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For issue #28 of Mensfile Magazine complete The London Leatherman (Pride & Clarke and Dave Carroll labelled) outfits feature in the editorial titled ‘The Leather Studio’. Styled with looks by Lewis Leathers and The Real McCoy’s.
You can pick up your issue of Mensfile Magazine now, here: Stockists — Men's File (mensfile.com)
Photography by: Nick Clements. Studio Direction: Saaya Nohara. Styling: Bianca Turrini and Shehab Abdelrahman
Styling with The London Leatherman accessories covers all sorts of genre references from biker, punk rock and pop, to high-end couture, vintage, fetish and kink. For Autumn Winter 2023 South Korean, London based menswear designer GOOMHEO along with stylist Gerry O’Kane fused genres to create this photoshoot for the collection ‘Riders’, a shoot the press have described as showcasing ‘grungy beefcakes with a penchant for big boys toys’. Gerry chose some key The London Leatherman accessories to compliment the styling for the series of images that make up the GOOMHEO AW23 Lookbook which can be viewed in its entirety here: GOOMHEO
Photographer: Heji Shin
GOOMHEO AW23 collection ‘Rider’ styled by Gerry O’Kane with The London Leatherman (P&C) Ziggy Belt
GOOMHEO AW23 collection ‘Rider’ styled by Gerry O’Kane with The London Leatherman (P&C) Ziggy Belt
GOOMHEO AW23 collection ‘Rider’ styled by Gerry O’Kane with The London Leatherman LW4 Centurion Stud Neckband and LW10 Exotica Cuffs
GOOMHEO AW23 collection ‘Rider’ styled by Gerry O’Kane with The London Leatherman LW10 Exotica Cuffs & Ziggy Belt
GOOMHEO AW23 collection ‘Rider’ styled by Gerry O’Kane with The London Leatherman LW10 Exotica Cuffs & Ziggy Belt
GOOMHEO AW23 collection ‘Rider’ styled by Gerry O’Kane with The London Leatherman LW10 Exotica Cuffs & Ziggy Belt
Writer and entrepreneur Dave Darcy Edmonds epitomises the post punk cross-over into the London fetish scene being the Editor at Large at Skin Two Magazine and founder of the label Pure Sex London. He has long black hair down to his waist, is almost always wearing an impressive leather jacket and can out punk anyone when it comes to regaling first-hand accounts of going to infamous punk rock gigs and of buying clothing directly from the Kings Road for his own clothing shop in Birmingham, England.
Questions by Bridget Veal
Q. Like most of Dave (Carroll)’s friendships, you and him are bonded by your enthusiasm for clothing, in particular Seditionaries’ by Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren. 45 years on, you can both still talk at length about Seditionaries’, I find this both rational and absurd! Why do you think the interest for Seditionaries has carried on for so long?
A. I think for several reasons. Seditionaries is almost unique as a collection. It’s almost couture designed for streetwear. Its also art and politics and social commentary. The designs are so strong and confrontational that they've never become quaint or dated. It could be argued that they are more contentious and liable to offend now than when originally released. They have not aged with time, or lost their power. They incorporate themes around anger, rebellion, DIY culture, and gender roles and politics that were years ahead of everyone else.
It would be difficult to point to another clothing collection that has endured so long or that sparked movements, bands and all manner of culture across the entire world. New methods of clothing production and/or printing have not superseded them, in fact, the attention to detail on items like the parachute shirts and anarchy shirts is rarely present in clothing of any level today.
Q. The stories you have from your time as a punk rocker, the clothing you bought and adventures you had with your friends like Jordan Mooney capture such an important time in fashion and sub-culture history. How did you come to be a punk rocker?
A. With an Irish father I’d grown up in Birmingham but ostensibly left home by the age of 18 (gap year never went back). I was kind of an unusual kid, sexually straight but I much preferred girly things. I grew up in the area with the biggest density of immigrants in all of Europe. I was used to seeing Irish, Black, Asian, African, et al people from early childhood. I didn't view them as any different from anyone else (no better, no worse) but events around me gave me strong emotion around equality and social justice. I only really liked girls in the vein of Emma Peel, Morticia Addams, Fenella Fielding, biker girls, outsiders. I was at Bourneville College with David Claridge (Skin Two club pioneer and also Roland Rat) and via him I got a ticket to see David Bowie. I was doing A levels in Law, Economics, and Economic and Social History with a view to University and a career either in law or estate agency. It was the Bowie Ziggy Stardust tour at Birmingham Town Hall, a few days before the famous Hammersmith Odeon Ziggy finale. I'd seen a few of the dressed up, flamboyant, Bowie girls around the city ....... vintage clothing, dressed like Bowie/Roxy Music ...... but suddenly I was surrounded by 100's of them. At that concert I found my place in the world. I didn't need to be rich, have a well paid respected career, or have a big house, or a top end car, all that I wanted was to be near girls like that forever. It wasn't just sex it was everything ..... their creativity, their spirit, rebellion. The way they looked, dressed, thought, acted. Those Bowie kids, me included, were ready for punk. Bowie was being absorbed by the mainstream, he was no longer "ours"; we wanted something new to separate us from the majority, the mundane, the normal, punk ticked all the boxes and more. People talk of punk and various types of empowerment, its mostly middle class crap. People like Malcolm and Vivienne, Jordan, Siouxsie, The Clash, Polystyrene, Wayne/Jayne County ..... they didn't "challenge" convention or "break the rules" they just totally and utterly fucking ignored them in every way possible and they didn't need a flag to march behind or the approval of The Guardian writers.
Q. The transition from punk rock into the London fetish scene was a ‘thing’ and many prominent figures that were immersed in punk rock from an early age made the distinct cross-over, especially in the 90s. People who spring to mind are Ben Westwood with his photography, Joe Corre in founding Agent Provocateur, Steve Beech of Westward Bound and you and the team behind Skin Two Magazine. Why do you think punk rock and fetish are so intertwined?
A. I think probably for several reasons. The fact that Seditionaries was preceded by SEX is the first. Punk style fashions, and the people in and around the early punk/Seds scene, were frequently involved in alternative sexual scenes (gay, lesbian, fetish, leather) and several - at least - were involved/employed as what would now be called sex workers. The punk kids liked to shock and be confrontational and fetish was an easy look to trigger a reaction. Certainly punk and alternative kids made up a fair portion of the early contributors to the newer, younger, fetish scene, clubs, fashions, and magazines that evolved in the early 80's. I would not want to over emphasis this (as there's no end of virtue signalling others to do that) but I also think that a large part of punks legacy was empowerment. At the time I thought very much of the DIY ethic offered to working class kids like myself but I now realise that all kinds of minorities ...... race and colour wise. Women, non-mainstream sexualities, et al ..... were welcomed and given a platform and a voice via punk and the sub cultures that sprang from it; fetish and gay men/gay leather scene I would include there.
Q. Skin Two Magazine, how do you describe it to anyone who is just now discovering it?
A. It’s no longer published as a magazine but there are still copies around from all decades. At one point - pre internet - it provided a valuable resource for everything in that scene ...... from clubs and retailers, to models and personalities. The label (every aspect of Skin Two save for print magazine) is now owned by Honour.co.uk, they produce original items as well as new designs and carry forward the ideology.
Q. It’s rare to look through any fetish (especially bondage, dominatrix, leather) magazines produced in England, the USA and parts of Europe from 1972 through to 1979 and not see a piece of The London Leatherman featured on a model, male or female. We have a substantial collection of these now vintage publications, how have fetish magazines from this era influenced your own work?
A. Most of my original T-shirt designs for my own label "Pure Sex" and many that I designed for BOY London were very directly influenced by both fetish magazines and books. The John Willie book "The Adventures of Sweet Gwendoline" was a very direct inspiration for both the early Ants T-shirts and my own. That book was also the primary reference for most of the clothes I designed/produced for Pure Sex and my shops in Kensington Market and Hyper Hyper. Magazines such as Eric Stanton, Bettie Page, Bill Ward, and others also provided ideas and direction.
Q. When you think of The London Leatherman what springs to mind?
A. The first label of its kind that I can remember and certainly the best. I first visited the Battersea shop in the Seditionaries era. It was kinda intimidating but also just fabulous - like you'd wandered into the world of Tom of Finland. I didn't have personal interest in the gay leather scene but I found the clothes and imagery very seductive.
I think Punk found an easy association with outsiders and outliers of all types, as diverse as The London Leatherman and (a) Don Letts reggae playlist.
Q. Do you currently have any favourite The London Leatherman pieces you wear or have your eye on?
A. Yes. I have an original Muir cap that I got from the Battersea shop - I'd love to wear it but I'm too scared of losing it. I think I also have some belts and wristbands somewhere. More recently Faye Dowling gave me one of The London Leatherman mask long sleeve T-shirts that featured in the Horror Show exhibition at Somerset House. I've worn that out several times without really thinking of the impact it may, and has, provoked.
Q. Do you have any exciting projects you’re working on this summer 2023?
A. To be honest I’m always doing things. I actually hesitate to call it work, even though it pays bills, because I've been lucky that everything I've ever done I wanted to do and enjoyed. I've had jobs in fashion design, vintage clothing, magazine production, writing, photography, ticket tout and general spiv, and (as a) pro dom in a famous New York dungeon. I enjoyed all those things and I was, and still am, happy to do them seven days a week. I don’t have patience to sit around. I crave constant mental and artistic (?) stimulation. I wanna be around great, inspirational people (particularly girls) that make their life, their outfits, their environment, everything they touch, from food to a toothbrush, an inspiring and evolving work of art. Current projects include working on Faye Dowlings GothShop online website/zine, Contributor to Salvation magazine - published in print and online by Nigel Wingrove of Salvation/Redemption films, magazines, dvd’s, and general mischief infamy. I’m collaborating on a proposed large scale event with Skin Two/Honour and Ricardo Castro the promoter for the total legendary Slimelight club nights (and several other club nights and events under the Dark Room London umbrella). I've also started work on a range of fetish influenced prints and clothing items for my Japanese ex g/f who has a shop in Osaka, Japan.
I'd like to do more photos and styling on photos but there's a mass of Instagram models but a near zero number of people that can, will, want, to do something in the real world.
Paul Breuer, purveyor of vintage clothing, specialising in menswear and vintage workwear. He's been a trader at London’s famous Portobello Market on a Friday since the early 90s, where he's as famous for his wicked sense of humour as he is for his vast knowledge of vintage menswear. He co-foundered the clothing archive, showroom and store Breuer & Dawson in Margate, Kent and in 2018 he offered Dave a pair of The London Leatherman leather jeans which sparked the official revival of the label, these jeans are stored safely in The London Leatherman archive.
Questions by Bridget Veal
The 1970s pair of LG2 Leather Jeans from Paul’s Portobello Market (Friday) stall. They’re now kept in tissue paper in our archive.
Q. You and Dave have known each other for quite a few decades now. Do you remember when you met? Do you have any fond memories of being at Portobello Market together?
A. I’m guessing me and Dave met in the late 80s at Portobello, pretty sure we bonded over our mutual love of punk rock. From The Clash, through to the UK Subs and 999. I must’ve heard Dave’s story about seeing the UK Subs at Battersea Town Hall about 8,000 times.
Both of us loved the Penny Smith photo book The Clash: Before & After and it always struck me that we were probably doing the same thing (growing up), 200 miles apart, I was in the North-West, he was in London and we were both buying old suits and taking in the trouser legs to try and look like The Clash.
Q. You have a mutual interest in punk rock and you like many of the same bands. How has punk or these bands influenced you and your work? (i.e you were in a band yourself and you’ve always had a great collection of vintage denim, leather and band shirts on your stall.)
A. I don’t think I would’ve got into selling vintage clothes if it wasn’t for my love of music. Starting off with Bowie and Mott The Hoople moving onto The Clash, Chelsea and The Adverts, clothing was always as important as the music. The tribal element of the British music scene was extremely important to me, and still is to this day with regards to what I look for in vintage clothing.
Q. Do you have any key memories of vintage punk rock clothing being at Portobello Market?
A. One of my key memories is suddenly a load of Paul Simonon’s clothing turning up, I think Dave‘s friend Miles had something to do with it. I remember getting a couple of cardigans and a pair of trousers, didn’t look quite as good on me as they did on him.
Another time, a load of old clothes belonging to Screaming Lord Sutch turned up, not exactly punk, but definitely a cornerstone of British rock ‘n’ roll..
Q. How would you describe your business? Are you consulting on/ specialising in/ sourcing/ offering any particular styles or eras of clothing at the moment?
A. My business has evolved over the years, I now sell very little American vintage, specialising almost entirely in British and European vintage clothing. Times and taste changes over the years..
Not sure, I have an overall philosophy, if I like it, I buy it, if I can make a profit on it, so much the better.
Q. (Without giving away your sources!) What tips would you give to collectors of vintage The London Leatherman wanting to source specific pieces? Does much of it turn up at Portobello Market or at Breuer & Dawson?
A. As far as The London Leatherman pieces, good luck, not easy to find. But remember kids, the harder you work the luckier you get.
Q. What are you working on or hope to work on for 2023?
A. My aims for the future are to keep working for as long as I enjoy it, which I still do.
The archive pair of LG2 Leather Jeans from Paul’s Portobello Market (Friday) stall.
Artist Mark Wardel is often defined by the distinctive portraits of his famous and fabulous friends he’s been painting since circa 1978 and for unearthing a 1974 cast of David Bowie’s face he used to create his much coveted Bowie Masks. An 80s club kid who wore head to toe Antony Price and was immersed in the British rocker (leather) style that had a major resurgence in 1979 and into the 80s.
Questions by Bridget Veal
Mark Wardel, photo by Johnny Stuart.
Q. Mark, we were first introduced at an event at the BFI (British Film Institute), what would you say are your top 5 leather looks in film?
A. The big bang moment of the leather in movies universe has to be Brando in 'The Wild One' then of course there's Kenneth Anger's 'Scorpio Rising' then there's a fabulous British spin on the biker look in 'The Leather Boys' which always puts me in mind of my sadly missed friend Johnny Stuart as stills from this film almost look like scenes from his life or shots from his legendary photo albums. Apart from traditional Rocker leather I'm a sucker for 1970s gangster movie leather coats and bomber jackets as epitomised by some of the great costumes in 'Donnie Brasco'....oh and any leather in the Warhol films!
Q. There’s a fantastic photo of you in full leather on a motorcycle, styled and taken by the legendary leather wearing ‘Rocker’ Johnny Stuart. How did this photo come to be?
A. I was introduced to Johnny by Steve Strange in 1979 and really hit it off with him and his partner Eddie. Johnny knew everyone from aristocrats to rockers to bike boys to Blitz kids and gave the best parties at his amazing art and antiques filled Notting Hill house. Me and the likes of Steve Strange and other friends would often hang out at Johnny's and end up being photographed in some of his massive collection of biker gear. Btw, any pop video of the era featuring leather rocker gear and you can guarantee it will have come from Johnnys!
Q. Dave and I have a print of your ‘Leatherman by TradeMark’ artwork in our office, an artwork we feel honoured to own and that captures a glamourised version of a rocker/ biker. What inspired you to create this piece?
A.Thank you. This image stems from one of my most popular flyer artworks. Back in the '90s I was producing artwork/imagery, flyers and ads for the big London gay nights at Heaven, Trade, Village Youth etc. and the 'Leather Man' has long been an icon of the gay world so I decided to create a Leatherman/high fashion fusion as a kind of updated icon for the 'scene'.
Q. The London Leatherman label was officially founded in the early 70s, it’s core styling being a fusion of a new British leather look and the clone look (with tight cire cap sleeved T-shirts) that was coming out of New York at the time. You’ve been interviewed on the ‘Clone Look’ before, how would you sum up the British version of the ‘Clone Look’ to anyone who’s wondering what it is?
A. Is there a defined 'clone' look these days? I'm not sure! The late 70s/early 80s clone look was a definite gay sub-culture movement influenced by the scenes in San Francisco and New York and was really a kind of 'Butch Drag' version of hyper masculinity...this look spread to London and I remember being at the opening of Heaven in '79 being amazed to see a sea of guys all with crew cuts, moustaches, tight T-shirts, check shirts, Levis and work boots partying like there was no tomorrow beneath the lasers…the clones. Everything today is such a post modern remix of elements from the past and subcultures are not as rigidly defined as they were so the term really has a different meaning now.
Q. Do you have any favourite The London Leatherman pieces from the archive or new, you own or hope to own, that spring to mind?
A. I already own several The London Leatherman T-shirts which I totally love and always get asked about whenever I wear one ...which is frequently. I'm a sucker for hats and currently have my eye on some of the great LLM caps such as the Teddy Boy and the Speedway cap.
Q. What looks better a leather jacket, a pair of leather trousers or both worn together?
A. Unless you are a genuine Biker/Rocker or heading to a Leather fetish club I believe it's best to go with either one or the other and personally, I like a black leather Biker jacket with tight blue jeans...a classic look.
Q. You’re everyone’s go to when they have a questions about David Bowie or looking to cross check anything Bowie!? He’s been a huge influence on your work and your self-styling over the years, where does your Bowie story begin?
A. I only really know about '70s Bowie who I discovered age 14 in the summer of 1972 but went on to have the honour amazingly to meet, sell work to and even be the recipient of a 1979 hand written letter from!! I'm from a seaside town...New Brighton near Liverpool (where the pre-fame Beatles played many times) and every school holiday I'd have summer jobs either on the Pier or in the arcades ...it was all very a ‘That'll be the day' existence . One day in summer of '72 on a break from selling rock and buckets and spades I went across to the tea stall to get a cuppa and at the stall waiting for coffees were two of the teddy boys from the fair and one was telling his mate about an outrageous gig he'd just been to at the Liverpool stadium in which the singer who was "half man-half woman" wore make-up and space suits on stage! This all sounded amazing and I eavesdropped long enough to catch the singers name...David Bowie. I had heard and liked Starman on the radio and loved it (being into both pop music and UFOs ) but had no idea of who the singer was so that lunch break I ran out to the news agent and bought a couple of pop magazines and came face to face with Ziggy Stardust the coolest, strangest and most amazing alien/human I had ever seen and apparently also gay! ...finally a role model I could identify with being fairly alienated myself as an orphan just coming to terms with being gay ...my world and my direction in life totally changed that day and Bowie has been the major influence and cultural education on all areas of my life and work ever since.
A Mark Wardel ‘Aladdin Sane’ Bowie Mask. You can view these much coveted masks here: Masks & 3D – Mark Wardel
Q. Of the hundreds of portraits you’ve created, who would be your top five sitters so far and why? (I realise this is like asking a mother to pick a favourite child!)
A. I couldn't possibly answer that one...I'd have to leave town!
Q. What are you working on in your studio at the moment, anything you can talk about?
A. I have mainly spent the last couple of years working on Bowie artworks for a book I have co-written with US writer Susan Compo about the making of the iconic Bowie rockumentary 'Cracked actor' . We had access to the original 1975 BBC production file and also the film's original producer Alan Yentob who has written the foreword to the book. We also conducted interviews with many of the people involved in the film. The book is called 'David Bowie and Cracked actor-The Fly In The Milk' and is due out in September on Red Planet Books. Apart from that I am still produciing club artwork imagery most notably for the Glitterbox global party brand. There will also hopefully be a long delayed Mark Wardel gallery show at some point in the near future.
Contemporary Art by Mark Wardel aka Trademark – TrashDNA (trash-dna.myshopify.com)
Dana Gillespie and David Shasha are the co-authors of Dana’s autobiography Weren’t Born A Man (Hawksmoor Publishing), a book that chronicles a life so outrageously cool, glamourous and eventful you find yourself asking ‘How can I be more like Dana?’ Dana took the Polaroid photo of David Bowie wearing the LW19 Soft Lip Mask circa 1973, which features in her book along side a series of must-see Polaroids.
Questions by Bridget Veal
(Left) Mark Wardel’s portrait of Dana Gillespie (2022). (Right) Polaroid by Dana taken in NYC of David Bowie wearing a LW19 leather mask (1973).
Q. Dana, we were initially introduced by the DJ and Art Curator Martin Green to confirm that it is indeed David Bowie under the LW19 leather mask in your famous Polaroid photo. In your autobiography Weren’t Born A Man your time in NYC with David & Angie Bowie is captivating, insightful, fascinating. How did this moment with the leather mask come about?
A. (Dana) Bowie went shopping to a sex shop and came back with a bag of toys and the mask was one of them. I asked him to put it on, snapped the photo, and only people who knew his naked body would know it’s him. He was falling about with laughter at his bag of toys, but I never saw them in action, so I don’t know whether he actually used them or not.
Q. David, what was it like delving into Dana’s famous Polaroid archive and to reference them when articulating such an important time in music history and pivotal part of the book?
A. (David) It was incredibly exciting. Dana has boxes of Polaroid photos taken in the early seventies with the camera given to her by Tony Defries (the manager she shared with David Bowie). Funnily enough, many of the pictures of Bowie had been stuck in an album that Dana had given to Tony, and we were thrilled to be able to recover it from Tony Zanetta (who ran Mainman for Defries in the States) while we were working on the book. That was where we found the mask photo.
Q. The London Leatherman masks can be confronting for some people, others find them fascinating, hilarious, kinky and an important piece of sub-culture history. How do you feel about the masks and why do you think artists like David Bowie and Adam Ant were drawn to them?
A. (Dana) Bowie always liked the bizarre, and in a way a lot of his stage act was being an alter ego which is a bit like wearing a mask. He used a mask as part of his stage act but I think that came from when he worked with the wonderful mime artist Lindsay Kemp as the whole part of some of his shows was to be someone else, and a mask helps with that.
Q. David, for anyone that is just now discovering Dana and her work, how do you describe her to them?
A. (David) A force of nature. I have taken many friends to see Dana’s shows in the last few years, and they have all commented on her amazing energy and love of performing. Anyone who has read her book cannot fail to be amazed by her remarkable life.
Q. Dana, reading Weren’t Born A Man feels very intimate, just like sitting in a living room with you as you tell your incredible sex, drugs and rock'n roll/ blues story. One also gets the sense that David Shasha really knows his stuff when it comes to music history and it’s relevant sub-cultures. What would you say were the highlights of collaborating with David Shasha?
A. (Dana) Well, it kept us both relatively sane during the Covid lockdown. We spoke almost daily to work on the book, using Skype and a mobile phone, and it was a lot of fun going through my old scrap books and trawling through old stories that had been distant memories for me. I keep thinking we should do a second volume as so many stories got left out, but at least the book has great photos and we managed to get the Audible version done too, with me reading it of course. It was a great distraction from the pandemic!
Q. Artist Mark Wardel recently painted the cover portrait for the album Dana Gillespie 73 Live At The Tam, it’s a great portrait and quite Bowie-esq. From the hundreds of Dana Gillespie portraits and official photographs created over the years, what are your top three (favourite’s) and why?
A. (Dana) Bowie loved Mark Wardel’s art and so do I as I think he did a really great cover for my album.
I also think that Gered Mankowitz did some amazing photos of me. These were used for the Weren’t Born A Man album as well as the book. Gered has been photographing me since 1964 and he really captured me well when I was in the corset, stockings and suspenders. This might seem a little tame now but back in 1972 it was unheard of, that a singer should be so (un)dressed for an album cover. However, at the same time that this record was released, Bowie was on the cover of his album wearing a dress. Also unheard of then!
The photograph that Terry O’Neill took of me in 1973 was used by Andy Warhol to create the silk screen portrait that was used as the cover of my Mainman album called ‘Ain’t Gonna Play No Second Fiddle’ which still looks amazing all these years later. Terry O’neill was always known as one of the top photographers in the 70s and 80s and I consider it an honour that I have an Andy Warhol cover done of it.
A. (David) The first one has to be the cover of Dana’s Weren’t Born A Man album. Dana has already described it, but I can clearly remember one of my schoolmates bringing the vinyl record into school one day and the impact it had on a bunch of testosterone- fueled teenage boys (!) From the same period, there is a great photo taken by Mick Rock at the Cafe Royal in London in July 1973, at a party to mark the “retirement” of Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust character. Dana is sitting at a table of real rock royalty – with Mick Jagger, Lou Reed, Bowie, Jeff Beck and Mick Ronson. And staying with that period, Lee Black Childers took a photo of Dana, Tony Defries and Bowie at the Roundhouse in 1971, which I have always liked.
Q. Ken, the founder of The London Leatherman label started his career making and selling his clothing on the Kings Road, Chelsea. In the 1960s he made frill shirts that Mick Jagger wore and men’s trousers so tight it left very little to the imagination. Both being Chelsea locals, what was the Kings Road really like in the 60s & 70s?
A. (Dana) I had a great time in Chelsea in the 60s and 70s. The King’s Road was a cool place to go as you could sit in a cafe and watch the world go by and as mini skirts had just been invented, guys would oggle the birds and the girls would swagger and strut their stuff, feeling great in either mini skirts or colourful hippie outfits. Sadly, the King’s Road is now just full of the same old shops you find everywhere and the individuality has gone, and anyway these days if you tried to chat up a girl you’d probably get arrested. It was much more fun back in the day!
A. (David) (No idea – I grew up in Manchester!!)
Q. If you were to pick just one person, who's inspiring you the most, creatively, right now in 2023?
A. (Dana) No one is very inspiring these days. I’ve just come back from the SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas and the best band there was the Zombies, also from the 60s, so not much thrills me artistically or musically these days. Also, the music of the 60s and 70s will be remembered far longer than anything that any songs that comet now. Maybe it’s because they all sound the same and melody isn’t the priority. Money seems to be the motivation and all these so called talent shows on TV just highlight a get- rich- quick attitude. Everyone wants to be a celebrity which is a joke. You have to earn your stripes!
A. (David) Ian Hunter, former lead singer of seventies glam rockers Mott the Hoople, will shortly be celebrating his 84th birthday and is about to release a new album – with another scheduled for release later in the year.
Q. Do you have a favourite leather wearing musician?
A. (Dana) Sadly, I can’t think of any. From the old days, I’d say that the guys from Kiss, or Alice Cooper or Suzi Quatro has some style.
A. (David) I would have said Jim Morrison, but Dana has just reminded me about Suzi Quatro… !!
Q. Do you have any upcoming projects you're working on together or individually you can disclose here?
A. (Dana) I’m always working on new songs so this keeps me busy in-between doing gigs which keeps me on the road.
A. (David) Dana is always busy- if it hadn’t been for Lockdown we would probably still be working on the book now. We have had some conversations about a follow-up, so you never know…
Dana and David's book Weren’t Born A Man the autobiography can be purchased directly from the publisher here: Dana Gillespie Book and eBook - Weren't Born a Man (hawksmoorpublishing.com)
The audiobook, read by Dana, is available on Audible. Dana Gillespie by Dana Gillespie, David Shasha - Audiobook - Audible.co.uk
Archive image of Exotic Collar
Archive image of Neckband
Archive image of Neckband
Smeg, he’s the lead singer of the psychobilly band King Kurt, has big hair and a big grin and we’d describe Smegs style as Lee Marvin meets Gene Vincent, Smeg knows his kit. Smeg and Dave have been friends since the early 80s, the first time they met Smeg was wearing a McLaren Westwood ‘F*** Your Mother’ Seditionaries T-shirt.
Questions by Bridget Veal Carroll
Q. Leather and rock’n’roll, they go hand in hand, do you have any leather wearing rock’n’ rollers you consider a style icon? And why?
A. As you’ve already mentioned, Gene Vincent is surely the best leather clad icon, he had it all, style, the voice, the moves. But, also The Sex Pistols influenced me greatly in my teens and I always wanted the same leather strides, I bought a pair at age 60! Too old? Never for leather.
Q. You were a punk rocker before becoming one of the pioneers of the Psychobilly genre in the early 80s. How would you articulate the transition from Punk Rock to Psychobilly?
A. The Cramps, The Cramps were the transition. For me at the time I was into Rock’a’Billy and into Punk Rock, I was wearing Seditionaries bondage trousers but with 1950s jackets and a bright red flat top (hair style). And the Cramps, they summed up everything in their song Garbage Man ‘One half hillbilly and one half punk’ this made perfect sense to me, this was Psychobilly.
Q. In 2010 you invited Dave and I down to a King Kurt gig in Islington, my first time experiencing King Kurt. Pre-show people kept rolling their eyes at me, saying ‘ooh, you shouldn’t have worn that/ those shoes are going to get ruined/ do you not know what goes on at a King Kurt show’! For anyone that doesn’t know who King Kurt are, how do you describe the band to them?
A. You should’ve seen the mess in the 80s, we were banned from everywhere! Our music is good time Rhythm & Blues/ Rock’n’Roll/ Country/ Punk with its feet in the dirt (literally, in those days). We f***ed ourselves in the a*se though with the ‘highbrow’ music press for not having a political agenda. Our aim was and still is to have a good night out.
Q. Many people know King Kurt for your performance of ‘Destination Zulu Land’ on the British television show Top Of The Pops in 1983. How was this experience for you?
A. TOTP was a dream come true, it was the biggest music show for everyone of my generation. We were there from 8am doing what we did best, getting wasted! We hung out with UB40 for a bit (I still had one!) and I managed to upset one of the presenters -DLT a very rude, humorless twat. Like most ‘funny’ people he didn’t like being on the receiving end of a joke. We signed our contract with Stiff Records that day in the studio, then hopped on a train to Leeds for a gig. A good day out.
Q. Yours and Dave’s friendship covers many mutual interests from clothing to motorcycles, bully breed dogs to music. Do you remember the earlier years of how you met? Any fond memories?
A. Some memories are best left in the haze of history! But I can say we’ve done some crazy sh*t together over the years!
Q. There’s a legendary story I’ve heard of you going into Seditionaries and Jordan dressing you. How did this come about?
A. I was 16 and just got my first pay cheque, so went to Seditionaries to spend it. Jordan (Mooney aka Pamela Rooke) and I used to have a mutual friend who would pass messages to her from me and on this occasion Vivienne (Westwood) and Jordan were in the shop, they got me dressed in a full outfit and I stood in front of the mirror and declared ‘you’d f*** me!’ whilst fake masturbating. They were in stitches (laughing) and people were being brought in off the street to witness the spectacle! Vivienne gave me a parachute shirt, I was over the moon. Years later, I lent it to someone and never saw it again. But, I used to save up and buy loads of the stuff and had quite a bit in the end, sadly all was lost in a house fire during the 1984 Riots in Brixton.
(Left) Smeg wears Sir Tom Baker Sequined Tux Jacket with The London Leatherman 1976 Leather Jeans and Pistols Belt. (Middle) Smeg in the 80s with his exaggerated Psychobilly quiff, photo by Patrick Gilbert. (Right) Smeg wearing his The London Leatherman Leather Jeans styled with Pistols Belt, Lewis Leathers Jacket & Burberry Coat.
Q. A couple of years back you self-styled a The London Leatherman look fused with the legendary tailoring of Sir Tom Baker. How would you describe this look?
A. I’ve paired my The London Leatherman 1976 Leather Jeans with Tom’s Sequined Tux Jacket, a frock coat he made for me and what is called The Gutter To Gala Suit which is a kind of punk rock/ The Sex Pistols/ Johnny Rotten inspired thing.
Tom loves punk rock too.
Q. Do you have any favourite The London Leatherman pieces?
A. I love my leather jeans. But, the LV4 Jeans Style Jacket is one of my faves, I love my Pistols Belt too, the leather jeans are never worn without it!
Q. Are you working on any projects for 2023 you can disclose/ talk about?
A. I’ve got a new suit on the bubble with Tom and with the band we’re rehearsing regularly with a view of producing something new. Shows start in mid-May in Lewes and there’s a London show on June 23rd at The Underworld in Camden.
Paul ‘Spiv’ Smith, is as his name suggests, a wheeler and dealer with a knack for sourcing rare punk rock and post punk clothing and paraphernalia, we have a couple of items in the The London Leatherman archive sourced by Paul. Paul and Dave are bonded by the London nightclubs they both went to in the 80s and the designers they wore during that era.
Questions by Bridget Veal Carroll
Q. You and Dave went to a lot of the same nightclubs and venues on the 80s and wore a lot of the same designers. What clubs? What designers? Do you remember each other/ have any fond memories of this time?
A. In the late 70’s early 80’s I frequented many of the “in” shops: Seditionaries, Johnson’s La Rocka!, Beaufort Market, The Great Gear Market, Kensington Market, Boy, The Last Resort and Worlds End to name a few.
I became friends with Dave (and Bridget) on a chance meeting at the Groucho club around 10 years ago now. We realised that we had attended the same shops, gigs, clubs in the past without actually ever meeting.
Clubs included The Mud Club, The Dirt Box, The Wag …... In the 80’s, the list of clubs was as long as your arm.
We also realised we were interested is the same music, clothes and “Punk Rock” fashion or anti fashion depending how you view it….…(and of course the vintage toys). Our friendship grew from then on.
Paul ‘Spiv’ Smith’s collection of vintage The London Leatherman clothing. Photos courtesy Paul Smith.
Q. The items you come across in your work are impressive. How would you describe what you do and the genre of material you collect/deal-in?
A. The best way to describe it is that I pick up pieces and items on my travels and find them a new home.
As a kid, I was a “swapper” of my toys: Action Men, Major Matt Mason, skateboards, gum cards etc and loved all U.S. Toys. As a 60’s child, all the toys that passed through my hands, TV, Film and Sci Fi related items seem to have become very desirable. I rarely threw stuff away including my Punk Rock clothes, which in later years have become highly collectible.
Q. The London Leatherman archive of clothing and accessories is vast. However, sourcing items from the old catalogues or items worn by people of significance are key for many collectors. What tips do you have for collectors or those looking to start collecting vintage The London Leatherman?
For me, in recent years I’ve just happened to come across pieces. But, in the 70s a friend had a The London Leatherman 3 row pyramid studded wrist band which he bought from Seditionaries. I hounded and pestered him for it and I eventually swapped it for my copy of Anarchy in the UK on EMI. (Not sure what that’s worth today). I then managed to get the matching belt from him. I later bought a leather cap from Frisco Leathers in the Great Gear Market (it was less of a walk down the Kings Road.) I’m not sure if Ken supplied them as well.
In those days I was totally unaware just how relevant The London Leatherman was to the scene. Looking back now I have come to realise the importance of The London Leatherman. Retrospectively is seems that anybody who was anybody wore “The Kit” at some point.
Q. You’ve had quite a lot of vintage The London Leatherman pieces over the years, do any of these pieces stick out for you? And why?
A. Over the years I’ve acquired various vintage items for the Pride & Clarke and The London Leatherman archives and am always on the hunt for absolutely anything that catches my eye.
“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”
The LW4 Centurion Stud Neckband
The LW10 Exotica Cuff in black leather with Centurion Studs
The LW10 Exotica Cuff in silver leather with Centurion Studs
The Horror Show posters are on the streets of London featuring the LW19 Soft Lip Head Mask in black leather
Posters designed by the Grammy Award winning creative studio Barnbrook.
The Horror Show! A Twisted Tale Of Modern Britain at Somerset House, London until Feb 19th, 2023.
Our superior Belt Loop Key Rings are back in black leather, red leather and chrome look (silver) leather.
In the 1970s The London Leatherman offered a belt loop with D-ring to slide onto your belt like the one’s we offer as complimentary when you buy a belt from Shop — The London Leatherman today. In 2019 we released this more functional version of the Belt Loop Key Ring accessory with snap popper fastening so that you can add and release your keys from your belt with ease, and for 2023 like the originals we’ve studded them.
The London Leatherman model (left) wearing a Belt Loop Key Ring on his belt, 1975 . Photo by Colin Clarke
Adam Ant wore his onstage. Malcolm McLaren & Vivienne Westwood put a picture of it on a T-Shirt. Sylvain Sylvain (New York Dolls) owned one in silver leather.
The leather Head Mask is a garment that featured consistently in The London Leatherman ‘Exotica’ mail order catalogues from 1971 through to the 1990s, available predominately in black leather it was also offered in silver and in red leather too.
The new for 2021 LW19 Head Mask
Page from the The London Leatherman ‘Exotica’ Catalogue 1974 featuring the LW11 & LW19 mask with detachable blindfold.
A true underground fetish item that clients would order from Ken (Heddle Magson) discretely, until, like many The London Leatherman designed items it made its way into the public eye, taking on a life of it’s own in the mid-1970s, a life that included being worn on stage by Adam Ant for his first gig at the ICA in May 1977 in London and being featured on T-shirts designed by Malcolm McLaren & Vivienne Westwood that are today held in the V&A and The Met Museum collections (scroll to bottom of page for pictures).
Here we wanted to address the legend that follows The London Leatherman mask, the association to the boutique SEX, the influence it had on Malcolm McLaren & Vivienne Westwood and Alan Selby (who later founded Mr. S Leather) and the implications that a The London Leatherman mask was worn by the convicted criminal named by the press as the Cambridge rapist. We feel the best way to do this is to share with you the article that featured in the Sunday Mirror in 1975. See the scan and relevant text below:
Page 4. Sunday Mirror, May 11, 1975
By George Martin, Terry Willows and Chris Hampson.
The trail of the Cambridge rapist led last week to the world of London’s ‘kinky gear’ shops.
There on Friday, Sunday Mirror reporters bought two black leather hoods from separate shops. Identical to the one worn by the rapist. Not many of these masks have been sold in Britain and police believe that the Cambridge maniac bought his mask from one of the same sources.
The man who makes the sinister hoods is 37 year old Heddle Magson. He runs a shop called The London Leatherman in Queenstown Road, Battersea.
He supplies them to two shops in Chelsea, as well as running an export and mail order business. Mr. Magson estimates that he has sold about 100 since Christmas.
The hoods cost £10.25 each- with or without a zip across the mouth- complete with detachable Lone Ranger type eye masks. These hoods cover the head, with eye slits, a shaped nose space, mouth slit and laces up the back. Mr. Magson, tall and slim with a ring in his left ear, said: “I’ve already had the police here. I gave them two names. I went through the records for them. I didn’t let them go through my files. I have a kind of doctor relationship with my clients. I treat my business with confidentiality.” One of our hoods was brought from Magson’s shop and with it he gave us two brochures.
One- Exotica- consists of bizarre leatherwear.
Mr. Magson said “The names I gave to police were of clients in the Cambridge area.”
Does Mr. Magson not worry that he may unwittingly be selling such equipment to mentally unbalanced people such as the rapist?
He replied: “How does one make that judgement?”
‘Normal guy’
“He doesn’t have two heads and five legs. In genuine circumstances he could be an absolutely normal guy.”
One of the other shops selling the hood, in Kings Road, Chelsea, simply has the word “SEX” in 3ft.- high mauve letters above the door.
The manager, Mr. Michael Collins, said: “I have sold a dozen hoods in eight months. I can’t remember much about most of the people. But there was one chap who bought one a couple of months ago. He was short and dressed in a black leather jacket, dark trousers and black boots. He was carrying a motor-cyclist’s crash helmet. Last week he came in again and bought a rubber hood with no eye slits and only a rubber tube to breathe through the mouth.”
Half a mile away at another shop in New Kings Road, Mr. Alan Selby said: “I know most of my customers personally. One is a millionaire and managing director of one of the best know firms in the land. I’ve met his wife too. They use my gear for their private sex. I have never, as far as I know, sold a mask to someone from the Cambridge area.” ….. (end text).
The London Leatherman LW11 Head Mask made front page news in May 1975. It was thought at the time that the criminal may have worn a LLM mask, he didn’t.
Adam Ant wearing The London Leatherman LW19 Head Mask and The London Leatherman LB9 Ring Clipper Bikini with Zip, May 1977.
Michael Collins, Manager of the boutique SEX as interviewed for the Sunday Mirror newspaper wearing a version of the T-shirt designed by McLaren & Westwood featuring the LW19 Head Mask. Photographer Homer Sykes
Steve Jones (right) wearing the T-shirt by Maclaren & Westwood featuring image of The London Leatherman Head Mask LW19 in Oslo 1977. Steve is also wearing The London Leatherman jeans. Photographer Henrik Laurvik.
Photo credit: Christie’s. The LW19 Head Mask in silver leather, once owned by Sylvain Sylvain.
Today we produce both the LW11 (zip mouth) and the LW19 (soft lip) Head Masks hand made to the same specifications as the mask offered in 1975 with upgraded detailing for 2023.
The Head Masks are available to order via WWW.THELONDONLEATHERMAN.COM
2022 saw The London Leatherman clothing and accessories featured in magazines ranging from The Face in the UK, Instyle Australia and the launch issues of Interlope Magazine in France. It featured in films, TV, music videos and promotional photoshoots, here are some of these images:
Interlope Magazine, December 2022. Asha Yune wearing the Galaxy Cuff, styled by Brydie Perkins.
LYZZA wore the Pistols Cuff and 0.2 Dome Stud Wristband for the December 2022 issue of Interlope Magazine (France), styled by Brydie Perkins.
In September 2022 The London Leatherman LW19 Leather Head Mask featured in The Face Magazine for the editorial Pure Pleasure photographed by Sharna Osborne, styling Danielle Emerson.
The LW19 Leather Head Mask in The Face Magazine, September 2022. Photographed by Sharna Osborne, styled by Danielle Emerson.
The LW3 Dome Stud Belt featured in the Summer 2022 issue if Replica Man Magazine, styled by Louis Prier Tisdall.
July 2022. Faux Real photographed wearing The London Leatherman jackets, belts and neckbands for the release of their single Full Circle. Styled by Matt King.
June 22. The London Leatherman Centurion Stud Cuff, Ziggy Belt, Deluxe Belt & Pistols Belt featured in Rain Magazine styled by Steven Huang.
May 2022. The London Leatherman 1976 leather jean featured on the Johnny Rotten character in the TV series Pistol by Danny Boyle. Along side costume pieces inspired by The London Leatherman archive.
Actress Rosie Leslie wore the Ziggy Belt for the May 2022 issue of InStyle Australia. Styled by Alicia Ellis.
Izzy Moriarty Thompson styled the LW3 Centurion Stud Belt and the Pistols Belt for Morigan (creative project).
Oli Sykes of Bring Me The Horizon wore his The London Leatherman LW3 Dome Stud Belt to promote the single Believe The Hype with Alice Longyu Gao.
Abbey Roberts featured in ENFNTS TERRIBLES Magazine in March 2022 wearing the Centurion Stud band, styled by Steven Huang.
Abbey Roberts wearing the Deluxe Belt and Centurion Stud Band for ENFNTS TERRIBLES Magazine, styled by Steven Huang.
Abbey Roberts wearing the Ziggy Belt. Styled by Steven Huang for ENFNTS TERRIBLES Magazine.
The LW19 Leather Head Mask has definitely been having its moment in the fashion press this year and in being on display in a highbrow exhibition, The Horror Show at Somerset House in London.
Here it is printed in black on sourced white long sleeve T-shirt and in chrome (silver) on black long sleeve T-shirt. Screen printed in North London.
The Ziggy Belt, the black leather belt lined with our 0.1 dome studs and classic heavy square buckle we originally made under the P&C label, a great looking rockers belt with a nod to a young David Bowie who grew up close to the Pride & Clarke showrooms in Brixton where he would ogle the cars and motorcycles which is said influenced his love of classic cars in life. He wore a similar looking belt on stage as Ziggy Stardust.
Today we also make the Ziggy Belt stamped The London Leatherman which comes with a matching D-ring belt loop to hang your keys or wallet chain.
The Ziggy Belt
The D-ring for hanging your keys or wallet chain
The Ziggy Belt with D-ring
The Horror Show! A Twisted Tale of Modern Britain exhibition opens at Somerset House (London) October 27th.
In the lead up to the exhibition opening co-curators Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard are releasing details about the show in an alphabetical order, here are their words for the letter ‘L’.
Alphabet typography by @barnbrookstudio
L is for LEATHER
’Try thinking of leather jackets without thinking of Marlon Brando in ‘The Wild One’, or The Ramones in their Schott biker jackets. The leather jacket has always been a symbol of rebellion. When they became associated with punk, creative teens were quick to embellish theirs with paint, patches and studs.
For Sue Webster’s ‘Full Leather Jackets’ project she regressed to her teenage self and began painting Siouxsie & The Banshees imagery onto old biker jackets. We’re excited to be presenting one of these in The Horror Show!
It wasn’t just the jackets that punks embraced. When the Sex Pistols formed Malcolm McLaren marched them to The London Leatherman to be fitted for leather jeans. The London Leatherman, aka Ken, was a self-taught, specialised craftsman, supplying the fashion elite and the underground fetish market. McLaren and Westwood stocked his bondage gear in their Kings Road boutique. The smart punks knew to go direct to Ken.
In 2019 @thelondonleatherman was brilliantly revived by Dave Carroll. His mum had worked for Ken, and as a young punk Dave acquired many pieces direct from him. The heritage label still produces iconic pieces from the archive, reimagined for the current day. Some will be available from The Horror Shop! curated by @gothshop.art
We have the LW19 full leather head mask in the show. Adam Ant wore one for his first gig. Sylvain Sylvain from the New York Dolls had one. @dave_carroll_london still makes them using the techniques Ken devised. A similar mask was worn by the notorious Cambridge Rapist, leading to Ken’s shop and the SEX boutique being raided by the police. Capitalising on the myth, Malcom and Vivienne created their Cambridge Rapist t-shirt.
Vivienne & Malcolm sold plenty of less controversial items too. The Horror Show! will include red leather boots bought from Seditionaries by Lance McCormack, and a black sandal bought by Eve Ferret from SEX. The other shoe was lost at a party, long ago.’
The Horror Show!: A Twisted Tale of Modern Britain opens at Somerset House on 27 October and will be on show until 19 February, 2023. Tickets are available here: The Horror Show! | Somerset House
You can follow Iain & Jane here: Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard (@iainandjane) • Instagram photos and videos
LW19 Mask
Highway Patrol Jacket
1976 Jean
Blues singer, actress and swinging 60s icon Dana Gillespie took this spontaneous photo of David Bowie wearing The London Leatherman LW19 soft lip mask circa 1973. Dana recalls that her and Bowie were in New York (both managed by MainMan at the time) when one day David came back to the hotel they were staying with a bag full of things he’d bought from ‘one of those shops’ nearby. He put the mask on for a laugh and she captured the moment on her famous Polaroid camera.
Photo credit: Dana Gillespi circa 1973.
The picture sits amongst a series of personal and candid Polaroids Dana took in the 70s and 80s that feature in the book ‘Dana Gillespie, Weren’t Born A Man’ published in 2020 by Hawksmoor Publishing, available here: https://hawksmoorpublishing.com/book/dana-gillespie-book
The London Leatherman shipped and supplied incredible amounts of it’s leather goods to the East and West Coasts of American in the 1960s, 70s and 80s, we wonder which leather gear shop in New York City Bowie visited?
Adam Ant wore his onstage, Malcolm McLaren & Vivienne Westwood put a picture of the LW19 soft -lip version on a T-shirt. Little Nell wore one in Derek Jarman’s film Jubilee and Sylvain Sylvain (New York Dolls) owned one in silver leather.
The London Leatherman leather masks were an essential piece of kit for any S&M enthusiast on the leather scene in the 1970s wanting to maintain their anonymity. Whilst in contrast it featured prominently on the early British punk rock scene making this mask an essential item for anyone with a penchant for fetish & punk rock history.
LW19 Leather Head Mask Long Sleeve T-shirt
The Collectors Leather Head Mask with soft lip
Red Leather Head Mask LW19 with soft lip
We use two types of pyramid studs for The London Leatherman accessories, a classic square pyramid stud and a rectangle pyramid stud that are solid and of exceptional quality, made in Italy and chromed in south London.
The square pyramid studs that make the Superior Cuff and its matching belt are off-set on angles just like The London Leatherman belt Johnny Rotten wore during his time as a Sex Pistol.
The Superior Cuff 2022
The rectangle studs we use on the Deluxe Belt (and it’s matching cuff made upon request) can be seen on a The London Leatherman belt worn by both Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious and on a cuff worn by Siouxsie Sioux . Today we complement the rectangle stud with our 0.2 Dome Stud so that the belt can be threaded through your jean belt loops smoothly.
The Deluxe Belt 2022
