Leather Friday

 

It's impossible to look back at leather outfits in rock music without mentioning Suzi Quatro. I can still remember how impressed I was when I saw her on television for the first time in 1973. On the one hand, that the entire band was dressed in leather and on the other, that she added hard rock to glam rock. Their first songs were classic stompers with a clear hook line and certainly influenced bands like The Runaways or Joan Jett.

Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft couldn't have been more blatant than Suzi when they turned everything upside down at the end of the 70's. Robert Görl and Gabriel Delgado-Lopez met in the Düsseldorf punk scene and crossed boundaries with their physically emphazised music. Until then, it was unthinkable to make electronic dance music. And it was also inconceivable that dictators and the Messiah could appear in the same song. D.A.F. also became the blueprint for many other groups such as Front 242 and almost the entire techno scene.

Mention must also be made of Dublin's Thin Lizzy, who flew the flag for hard rock during the glam-rock era. Most of the songs were recorded with two guitars and the many songs with classic hooklines are carried by Phil Lynott's. Lynott liked to wear leather in his early days, especially live.

Everything has an end, and so does this little series, which will perhaps be continued when black leather jackets become the order of the day.

Leather Friday

 

Let's start the second round with Vince Talyor, a British singer who became well known more than 60 years ago. Impressed by the music of Gene Vincent and Elvis Presley he tried to copy them in his own style. What remains of him is his hit Brand New Cadillac, to which The Clash also paid tribute, and the inspiration for David Bowie when he created Ziggy Stardust.

I have already mentioned Elvis, but he should not be missing from this series. He wore leather from time to time at the beginning of his career, but deliberately chose it as an outfit for his live comeback in 1968, when he was probably able to get himself together for the last time to return to his musical roots after years.

 

Khayem commented last week that Julian Cope should not be missing from this series, especially as he sang about the subject with his song Look After Your Leathers. He also discovered leather for his outfits very early on and has earned his place in this series.

Leather Friday

 

For no particular reason, I was watching old videos of The Doors again a few days ago and realized what a presence Jim Morrison was. The fact that he has achieved cult status is certainly also due to his clothes, especially his leather trousers. In music, leather generally stands for freedom, rebellion and wanting to be different. The more I thought about it, the more musicians came to mind who celebrated the leather look and gave me the idea of presenting this in a small series.

At the end of the 60's, Jim Morrison was the idol of many who wanted to be different. His metaphorical lyrics, hypnotic gestures and radical attitude to life made him a superstar. However, he also knew how to present himself visually and so his leather trousers became the outfit of his rebellion.

To stand out in the whole glam scene, Alvin Stardust decided to dress completely in black leather. His music is strongly reminiscent of early rock ‘n’ roll and what could be more obvious than to dress like this?

In the wake of new wave, a Belgian singer emerged at the end of the 70s who was also a huge chart success dressed in leather. Plastic Bertrand is just a footnote in music history, but even his song and outfit are memorable.