Action (Sweet song)

"Action"
Single by Sweet
from the album Strung Up and Give Us a Wink
B-side	"Sweet F.A." (Europe) "Medussa" (US)
Released	July 1975 (UK)
Recorded	1975
Genre	Hard rock [1]
Length	3:18 (single version) 3:44 (album version) 3:35 (Strung Up edit)
Label	RCA (Europe) Capitol (US)
Songwriter(s)	Andy Scott Brian Connolly Steve Priest Mick Tucker
Producer(s)	Sweet
Sweet singles chronology
"Fox on the Run" (1975) "Action" (1975) "The Lies in Your Eyes" (1976)

"Action" is a song by English glam rock band Sweet. It was recorded at Ian Gillan's Kingsway Studios in London and released in 1975. Slightly different versions appear on the albums Strung Up and Give Us a Wink .^{[ citation needed ]}

The single reached No. 15 in the UK in July 1975, and went to the Top 40 in the US the following year.

Composition

The lyrics refer to Sweet's negative treatment as pop stars, particularly by the music press, and to the demands of the music industry. The track features a masked "backwards vocal" with the words "You kiss my arse".^{[ citation needed ]}

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (1975)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report) [2]	4
UK Singles (OCC) [3]	15
US Billboard Hot 100 [4]	20

Year-end charts

Chart (1975)	Position
Australia (Kent Music Report) [2]	37

Def Leppard version

"Action"
Single by Def Leppard
from the album Retro Active
B-side	"She's Too Tough" (Joe's demo) "Miss You in a Heartbeat" (Phil's demo)
Released	3 January 1994 (UK) [5]
Recorded	1992–1993
Genre	Hard rock glam metal
Length	3:41
Label	Bludgeon Riffola
Songwriter(s)	Andy Scott Brian Connolly Steve Priest Mick Tucker
Producer(s)	Def Leppard
Def Leppard singles chronology
"Miss You in a Heartbeat" (1993) "Action" (1994) "When Love & Hate Collide" (1995)

In 1993, English rock band Def Leppard covered "Action" on their album Retro Active . "Andy [Scott] said that our version of 'Action' was the best cover of a Sweet song he'd ever heard," proclaimed singer Joe Elliott. ^[6] The original 1992 recording, before guitarist Vivian Campbell joined the band, was released as a B-side to "Make Love Like a Man"; the version featured on Retro Active and released as a single features a newly-recorded snare drum from drummer Rick Allen and additional backing vocals from Campbell and P.J. Smith. The single charted at number 14 on UK Singles Chart. ^[7]

The music video was directed by Phil Tuckett from NFL entertainment. The approximate shooting date was between June and December 1993; in Sheffield, Ottawa, and Joe Elliott's home in Ireland. The band 'discovered' the masked backwards vocal on the original track and refer to it on the CD single cover.

Leppard's version reappeared on a special edition of their 2006 album Yeah! .

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Action"	Andy Scott, Brian Connolly, Steve Priest, Mick Tucker	3:41
2.	"She's Too Tough" (Joe's demo)	Joe Elliot	3:42
3.	"Miss You in a Heartbeat" (Phil's demo)	Phil Collen	5:55

Other cover versions

Scorpions released it in German translation as "Wenn es richtig losgeht" on the B-side of the single "Fuchs geh' voran" (a translation of "Fox on the Run", also by Sweet)

Burning Airlines recorded a cover during the sessions for their second album Identikit ^[8]

References

1. Popoff, Martin (January 5, 2024). "The Top 20 unlikely Progressive Rock hits, ranked". Goldmine . Retrieved January 7, 2024.
2. "National Top 100 Singles for 1975". Kent Music Report. 29 December 1975. Retrieved 15 January 2022– via Imgur.
3. "UK Official Charts". Officialcharts.com. 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
4. Whitburn, Joel (2013). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012. Record Research. p. 821.
5. Hung, Steffen. "Def Leppard - Action". Hitparade.ch. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
6. Ling, Dave (July 2006). "The dirt: Joe Elliott". Classic Rock #94. p. 38.
7. "UK Official Charts". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
8. "Action, by Burning Airlines". Burning Airlines. Retrieved 2023-08-14.