Denim were an English

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band, the brainchild of Lawrence (formerly of

Felt Felt is a textile that is produced by matting, condensing, and pressing fibers together. Felt can be made of natural fibers such as wool or animal fur, or from synthetic fibers such as petroleum-based acrylic fiber, acrylic or acrylonitrile or ...

), and were based in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, England.

History

Following the end of his former group, 1980s

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

outfit

, Lawrence moved into different territory with Denim, a band whose brash teaming of

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was primarily defined by the flamboyant clothing, makeup, and hairstyles of its musicians, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists d ...

with cutting and highly

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...

lyrics was very much the opposite of his previous work.

''Back in Denim''

Denim debuted in 1992 with the album '' Back in Denim'', a record which was both a revival (particularly with its glam rock influences and its mix of synth and guitar) and critique (in its satirical lyrics) of the 1970s music scene. A single, "Middle of the Road", was released from the album in January 1993 on Boy's Own Records.

''Denim on Ice''

Denim followed ''Back in Denim'' with the 1996 release of '' Denim on Ice'', which was preceded by a single "It Fell Off the Back of a Lorry". ''Denim on Ice'' featured even more cutting lyrics with comment on the current state of music in England ("The Great Pub Rock Revival", a stinging attack on

Britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s United Kingdom, British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. Musically, Britpop produced bright, catchy alternative rock, with significant influences from British guitar pop of the 1960s and 1970s. B ...

) and the realities of England's social malaise ("Glue & Smack" and "Council Houses"), exhibiting an even more synthesizer-based sound than ''Back in Denim''. The album also spearheaded Lawrence's growing interest in

novelty Novelty (derived from Latin word ''novus'' for "new") is the quality of being new, or following from that, of being striking, original or unusual. Novelty may be the shared experience of a new cultural phenomenon or the subjective perception of an ...

music and earned Denim a support slot with Pulp who were fans of Lawrence and his work.

''Novelty Rock''

Denim's final release was '' Novelty Rock'', a compilation of B-sides and some new material, which was released early 1997.

''Denim Take Over''

''Denim Take Over'' was to be Denim's third studio album. It was shelved due to a lack of commercial success for the band, and when its lead single "Summer Smash", due to be issued in September 1997, was cancelled due to the death of

Princess Diana Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William ...

, with EMI feeling any release would be in poor taste. These events marked an untimely end for Denim. However, some of the albums tracks were released on a subsequent Lawrence project, the 2005 Go Kart Mozart album '' Tearing Up the Album Chart'', as well as a complete reworking for the next album '' On the Hot Dog Streets''.

In popular culture

In January 2018, satirist

Charlie Brooker Charlton ‘Charlie’ Brooker (born 3 March 1971) is an English screenwriter, producer, presenter, author, cartoonist, and social critic. He first became known for creating and presenting satirical television shows that featured biting criticis ...

chose the Denim track "The New Potatoes" as one of his eight tracks on ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight audio recordin ...

'', and decided that it would be the one track he would keep with him to the island if the tide washed the others away.

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Back in Denim'' (1992), Boy's Own Recordings * '' Denim on Ice'' (1996), Echo * ''Denim Take Over'' (1997) - Unreleased

Compilation albums

* '' Novelty Rock'' (1997), EMIDISC

Singles

* "Middle of the Road" (1992), Boy's Own Recordings (#78, UK Singles Chart) * "It Fell Off the Back of a Lorry" (1996), Echo. (#79, UK Singles Chart) * "Summer Smash" (1997), EMIDISC

References

{{Authority control English indie rock groups Rock music groups from Birmingham, West Midlands Musical groups established in 1992 Musical groups established in 1997