Track 2 - “Animal” by Def Leppard (1987)

From the album Hysteria

Music & lyrics by Steve Clark, Phil Collen, Joe Elliott, Rick Savage, & Robert John “Mutt” Lange

Performed by:

Joe Elliott – lead vocals

Phil Collen – guitar

Steve Clark – guitar

Rick Savage – bass

Rick Allen - drums

Highest chart positions - US Billboard Hot 100 - #19; US Album Rock Tracks - #5; UK Singles - #6

Cry wolf, given mouth to mouth

Like a movin’ heartbeat in the witching hour

I’m runnin’ with the wind, a shadow in the dust

And like the drivin’ rain, yeah, like the restless rust

I never sleep

I heard my first heard Def Leppard album at a pool party the summer after 6th grade. It was their 1981 album High ‘n’ Dry, the one with the diver on the cover and the random faces staring up at him. There was an older kid there, in charge of playing the records, so I asked if I could check out what he had. He shrugged, so I picked up High ‘n’ Dry and flipped it over so I could see the song titles. I thought I recognized one song, “Bringin’ on the Heartbreak”, from MTV, so I asked this pseudo-DJ older kid if he could put it on next. So, after the Go-Go’s record wrapped up, he put on High ‘n’ Dry, and so began my obsession with hard rock and heavy metal music. Def Leppard, from Sheffield, England and another certain Australian hard rock band (who we may or may not talk about), became my “gateway bands” if you will, into the hard rock and heavy metal genre, which I still listen to today. To look at me now, you would never think that I was sort of a metal head through most of junior high and high school. But those who know me well know that I simply love this music; the speed, the volume, the pounding drums and bass, the heavy guitar riffs and the wailing singers, I love all of it…and the louder, the better! Even if it were not one of the more dominant genres in the 80s and early 90s, which it was, I still would have loved it. So, as High ‘n’ Dry played that first time, I was transfixed and discovered that I did know a couple of the songs, from hearing them on MTV. Turns out Def Leppard was using the new music video era to their advantage and would eventually become one of the most requested artists on MTV. And of course, I and all the other 11- and 12-year-olds hanging out in the backyard that summer day couldn’t have predicted that in a few years, pretty much all of us would own Hysteria, the album that Def Leppard would put out in 1987, and that it would not only become one of the best-selling rock albums ever, but one of the biggest selling and best albums of the 80s. The funniest part is that I actually didn’t like Hysteria that much when I first heard it; much more on that later. But eventually, Hysteria became one of my favorite albums, and “Animal”, the shortest song on the album, would become one of my favorite songs and the inspiration to help me re-discover the album months after it was released.

While the story of Def Leppard is interesting and sometimes tragic, the story of the recording and making of their album Hysteria is its own documentary. In fact, there are a couple; I’ll post the links later. The follow up to the aforementioned High ‘n’ Dry, 1983’s Pyromania, unexpectedly sold 6 million copies worldwide. On the strength of singles and videos for “Foolin’”, “Rock of Ages”, and the mega-hit, “Photograph”, and their continued partnership with legendary producer Mutt Lange, Def Leppard was one of the biggest rock bands in the world. In fact, the video for “Photograph” replaced Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” as the most requested video on MTV at the time when Michael Jackson was the most popular artist on the planet. So, expectations for the follow up to Pyromania were ridiculously high. When the band arrived in Ireland in 1984 to begin writing and recording the album, Mutt Lange let them know he would not be available to produce the follow up, a tremendous setback and an ominous beginning. After giving it a shot with producer Jim Steinmann, who produced Meat Loaf’s Bat Out of Hell, and engineer Nigel Green, the band felt they were just not getting the sound they wanted, and they abruptly halted recording.

Then, on December 31, 1984, drummer Rick Allen flipped his Corvette on a rural road in England and lost his left arm, narrowly escaping with his life. The album was put on hiatus while Def Leppard’s drummer recovered. They decided they would leave it up to him to decide if he could continue playing drums. While he was in the hospital, he realized he could play the parts he normally played with his left arm, with his left foot, if he had the right kit. So, with the help of a customized drumkit, where he could trigger the drum sounds he normally played with his left arm using his left foot, and a lot of practice and dedication, Rick Allen and Def Leppard returned to the stage at the Monsters of Rock Festival at Donington, in 1986. Mutt Lange also returned to produce, and Hysteria began to take shape. Lange and the band wanted to record a rock version of Thriller, where every song had the potential to be released as a single; no filler songs. They were put through long days of multiple takes for specific parts of songs, until Lange felt they had the right vibe and sound on every song. It was grueling, but the result was finally the sound the band wanted. Finally, in early 1987, after adding “Pour Some Sugar on Me” at the last minute as the twelfth and final song, Hysteria was complete. The song “Animal” ended up taking almost three years to complete; it was one of the first songs written, and one of the last to be completed. On August 3rd, 1987, Hysteria was released worldwide, with “Women” the first single released in the US and “Animal” everywhere else.

bradrumblephotography.com

OK, so back to where “Animal” fits into my scheme of things. In December of 1987, in a blatant disregard of my social life during my senior year of high school, my parents decided that Christmas break would be the best time to have all four of my wisdom teeth removed. So, I went under anesthesia literally the day after Christmas in 1987 and had all four taken out at once. I went home in a stupor afterwards with some painkillers. My friends stopped by with milkshakes and after they left to go to Christmas break parties without me, I retreated to my bedroom to recover. I was looking for something to do to pass the time when I remembered I had Def Leppard’s Hysteria cassette under the Christmas tree, still wrapped in cellophane. At least my parents had gotten me some good gifts that year. I still had not heard the entire album but had seen the video for “Animal” numerous times and really liked it, so I figured the rest of the album would be just as good. I put the cassette in my stereo and turned it up; the first two songs “Women” and “Rocket” I thought were just OK; then “Animal”, OK awesome; then “Love Bites”. Hmmm…a little slow for Def Leppard. It didn’t sound much like High ‘n’ Dry or Pyromania and it didn’t have that raucous sound I was used to from Def Leppard. Maybe that was the point? Anyway, I hit stop and figured I would give it another shot the next day. But once again, I came away with the same feeling; it just didn’t connect with me and I was disappointed. It didn’t sound like Def Leppard, and yes, I probably didn’t give it enough of a chance at first, but I was 17 and was otherwise preoccupied. I returned to school after break focused on prom and graduation and forgot about Hysteria. Besides, there was other music to listen to; George Michael’s Faith, and U2’s The Joshua Tree were also both released in 1987 and huge back then, and a new hard rock band from L.A. called Guns ‘N’ Roses was everywhere with their debut, Appetite for Destruction. It wasn’t until February or March in 1988 that I was flipping channels and caught the video for “Animal” on MTV. It got me thinking about Hysteria again, so I grabbed my copy and gave it another listen, this time all the way through. Then I listened again, and this time it had a much different effect on me. Yes, Def Leppard sounded different, but the songs were much more layered with more guitar parts; less “crunch” and more melody. And the vocal harmonies were incredible. The title track, “Hysteria”, grabbed me in particular, and of course, “Animal” was right there in the number three spot on the album, my favorite song. So, several months after its release, I was finally a fan of Hysteria.

And the rest is, well, literally music history…Def Leppard released “Pour Some Sugar on Me” as a single on April 16, 1988, and after months of average album sales, Hysteria exploded and went on to move 4 million copies during the single’s run on the Billboard charts and continued to sell like crazy, over 20 million copies worldwide to date. The album would reach number one almost a year after its release and end up having seven hit singles. I heard Hysteria at every graduation party I went to that summer (full circle?), and it was popular into the spring of my freshman year in college, in 1989. For a time, Def Leppard was the most popular rock band in the world. And thanks to my obsession with one song, “Animal”, I was able to re-discover the album and be a lifetime fan of Hysteria. In fact, I recently bought the 30th anniversary edition; four glorious sides of music on two remastered vinyl albums, and it sounds better than it ever did. Boy, do I wish I could go back and tell that 17-year-old how nuts he was to give up on it the first time!

Oh, and if you’re wondering about how I fared after dental surgery, my mouth healed just fine. I still razz my parents about making me do it during my Christmas break, but I’m glad I got it over with.

Thanks for stopping by! And here’s Def Leppard, getting knives thrown at them and watching pretty trapeze girls in the “Animal” video; enjoy!

Next time…the greatest rock frontman ever and his band from the UK make an appearance.

P.S.

Def Leppard tried to avoid another long hiatus between albums, but it would take five years to release the follow up to Hysteria. Recording delays and the death of guitarist Steve Clark in January 1991 set things back and they finished the new album as a four-piece. Adrenalize was finally released in March of 1992, debuting at #1 on the US album chart, and remaining there for five weeks. Irish guitarist Vivian Campbell, formerly of Dio, was brought in and he’s been with the band ever since. They have released six studio albums since then, along with several compilations and four live albums. They also had an 11-night residency in Las Vegas in 2013, where they played Hysteria in its entirety, and in 2019 they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They remain a tremendous concert draw worldwide, and I can say I have had the chance to see them live three times; their live shows are amazing, and they always play “Animal”. There’s a lot to be said about their longevity and consistent popularity all these years, and how revered Hysteria remains today.

I highly recommend the Classic Albums episode of Hysteria, available on Amazon Prime here.

There are interviews with all the band members, and singer Joe Elliott and guitarist Phil Collen break down a few of the more popular songs in the studio; it’s very cool if you’re a music geek like me. 😊

You can also check out Step Inside, a 25-minute documentary on YouTube, produced for the 30th anniversary of Hysteria.

It’s more stripped down with less technical stuff, but just as entertaining.

 Last thought…I mentioned above some of the other artists who had major releases in 1987, but the list goes on and on from there. Fleetwood Mac, Aerosmith, The Smiths, Depeche Mode, The Cure, INXS, Prince…you get the picture. It was an amazing year for music. When I put together a best of 1987 playlist on Spotify I double-checked a few songs to make sure I had the year right because at first I couldn’t believe this many iconic albums were released at the same time; check it out when you can!

 See you next time…

JS

3/13/2022