| "Animal" | ||||
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| Single by Def Leppard | ||||
| from the album Hysteria | ||||
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| Released |
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| Recorded | 1984–1986 | |||
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| Length |
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| Label | Mercury | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | Robert John "Mutt" Lange | |||
| Def Leppard singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Animal" on YouTube | ||||
"Animal" is a song recorded by English rock band Def Leppard in 1987 from the album Hysteria . It was the first single release off the album, and became the band's first Top 10 hit in their native UK, reaching No. 6 on the UK Singles Chart. [3]
"Animal" is usually noted by the band as having been the most difficult track to record for Hysteria. It was one of the first songs developed in early 1984, but neither the band nor successive producers Jim Steinman and Robert John "Mutt" Lange were able to produce the desired sound until two and a half painstaking years later. It was the only Hysteria track demoed by Rick Allen on an acoustic drum kit prior to his car accident; the drummer having recorded a beat for the song on a four-track tape during early sessions. [4] A later studio version, tracked to a drum machine, remained largely the same as the earlier demo, which the band felt was starting to sound dated, until Joe Elliot recorded a lead vocal over it in Paris in July 1985. Lange and the band were so impressed with that vocal that they rewrote and rerecorded the backing track around it.
The effort paid off when "Animal" was released as the lead single from the album in July 1987. In the UK, where the band had less success during the Pyromania era, the song hit #6 on the singles chart and broke Def Leppard into the pop mainstream across Europe. "When people saw us on Top of the Pops doing 'Animal'," remarked Elliot, "they heard a really great song that, style-wise, had more in common with INXS or U2, The Police with 'Roxanne'… And that was the band we wanted to be." [5]
In America, the lead single "Women" performed poorly on the pop charts, which did not give much momentum when "Animal" was released afterwards in October 1987. The latter did however reach a respectable #19, beginning Leppard's run of ten consecutive US Billboard Top 40 singles, and became one of the most enduringly popular numbers at Def Leppard concerts. The line "Like the restless rust, I never sleep" is a reference to Neil Young's album Rust Never Sleeps .
The single's UK B-side, "Tear It Down", was written during a recording session after the completion of the Hysteria album. The band laid down tracks intended as B-sides for the Hysteria singles; 'Tear It Down' itself received radio airplay. The band later rerecorded it for the Adrenalize album.
On the back there is a picture of the band on some train rails. The photograph was taken by Laurie Lewis.
| Chart (1987) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report) [6] | 46 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [7] | 32 |
| Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [8] | 21 |
| Ireland (IRMA) [9] | 3 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100) [10] | 20 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [11] | 8 |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) [12] | 17 |
| UK Singles (OCC) [13] | 6 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 [14] | 19 |
| US Mainstream Rock ( Billboard ) [15] | 5 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI) [16] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage, Joe Elliott, Rick Allen (drums), Phil Collen, and Vivian Campbell. They established themselves as part of the new wave of British heavy metal of the early 1980s. Their greatest commercial success came between the early 1980s and mid–1990s.
Pyromania is the third studio album by English rock band Def Leppard, released on 20 January 1983 through Vertigo Records in UK and Europe and through Mercury Records in the US. The first album to feature guitarist Phil Collen who replaced founding member Pete Willis, Pyromania was produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange. The album was a shift away from the band's traditional heavy metal roots toward a more radio-friendly sound, finding massive mainstream success. Pyromania charted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, No. 4 on the Canadian RPM Album chart and No. 18 on the UK Albums Chart. Selling over ten million copies in the US, it has been certified diamond by the RIAA.
On Through the Night is the debut studio album by the English rock band Def Leppard, released on 14 March 1980. The album was produced by Tom Allom. It charted at No. 15 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 51 on the Billboard 200. The album features re-recorded versions of "Rocks Off" and "Overture", tracks from the band's original independently released EP, The Def Leppard E.P.. Other tracks are re-recorded versions of early demos, some of which later appeared on the 2020 box set The Early Years 79–81. The album was certified gold by the RIAA on 18 November 1983 and platinum on 9 May 1989.
Hysteria is the fourth studio album by English rock band Def Leppard, released on 3 August 1987, by Phonogram Records. The album is the follow-up to the band's 1983 breakthrough Pyromania (1983). Hysteria's creation took over three years and was plagued by delays, including the aftermath of drummer Rick Allen's accident that cost him his left arm on 31 December 1984. Subsequent to the album's release, Def Leppard published a book titled Animal Instinct: The Def Leppard Story, written by Rolling Stone magazine senior editor David Fricke, on the three-year recording process of Hysteria and the difficult times the band endured through the mid-1980s. Lasting 62 minutes and 32 seconds, it is the band's longest studio album to date.
Adrenalize is the fifth studio album by English rock band Def Leppard, released on 31 March 1992 through Mercury Records. It is the first album by the band recorded without guitarist Steve Clark, who died in 1991, although most songs were written and partially demoed before his death, they were re-recorded solo by Phil Collen in 1991-1992. It is the only album recorded by Def Leppard as a four-member band. Spawning seven singles, four of them – "Let's Get Rocked", "Make Love Like a Man", "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad", and "Stand Up " – were major hits.
Retro Active is a compilation album by the English rock band Def Leppard, released in 1993. The album features touched-up versions of B-sides and previously unreleased recordings from the band's recording sessions from 1984 to 1993. The album charted at number 9 on the Billboard 200 and No. 6 on the UK Albums Chart.
Vault: Def Leppard Greatest Hits (1980–1995) is the first greatest hits album and the second compilation album by English hard rock band Def Leppard. The album was originally released in the band's home country on 23 October 1995 by Mercury Records. It was released in North America a week later on 31 October by the same label. Vault went on to be certified gold in four countries, platinum in three and multi-platinum in two. In the US, the album is currently certified 5× platinum by the RIAA, and in June 2011 it topped the five million mark in sales there. It won Metal Edge magazine's 1995 Readers' Choice Award for "Best Hits or Compilation Album."
"Love Bites" is a song by English glam metal band Def Leppard from their album Hysteria. The power ballad is Def Leppard's only number-one single on the US Billboard Hot 100 and became a top-10 hit in Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand. On the UK Singles Chart, the track peaked at number 11.
"Pour Some Sugar on Me" is a song by the English rock band Def Leppard from their 1987 album Hysteria. It reached number 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 on 23 July 1988, behind "Hold On to the Nights" by Richard Marx. "Pour Some Sugar on Me" is considered the band's signature song, and was ranked #2 on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of the 80s" in 2006.
"Armageddon It" is a song by the English rock band Def Leppard from their 1987 album Hysteria. It was released as a single in 1988 and went to No. 3 in the United States, becoming their 3rd top 10 hit. It also reached the top 10 in Canada and New Zealand and the top 20 in Ireland and the United Kingdom.
"Photograph" is a song by the English rock band Def Leppard and produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange. It is the lead single from the band's third studio album, Pyromania (1983). Their lead vocalist Joe Elliott has described the song as generally about "something you can't ever get your hands on". When released as a single it reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top Tracks chart, where it stayed for six weeks, and No. 12 on the Pop Singles chart.
"Hysteria" is a song by English rock band Def Leppard. It is the tenth track on their 1987 album of the same name and was released as the album's fourth single in November 1987. The song became the band's first top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 10.
"Let it Go" is a 1981 song by English rock band Def Leppard from their multi-platinum album High 'n' Dry. It was one of two singles from the album, and reached number 34 on the US Mainstream Rock charts. It was originally titled "When the Rain Falls" with different lyrics as played at New Theatre in Oxford in 1980.
"When Love & Hate Collide" is a song by English rock band Def Leppard from their 1995 greatest hits album Vault, written by Joe Elliott and Rick Savage. The power ballad was originally written and demoed for Adrenalize, but not finalized until 1995 for its inclusion on Vault. The demo version is much more heavily produced in the signature style of Hysteria and Adrenalize, and the final version is more stripped down, supposedly toward the style of the following studio album Slang. The original demo version contains the final recorded guitar solo by late original guitarist Steve Clark.
"Hello America" is a 1980 song by the English rock band Def Leppard from their debut album, On Through the Night. The lyrics and title of the song are about the fantasies the band had about touring in America.
"Women" is a song released by English rock band Def Leppard in 1987 from the album Hysteria. It was the second overall but first single of the album released in the United States. The song was also released as a single in Canada, Australia, Japan, and was part of a double-A side single with "Animal" in Germany. In most other parts of the world, "Animal" was the first single released from the album.
Live: In the Round, in Your Face is a live video from Def Leppard. The video contains a full Def Leppard live show at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado and additional footage from shows at The Omni in Atlanta, Georgia, compiled from footage shot during the band's 1987/1988 US Hysteria World Tour. On DVD, it is bundled with Historia.
Viva! Hysteria is a double live album by the English rock band Def Leppard released on the 22 October 2013. The album was recorded on 29 and 30 March 2013 during the band's residency of the same name at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.
Def Leppard is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band Def Leppard, released on 30 October 2015. The band's first studio album since 2008's Songs from the Sparkle Lounge and their first on earMUSIC Records, it became their seventh top ten album on the Billboard 200 after debuting at number 10. The first single "Let's Go" was released 15 September 2015, alongside the artwork and track listing.
The Adrenalize World Tour – also known as the Adrenalize "Seven Day Weekend" Tour – was a concert tour by English hard rock band Def Leppard to support the Adrenalize album, released in March 1992. It was their first tour without guitarist Steve Clark, who died in January 1991 while the album was recorded. Former Dio and Whitesnake guitarist Vivian Campbell joined six weeks before the tour began.
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