Leather Nun

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The Leather Nun were a Swedish rock group.. Careening from garage rock to goth and industrial, Leather Nun became cult heroes in their native land.

Leather Nun was formed in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1979 by Jonas Almqvist (vocals), Bengt "Aron" Aronsson (guitar), Freddie Wadling (bass), and Gert Claesson (drums). The band took its name from the american underground comic Tales from the Leather Nun, although some claim that it was taken from the stage name of a London stripper.

Inspired by Throbbing Gristle, Velvet Underground, Ramones and Roxy Music, Leather Nun recorded their debut EP, Slow Death, in 1979. Wadling left Leather Nun in 1982 and joined Blue for Two. A handful of singles followed before Leather Nun released their first LP, Alive, in 1985.

Covering ABBA's "Gimme, Gimme, Gimme" earned the group some respect in Sweden and Europe in 1986. Several successful tours followed. In 1988, Leather Nun were reviewed in Rolling Stone magazine.

In 1986 the group's imported singles found their way onto U.S. college radio stations, earning substantial airplay with "Pink House", a deadpan parody of John Mellencamp's "Pink Houses".

In 1987 the group released their first studio album "Steel Construction" which was critically acclaimed. Their second studio album "International Heroes" produced by Kim Fowley gained even more airplay and success.

While releasing their third album "Nun Permanent" in winter 1991 their record company went bankrupt and could no longer deliver copies of the album. Being without a record company the Leather Nun continued to play gigs for a few years, but never got so successful again. The group finally broke up in 1995.