes from interviews of people that were part of the movement (with some huge exceptions : Steve Harris, Bruce Dickinson above all). So it basically goes from “yes it all began with that one gig in 1979” and the next guy saying “that one gig in 1979 was where it all began” and then another guy saying “1979 was the year where it all began, with that gig at that one place”. Repeat this for 10x people over 5-6 pages and you got a chapter. VERY boring for anyone who is not super dedicated to this.

Back cover was destroyed somehow before packaging and then mailed anyway. Why?

Sulla scia di opere riuscite come "Please Kill Me" e "Louder Than Hell", "Denim & Leather: The Rise and Fall of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal" racconta l’avvincente epopea di uno dei generi più affascinanti della storia del rock. Nato nell’era del punk, il movimento ne assorbe lo spirito DIY ("fai da te") applicandolo all’heavy metal, dando vita a una fittissima rete di scene locali: un sottobosco vivacissimo che va da band animate da grande entusiasmo ma poca fortuna fino alle arene mondiali di Iron Maiden e Def Leppard. Il risultato è il racconto di una stagione irripetibile, tra gli episodi più iconici e fondamentali della storia dell’heavy metal.

This is an excellent book, a compilation of interviews with musicians/managers/journalists who all supply their own viewpoint, with some opinions and memories conflicting which adds to the fun really. It helps if you were there at the time but it is not inaccessible to someone coming to it without any knowledge of NWOBHM or the NWOBHM years. I was there for it, and although I was never a total NWOBHM or metal fan, I did listen to what I considered were the most interesting elements of the music. It was great to see reproductions of old Geoff Barton artiles from Sounds, some of which I can clearly remember reading at the time. Not so good were the rather self-important reminisces of Neils Kay the DJ, but the majority of contributors make for very enjoyable reading, especially from members and former members of Def Leppard, who come across very well indeed. Some would criticise the book because of the lack of involvement from Iron Maiden. This is unfair. There are contributions from Paul Di'anno, Dennis Stratton and Doug Sampson, who were all members of IM in the crucial period of 1979-81. There would really be no point in hearing about IM's platinum albums in the period after this, the foundations had been already set. A final point would be that this book made me go straight to Spotify and listen to the music, and that is the real mark of success of a rock music book.

Regular

Really enjoyed this book. It takes you back to a time that when you went to a gig likeminded people were there solely for the music and not to be hip, to trend or to be seen. Whether they want to believe it or not the two biggest bands of the NWOBHM era WERE Leppard and Maiden as they are right in amongst it and were lucky to find the right managers who recognised their talent. Lots of anecdotes from band members, managers, label and venue owners - as well as singles, albums and gigs dissected. The NWOBHM and bands like Diamond Head, Raven and Venom were so important to the rise of metal and its genres - especially to early thrash such as Metallica and Slayer. It also inspired the reinvigorating of acts such as Priest (acknowledged by Halford), Sabbath and American metal in general. Respect is due.

I started buying Kerrang around 1984, loved it. The metal / hard rock Bible. This book brought back many wonderful memories from that era. Highly recommended book.