{{Short description|English indie rock band}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2014}} {{Use British English|date=May 2014}} {{More citations needed|date=April 2013}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Denim | image = | image_size = | caption = | origin = [[Birmingham]], England | genre = [[Glam rock]], [[indie rock]] | years_active = 1992–1997 | label = [[Boy's Own Recordings|Boy's Own]]<br/>[[Echo Records|Echo]]<br/>[[List of EMI labels#Stand alone labels|EMIDISC]]<br/> West Midlands Records | associated_acts = [[Felt (band)|Felt]]<br/>[[Go-Kart Mozart]] | past_members = * [[Lawrence (musician)|Lawrence]] * Brian O'Shaughnessy * Neil Scott * Peter Phipps * Bill Bass * Bill Phillips }}
'''Denim''' were an English [[indie rock]] [[musical ensemble|band]], the brainchild of [[Lawrence (musician)|Lawrence]] (formerly of [[Felt (band)|Felt]]), and were based in [[Birmingham]], England.<ref name="Larkin90"/>
==History== Following the end of his former group, 1980s [[post-punk]] outfit [[Felt (band)|Felt]], Lawrence moved into different territory with Denim, a band whose brash teaming of [[glam rock]] with cutting and highly [[satirical]] 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.<ref name="Larkin90"/> A single, "Middle of the Road", was released from the album in January 1993 on Boy's Own Records.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/blog/post/allmusic-playlist-britpop |title=AllMusic Playlist: Britpop : The AllMusic Blog |website=[[AllMusic]] |date= |accessdate=2013-04-13}}</ref>
===''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".<ref name="Larkin90"/> ''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]]) 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 song|novelty]] music and earned Denim a support slot with [[Pulp (band)|Pulp]] who were fans of Lawrence and his work.<ref name="Larkin90"/>
===''Novelty Rock''=== Denim's final release was ''[[Novelty Rock]]'', a compilation of B-sides and some new material, which was released early in 1997.<ref name="Larkin90"/>
===''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 [[Diana, Princess of Wales|Princess Diana]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.glassdarkly.com/feltfolder/summer.html |title=FELT |website=Glassdarkly.com |date= |accessdate=2013-04-13}}</ref> with EMI feeling any release would be in poor taste.<ref name="Larkin90"/> 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]]'',<ref name="Larkin90"/> as well as a complete reworking for the next album ''[[On the Hot Dog Streets]]''.
==In popular culture== In January 2018, satirist [[Charlie Brooker]] chose the Denim track "The New Potatoes" as one of his eight tracks on ''[[Desert Island Discs]]'', and decided that it would be the one track he would keep with him to the island if the tide washed the others away.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09kx840|work=[[BBC Radio 4]]|title=Desert Island Discs – Charlie Brooker|date=7 January 2018}}</ref>
==Discography== ===Studio albums=== * ''[[Back in Denim]]'' (1992), Boy's Own Recordings * ''[[Denim on Ice]]'' (1996), Echo * ''Denim Take Over'' (1997) - Unreleased<ref name="Larkin90">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Virgin Encyclopedia of Nineties Music]]|editor=Colin Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|date=2000|edition=First|isbn=0-7535-0427-8|page=119}}</ref>
===Compilation albums=== * ''[[Novelty Rock]]'' (1997), EMIDISC
===Singles=== * "Middle of the Road" (1992), Boy's Own Recordings (No. 78, UK Singles Chart) * "It Fell Off the Back of a Lorry" (1996), Echo. (No. 79, UK Singles Chart) * "Summer Smash" (1997), EMIDISC
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Felt}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:English indie rock groups]] [[Category:Rock music groups from Birmingham, West Midlands]] [[Category:Musical groups established in 1992]] [[Category:Musical groups established in 1997]]