Def Leppard (Official Thread)

[Lynch]

Today marks the 30th anniversary of Pyromania


Jan 20th, 1983





This album changed Def Leppard and the face of poprock/popmetal music for the remainder of the 80's.

 

[Lynch]

Speaking of Def Leppard, has anyone ever wondered why Steve Clark was pictured in the middle of the back cover of Number of the Beast!?

Tell me I'm not the only one that can see the resemblance.

 

[METALPRIEST]

Holy Cow!! You're right!!

 

[Flamo]

I have a kind of bad experience with this band, although it's not really about the in paticular, hehe. I really enjoy their music, but I got dumped on one of their concerts.
The band is still great, tho!

 

[LG]

Not a massive fan of DL, but they did produce one gem that I love, "Pyromania". Funny how Hysteria was considered better by so many folks back then, for my money it's not even close.

 

[Vehicle]

Die Hard The Hunter always makes the cut when I burn a favorite lead solo cd fot the car.

 

[Riff Raff]

Not a massive fan of DL, but they did produce one gem that I love, "Pyromania". Funny how Hysteria was considered better by so many folks back then, for my money it's not even close.

I agree. Hysteria is actually quite over rated.

 

[ANTHEM]

Not a massive fan of DL, but they did produce one gem that I love, "Pyromania". Funny how Hysteria was considered better by so many folks back then, for my money it's not even close.

It wasn't the die hard rock fans that caused hysteria to be overrrated it was young girls and a pop audience because lep started leaning toward a glam and pop flavored style and image. I like a handful of songs on the album for what they are but nothing on that album was really a rock or metal classic in the making imo. I believe this is when the chick and pop audience picked up on them and when the original head banging audience started to abandon them.

 

[Lynch]

I don't think it was so much the audience changing that caused the original headbangers to abandon them as much as their songwriting style really changed. They stuck with the sugar-coated hooks that they started to define on Pyromania and glossily perfected on Hysteria...

I do believe that part of this came from what was popular and called for at the time as much as the loss of Steve Clark (even prior to his death, he was a recluse from the band in his final year or two) from the creative process.

 

[Vehicle]

Forgive me for chopping up these quotes. I'm not trying to present them in any false context, but these statements are important.

it was young girls and a pop audience because lep started leaning toward a glam and pop flavored style and image.

Thank you MTV.

They stuck with the sugar-coated hooks that they started to define on Pyromania and glossily perfected on Hysteria...

What Lynch says here was the exact thought I had.

DL showed up early on MTV with Photograph, and by the time Pour Some Sugar On Me made it's debut (on MTV of course, heaven forbid anyone release anything on the radio first), they were a full blown MTV band.

I like a couple of the songs on Hysteria, but I'm in agreement, Pyromania is a much better album.

I have to be honest, I'm like most of America, and didn't know any Def Leppard until they showed up on MTV.

So, as far as their first two albums, On Through The Night and High 'n' Dry, I'm familiar with a handful of cuts, but not educated enough to compare them to their MTV albums, and that's exactly what they were, too.


Oddly enough, I did a little looking around, and found out that Def Leppard, according to Wiki, never had a #1 in the UK. Has nothing to do with this post, just thought it was interesting.