When Def Leppard’s “Love Bites” finally had its week atop the Hot 100 in America, Hysteria had already been out for more than a year, and it had sold seven million copies. For the hard rock bands of the late ’80s, it was almost always the ballad that pushed them over the top. It was the ballad that did it, of course. That’s not Thriller, but it’s about as close as hard rock ever got. One of them - the only one in Def Leppard’s decades-long history - got to #1. Four of those singles made it into the top 10. Hysteria has 12 songs, and it spun off seven singles. Def Lep had never had a top-10 single in the US before their 1987 album Hysteria. Lange and Def Leppard basically succeeded. He intended to make something that would just smother them. In a Guitar World interview a few years ago, Def Leppard’s Phil Collen laid that vision out in plain language: Lange wanted “a hard rock version of Thriller.” Lange planned for Def Leppard’s next album to be something that wouldn’t just cross over to the pop charts. Retrieved 29 July 2022 – via Imgur.In The Number Ones, I’m reviewing every single #1 single in the history of the Billboard Hot 100, starting with the chart’s beginning, in 1958, and working my way up into the present. ^ 'The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – 1989'.^ '1988 The Year in Music & Video: Top Pop Singles' (PDF).^ 'Def Leppard Chart History (Hot 100)'.^ ' Def Leppard – Love Bites' (in Dutch).^ ' Nederlandse Top 40 – week 3, 1989' (in Dutch).^ 'RPM 30 Retail Singles – October 1, 1988'.^ a b ' The Irish Charts – – Love Bites'.^ a b 'Official Singles Chart Top 100'.^ a b 'Def Leppard Chart History (Mainstream Rock)'.1 song of the 1980s ranked from worst to best'. ^ 'Every Rose Has Its Thorn: A Tribute to the Syrupy-Sweet Sounds of '80s Hair-Metal Ballads'.^ 'Def Leppard Reflects on the 'Early Years' and Why Those Iron Maiden Comparisons Were 'Tiresome' '.

^ Classic Albums: Def Leppard – The Making of Hysteria DVD.'THE B LIST: FAVORITE HAIR-METAL POWER BALLADS'. ^ 'The Top 8 Romantic Metal Songs to Make Love To'.Robert John 'Mutt' Lange – backing vocals.Phil Collen – rhythm guitar, backing vocals.ħ-inch: Bludgeon Riffola / Vertigo / Polygram / 830 675-1 (US)ġ2-inch and CD: Bludgeon Riffola / Vertigo / Polygram / (US, UK) 'Billy's Got a Gun' was recorded at Tilburg, Netherlands, in 1987. This was the only official release of the 'Hysteria' lyrics. The 'Love Bites' 45 release in Canada and UK included limited edition gatefold with complete 'Hysteria' lyrics. The song also reached number eleven in the United Kingdom, number two in New Zealand, number three in Canada, and number seven in Ireland. įollowing the huge momentum generated by ' Pour Some Sugar on Me', the song was released in August 1988 and peaked atop the US Billboard Hot 100 for one week. Musically, the song has been described as glam metal, and is considered a classic of the genre. The title 'Love Bites' was originally used for a very different song that was eventually re-titled 'I Wanna Be Your Hero', and which appeared as a Hysteria B-side and later on the album Retro Active. The band then added power rock elements and emotive backing vocals similar to those used in R&B ballads at the time. When Robert John 'Mutt' Lange originally brought the song to the band's attention, it was a country ballad, which the band thought sounded like nothing they had done before.

Def leppard love bites