ALBUM ROCKED WORLD
Def Leppard spent £5million making Hysteria and 30 years on, guitarist Phil Collen says it stands the test of time and was well worth the effort
YOU can’t fault Def Leppard for ambition. As one of the world’s biggest rock bands in the mid-80s, they refused to rest on their laurels after their platinum-selling Pyromania album and wanted to step it up again.
The Sheffield outfit are now celebrating the 30th anniversary of their follow-up, the massive Hysteria album, a boundarybreaking record that they set out to be the rock equivalent of Michael Jackson’s Thriller. It sold more than 25million copies.
For long-time guitarist Phil Collen – alongside bandmates Joe Elliot, Rick Savage, Rick Allen and the late Steve Clark – going bigger and better was the only option for them at the time.
He said: “Everyone thought we should make Pyromania Part 2, as it had been such a huge hit.
“But by that point, everyone else was already copying us, so that was the last thing we wanted to do.
“We decided to do a rock version of Thriller. If you’re going to strive for something, strive for the biggest thing you can imagine. And that’s what we did.
“We wanted a diverse record with a lot of differing ideas but one that would hit the most people. We wanted a unique sound.”
The band were on a high after third album Pyromania hit No2 on the American Billboard chart.
They moved to Dublin in 1984 for tax purposes to start working on the follow-up but on Hogmanay that year, Rick Allen lost his left arm in a car crash.
The band waited while he recuperated and designed a drum kit that he could use with one arm.
They made their return at Donnington’s Monsters of Rock festival in 1986, which was a turning point for the band.
Phil said: “That show gave us a huge boost, particularly for Rick.
“He wanted to bring another drummer out with us but when we played a warm-up show, the stand-in missed his flight and arrived halfway through, by which point it was obvious Rick didn’t need anyone else.
“When we got to Donnington, Rick got a standing ovation, with people crying in the crowd.
“It was a real moment and a big change for us that gave us the drive to press on with what would become Hysteria.”
The album was released in August 1987 and was an instant hit in the UK but took longer to make its mark in the US.
Considering the band had spent a then-unheard of £5million making it, they were understandably nervous about ever breaking even.
Phil said: “We were really proud of it and convinced it would do well, until one day I saw a breakdown of how much we’d spent, or borrowed to be
more accurate. I had tears in my eyes. Twenty grand for sundries.
“I didn’t even know what that was. Snacks in the cafe apparently. It was terrifying.
“So we just had to really prove we had a hit record in there and thankfully we did.”
Reaction was strong but many of their older supporters didn’t like the new, more melodic and commercial tracks like Animal and Pour Some Sugar on Me.
Fortunately for Leppard, what they lost in the hardcore element was more than made up for in the millions of new fans who jumped aboard.
Phil said: “Some people got it straight off the bat but others didn’t see it as rock. They wanted it more like Ozzy, Priest or Maiden, which is fair enough.
“It wasn’t meant to be a straight rock record, though. We wanted to get rock fans, Michael Jackson fans, Duran Duran fans. We wanted to get everyone.
“We also got a lot of girls along, which was unusual for rock bands back then. And, of course, Pour Some Sugar on Me broke as so many people were requesting it in America because it was being played so much in strip shows.
“That was never a plan but it worked out well. To be really massive, you need to cross over to everyone and that’s what happened with Hysteria.”
The album is still regarded as an all-time great 30 years on and as far as Phil is concerned it’s all down to the songs. He said: “They were so well-crafted, with so much work put into them. They weren’t just thrown out or padded with filler.
“We set out to make a classic album and spent three years putting blood, sweat and tears into it. It was very deliberate that we worked on them to that extent and that’s why it still stands up to this day.
“You can hear the effort. We wanted to give people an album that doesn’t let up. That’s why we’re still going as a band now and can still pull huge crowds.
“We were never about shortchanging the people who bought our records.”
Looking back on it, Phil is still proud of what he and his band achieved with Hysteria and insists it was worth all the effort.
He said: “It was the pinnacle of our career and there’s a reason for that. Along with producer Mutt Lange, we created a new sound, one that changed how rock records could be done.
“It was somewhere between rock and pop that you can’t quite put your finger on, and that’s the beauty of it.
“That was always the plan. Mission accomplished, I think.
“I still love playing those songs live, they’re like our children.
“The reaction you get can’t be described. There’s a magic in there. I’ll never tire of playing them and I’ll ever tire of hearing that album.
“It changed our lives and I’ll always love it for that.” ● Def Leppard’s 30th anniversary edition of Hysteria is out now.