"Desert Song" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Def Leppard | ||||
from the album Retro Active | ||||
Released | November 1993 | |||
Recorded |
| |||
Studio |
| |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 5:19 | |||
Label | Bludgeon Riffola | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Def Leppard | |||
Def Leppard singles chronology | ||||
|
"Desert Song" is a song by English hard rock band Def Leppard from their 1993 rarities and 'B-sides' album Retro Active .
This song was an outtake from the songwriting sessions that produced 1987's Hysteria. Self-produced, it became one of the last songs to be released by Def Leppard bearing the songwriting and guitar-playing of Steve Clark, who died on 8 January 1991. It was a hit on U.S. rock radio, reaching number twelve on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. It was recorded as an instrumental for their album Hysteria (1987) but left off the album and was largely forgotten until the band decided to commit the song for Retro Active. [1] On a day off during their 7 Day Weekend Tour, Elliott composed lyrics whilst listening to the track. Elliott assembled the band and remains the only Def Leppard song to feature both Clark's guitar playing and Clark's successor Vivian Campbell on background vocals, although Campbell's contributions are uncredited in the Retro Active liner notes.
Lyrically the song is about Mick Ronson who was dying of cancer at the time. It told the story of a man facing death alone.
Chart (1994) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Mainstream Rock ( Billboard ) [2] | 12 |
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 movement of the early 1980s.
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 through Mercury Records. It is Def Leppard's best-selling album to date, selling over 20 million copies worldwide, including 12 million in the US, and spawning seven hit singles. The album charted at number one on both the Billboard 200 and the UK Albums Chart.
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 and the only one recorded 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.
Slang is the sixth studio album by English rock band Def Leppard, released on 14 May 1996. The album marked a musical departure from their signature sound; it was produced by the band with Pete Woodroffe and was their first album since 1980 without involvement by Robert John "Mutt" Lange. Slang is the first album with new material to feature new guitarist Vivian Campbell. It charted at #14 on the Billboard 200 and #5 on the UK Albums Chart. It is also the only Def Leppard album that does not feature their recognisable font logo on the album cover, though all its singles still bore the classic logo.
X is the eighth studio album by English rock band Def Leppard, released on 30 July 2002 by Island Records in the US and sister label Mercury worldwide. Much like 1996's Slang, it featured another departure from their signature sound by moving into the pop genre. The album charted at No. 11 on The Billboard 200 and No. 14 on the UK Albums Chart. Most of the album was produced by Pete Woodroffe and the band, with remaining tracks produced by either Marti Frederiksen or Per Aldeheim and Andreas Carlsson.
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.
Stephen Maynard Clark was an English musician. He was a songwriter and guitarist for the English hard rock band Def Leppard until 1991, when he died from alcohol poisoning. In 2007, Clark was ranked No. 11 on Classic Rock Magazine's "100 Wildest Guitar Heroes". In 2019, Clark was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Def Leppard.
Philip Kenneth Collen is an English musician who is best known as the co-lead guitarist for the rock band Def Leppard, joining the band in 1982 during the recording of the Pyromania album. Prior to joining Def Leppard, Collen had performed with a number of bands in the burgeoning British glam metal scene. Outside of Def Leppard, with which he still records and performs live, he has been involved in a number of side projects most notably the trio Man Raze, with which he is the lead singer and sole guitarist.
"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 and penultimate top ten hit 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.
"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.
"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 bands first top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 10.
"When Love & Hate Collide" is a power ballad by British rock band Def Leppard from their 1995 greatest hits album Vault, written by Joe Elliott and Rick Savage. It 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. "When Love & Hate Collide" became one of their most successful singles in their homeland, where it reached number two in the UK Singles Charts, but it failed to make a significant impact on the US charts, reaching number 58 on the Billboard Hot 100. It did, however, become a top 10 hit in Canada, climbing to number six on the RPM Top Singles chart. The song also reached the top spot in Ireland.
"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.
Songs from the Sparkle Lounge is the tenth studio album by the English rock band Def Leppard. It was released on 25 April 2008 in Europe and 29 April in North America.
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.
Viva! Hysteria is a concert residency by English rock band Def Leppard where the band played their 1987 album Hysteria in its entirety.
The Adrenalize World Tour – also known as the Adrenalize "Seven Day Weekend" Tour – was a concert tour by British 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.