Motörhead - Iron Fist

What this video is

Released in April 1982, 'Iron Fist' arrived at the commercial summit of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, shortly after Motörhead's live album 'No Sleep 'til Hammersmith' debuted at No. 1 on the UK charts. The single entered the UK charts on 3 April 1982 and peaked at No. 29, while the parent album peaked at No. 6. It was recorded during the final weeks of the band's classic 'Three Amigos' lineup of Lemmy…

Why it matters

As a promotional document of NWOBHM at its commercial peak, this video is a primary source for the aesthetic vocabulary of early 1980s British heavy metal promotion: raw live performance, minimal conceptual artifice, leather-and-denim subcultural signifiers, and aggressive stage lighting.…

The director

Jon Roseman is a British music video director and producer active from the late 1970s through the 1980s. He directed landmark early music video work including Elvis Costello & The Attractions' 'Pump It Up' and 'Radio Radio' (both 1978), Eurythmics' 'Sweet…