Here’s a nice little story. About 20 years ago somebody I worked with asked me if I had heard of The Leather Nun. I said “Yes, they did a version of an Abba song” (I couldn’t remember which) but that’s all I knew. He said “If you like them you might as well have this” and gave me a CD called Force of Habit which he had won in a competition and didn’t like. It was actually quite a generous gesture as we didn’t particularly get on but he knew I liked less mainstream music. I thanked him kindly, half listened to it a couple of times and put it away.
I mention this now because I thought it might be nice to post the Abba cover what with all the Abba mania presently going on, so I dug the CD out of its hiding place in the garage and listened to it properly for the first time. Guess what – it’s pretty damn good. The Leather Nun are a Swedish band* and Force of Habit is actually a ‘Greatest Hits’ CD. The main influence is obviously Velvet Underground/Lou Reed but there are also elements of Throbbing Gristle, Iggy Pop and even a hint of Roxy Music. A quick Amazon search suggests none of their albums are currently available in the UK, which is a shame.
The Abba cover, Gimme Gimme Gimme, is actually one of the weaker songs so I’ve decided to post some others to better represent the disc.
mp3: The Leather Nun - Jesus Came Driving Along
mp3: The Leather Nun - For The Love of Your Eyes
Or should that be For The Love of Your Pale Blue Eyes?
mp3: The Leather Nun - Gimme Gimme Gimme
mp3: The Leather Nun - F.F.A.
The funkiest song on the album. Parental Advisory: My kids were in the room when I was first listening to it and I had to reach for the skip button pretty sharpish.
See this fan site for more information.
I mention this now because I thought it might be nice to post the Abba cover what with all the Abba mania presently going on, so I dug the CD out of its hiding place in the garage and listened to it properly for the first time. Guess what – it’s pretty damn good. The Leather Nun are a Swedish band* and Force of Habit is actually a ‘Greatest Hits’ CD. The main influence is obviously Velvet Underground/Lou Reed but there are also elements of Throbbing Gristle, Iggy Pop and even a hint of Roxy Music. A quick Amazon search suggests none of their albums are currently available in the UK, which is a shame.
The Abba cover, Gimme Gimme Gimme, is actually one of the weaker songs so I’ve decided to post some others to better represent the disc.
mp3: The Leather Nun - Jesus Came Driving Along
mp3: The Leather Nun - For The Love of Your Eyes
Or should that be For The Love of Your Pale Blue Eyes?
mp3: The Leather Nun - Gimme Gimme Gimme
mp3: The Leather Nun - F.F.A.
The funkiest song on the album. Parental Advisory: My kids were in the room when I was first listening to it and I had to reach for the skip button pretty sharpish.
See this fan site for more information.
12 comments:
What I Did On My Weekend
On Saturday we went to the park and then to the swimming pool. It was fun.
Then on Sunday Daddy listened to Leather Nun. There was lots of naughty words and Daddy fell over when he tried to switch it off. On Sunday night we went to bed late because we took Daddy to the hospital because I asked him what fist-f**king was and mummy hit him with a frying pan.
That's pretty much what would have happened and we've got one of those heavy frying pans. In fact, she's likely to give me a questioning look if she reads your comment: "What sort of stuff are you posting?" I thought the F stood for funky.
heh heh heh.
Hard to believe, but The Leather Nun started out as industrial band (in the meaning of industrial noise, like Throbbing Gristle or early Cabaret Voltaire). "Slow Death" is their best song. Back then it was pure cult, and it is still great. Look here: http://industrialintroduction.blogspot.com/2008/07/leather-nun-slow-death.html
Fun post and great blog, Mick. You should blog more and work less.
And go Simon!
The Nun's releases may not be available in the UK because the band was from Sweden. Pink House and Cool Shoes are two other tracks that are worth a listen.
Thanks Darkdance. I've been reading the comments you've left on some of the old posts with interest. I'll try to respond to them all in the next few days.
I did make a pest of myself there for awhile when I discovered your excellent blog. You need not take time to reply to my comments unless you think something I said is a crock of s--t. Feel free to email me if you want more info on anything.
Are you actually having a month off then?
It’s terrible, isn’t it. I’ve tried, I’ve really tried, but thanks to the shitty British summer I’ve been stuck in the house with three boys who only allow me occasional access to the PC and when I get there my brain is fried and I can’t type coherent sentences. Last night I had a post in support of Steve and his brush with the Web Sheriff all planned in my head but could I type it this morning? No! Meanwhile, I’m still without a stylus on a vinyl based blog. I’ve decided to write off August and look ahead to September.
Yay!
Well Mick, at least the mum didn't hear that Leather Nun song and you're not stumbling about with a frying skillet buried in your head.
Looking forward to your return.
YES MICK, LOOKING FORWARD TO YOUR RETURN.
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