This section looks at the 'Breathe A Sigh' UK single release. The fourth single to be taken from the 'Slang' album in 1996.

"This song took ages and about seven different versions."

Def Leppard released their classic Breathe A Sigh single on this day in 1996 in the UK.

The fourth and final UK single to be released from the Slang album.

The song reached Number 43 in the UK charts.

The follow up to 'All I Want Is Everything' which had peaked at Number 38 in late September.

A song written by Phil Collen with an R 'n' B flavour to it.

No promo video was made for the single which may have been the reason for its low chart placing.

The single was released over two CDs on 18th November. They featured three new live tracks on each CD recorded during the recent US/Canadian tours in August/September 1996.

CD1 featured 'Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)' and 'Deliver Me' recorded in Mountain View, CA and 'Slang' from Montreal.

CD2 featured 'Another Hit And Run' recorded in Montreal plus 'All I Want Is Everything' and 'Work It Out' from the Mountain View, CA show.

The first and only official live tracks from the 'Slang' world tour to be released. They were recorded directly to DAT (Digital Audio Tape).

Read more about the song.

Breathe A Sigh - Song Description By Phil Collen 1996

"In sharp contrast to All I Want Is Everything, this song took ages and about seven different versions until we were happy with it. This ranged from a piano version to a reggae thing."

"My original demo tried to sound like Mariah Carey does gospel with a country twang, and I didn't think it would be right for us."

"But after all the different versions and being very close to bailing on this song, we tried it one more time. This time we based it around a pop, hip-hop drum feel and Sav's cool bass line."

"We then added sustained electric guitars and a classic Def Leppard multi-tracked backing vocal type of thing kind of inspired by Boys II Men."

"It was getting there but was made better by the help of Brad Buxer's percussion programming. Then we were ready for the lead vocal."

"The original inspiration for the vocal phrasing was Aretha Franklin so we went that rout. Stuck a jazz guitar in the intro and Voila! The hardest song to record, but the biggest achievement!!!"

Inner Sleeve Band Message - CD1/CD2

"Tracks 2, 3 & 4 were recorded live direct to DAT during our 1996 tour to support "Slang"."

"No remixing was done to the original tracks, but we liked the sound & vibe, and thought you'd like a little taste of what's to come on our upcoming European tour."

"See ya' on the road!."

Def Leppard 1996

Joe Elliott - 1996 Band Biography Album Quotes

"The thing we're trying to achieve with this record," says Joe, "is that you didn't put it on and say, 'This is a great production,' which is what people judged Hysteria and maybe Adrenalize on."

"That was a big thing for us, we wanted people to hear the group rather than hear the production of the record."

"It's amazing, because we got that sound in a house," laughs Joe. "There was no fancy studio, it was just recorded on a little cheap desk in a house in Marbella."

"It was like going to Summer School," recalls Joe. "It was like Boys Together Outrageously. We got on with doing the job."

"We didn't have to clock-watch. We could look out the window and see the ocean."

"We weren't stuck in some poxy studio somewhere, and the clock's ticking away and you don't know whether it's raining or snowing or there's a riot going on outside."

"We were just in our own non-corporate world. We wanted to do a similar thing to what Zeppelin and bands like that did in the '70s, when they went into a house and just created their own environment, and that's exactly what we did."

"It was so relaxing that it gave us more energy to be as noisy as we were on 'Pearl of Euphoria' or 'Flesh,' and when we did acoustic guitars on 'Where Does Love Go When It Dies,' they were actually recorded outside at midnight with incense, candles, dogs barking, cars going past. It's all on tape."

"The one thing that anybody in a band hopes is that their audience grows with them,"

related pages/releases

• Breathe A Sigh Single
• Slang Album