Saxon frontman Biff Byford recently discussed the band’s iconic stage attire and its unintended influence on heavy metal fashion. He shared his thoughts in an interview with Metal Hammer.
The conversation centered on Saxon’s classic song “Denim And Leather” and how the band’s stage clothes came to influence the heavy metal community. Byford reflected on the evolution of the band’s look and its lasting impact on the genre.
“To tell you the truth, they weren’t really that important,” Byford said. “We just wore jeans and leather jackets back in the day. I think the spandex thing started years before that. So we just emulated bands that we wearing them at the time, really, from the ’70s. But mostly it was leather jackets, really — black T-shirts and leather jackets; that was our uniform.”
The Saxon vocalist also discussed the significance of certain accessories that became synonymous with metal culture.
“And the bullet belts,” he continued. “Me and Lemmy [Motörhead] were quite well known for wearing bullet belts at the time. But, yeah, it was a good look. It was biker, but it wasn’t too extreme of a look. Lemmy was the same. I don’t think Lemmy really was a biker, but he was associated with that sort of look. I mean, he did own a motorcycle, but I don’t think he rode many of them. So, yeah, ‘Denim And Leather’, on the back [there] was a picture of us on motorcycles, so it’s a bit of a giveaway, really.”
The interviewer noted that the denim-and-leather look has come to symbolize heavy metal to mainstream audiences. Byford acknowledged the band’s role in popularizing the aesthetic.
“Yeah, I did have some denim stuff made for that tour, but just jackets with the stuff on the back,” he said. “And I think over the years that look has become iconic with metal and hard rock. So, yeah, I think we started a great trend. It was already there, but we’ve sort of put it on the map, if you like, with that song and that album… I mean, the song’s known all over the world, and not everybody knows it’s our song. But they all know the song.”
Byford’s reflections highlight the organic nature of Saxon’s influence on metal fashion. This influence emerged during a pivotal period in the band’s career and the broader heavy metal movement.
The song “Denim And Leather” holds particular significance in Saxon’s catalog as it appeared on their fourth studio album of the same name, released in 1981. Wikipedia noted that the album was certified Gold status in the UK and marked a commercial peak for the band. The record represented the culmination of Saxon’s early success during the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement.
Last.fm documented that the namesake of the album and song was inspired by the popular attire of metalheads in the early 1980s, defined by denim pants and leather jackets. This connection between fashion and music became a defining characteristic of the heavy metal subculture. Saxon inadvertently became ambassadors for this aesthetic.
The album’s success was notable for its chart performance. Louder Sound reported that Denim And Leather was the second, and last, Saxon studio album to make the Top 10 in the UK, peaking at number nine. This commercial achievement coincided with the band’s visual impact on the metal scene. It cemented their dual influence on both sound and style.
The timing of the album’s release proved significant for Saxon’s lineup as well. Louder Sound revealed that it was also the last album to feature their classic lineup before drummer Pete Gill left due to a hand injury and subsequently joined Motörhead. This transition marked the end of an era for Saxon. It made the Denim And Leather period even more historically significant for both the band and the broader metal fashion movement they helped establish.
