The Leather Nun

Leather Nun, also known as Ladernunnan, emerged as cult figures across Sweden through their provocative stage behavior and high-energy songs, veering across garage rock, goth, and industrial territory. The group took its name from a London stripper and came together in Gothenburg in 1979, featuring Jonas Almqvist on vocals, Bengt "Aron" Aronsson on guitar, Freddie Wadling on bass, and Gert Claesson on drums.

Throbbing Gristle and Lou Reed shaped their sound, with Almqvist’s half-spoken, half-sung vocals clearly modeled on Reed’s approach, and the band laid down its industrial-leaning debut EP Slow Death that same year. Wadling exited in 1982 to join Blue for Two, after which a series of singles preceded the first live album, Alive, in 1985. Their studio debut Lust Games appeared the next year.

Several imported singles received notable rotation on U.S. college radio, especially “Pink House,” a deadpan parody of John Mellencamp’s “Pink Houses.” Steel Construction arrived in 1987, by which time Leather Nun’s American following had overtaken their modest Swedish audience. Late 1991 brought the Mick Ronson-produced Nun Permanent.

The band disbanded in 1995. Sporadic reunions followed, including Almqvist’s formation of the tribute project Leather Nun: Reloaded in 2009, yet their fifth album, Whatever (Wild Kingdom/Sound Pollution), did not surface until 2015. Styled in a vein recalling Bowie alongside Sisters of Mercy, it marked their first release in nearly twenty-five years. In 2017 they issued Vive La Fete! Vive La Revolution, documenting their performance at the Glasnost Rock ’88 festival.