Wednesday, 4th November 2015
Def Leppard's first greatest hits album Vault entered the UK album charts at Number 3 on this day 20 years ago in 1995.
The 'Vault Greatest Hits 1980-1995' release was their first hits album and collected together all the biggest singles from their most successful period.
It debuted at Number 3 on 4th November 1995. The third UK Top 5 album for the band after 'Hysteria' in 1987 and 'Adrenalize' in 1992.
'Slang' became the fourth in 1996 when it also debuted at Number 3.
It remained inside the Top 10 for two more weeks at 5 and 9 and in all spent 16 weeks on the Top 100 chart. The first 12 weeks of which were spent inside the Top 40.
It had been set up by the first single When Love & Hate Collide which reached Number 2 in the UK charts.
As reported yesterday the new self titled album may be set to enter the chart at Number 5 later this week giving the band their fifth UK Top 5 album.
Related Story - 20 Years Ago Def Leppard Release Vault And Set World Record
Related Story - Def Leppard Day Celebrated In Sheffield 20 Years Ago Today
Vault Album 1995
The album had originally been announced in the UK press as being released on 16th October with 'When Love & Hate Collide' coming out before this on 25th September. Both of those dates got pushed back. The UK press had also announced the album would be out around Christmas time with the band playing a Far East tour in December 1995. In May 1996 the album was certified Platinum in the USA and went on to become four times Platinum in June of 2005.
Vivian Campbell 1995 Interview Quote
"I'll be honest, when I first heard that there was going to be a greatest hits album before Slang, I thought, "Oh bollocks!". But then, if you think about it, it's the perfect time for Def Leppard to do a hits album because we want the new record to be perceived as something new, so the greatest hits is like closing a chapter. And if the greatest hits is successful, it'll provide a good springboard to release the new album."
Release Dates/Tracklisting Info
The album was released earlier in Japan on 13th October and came out in North America on the 31st October.
The UK and World edition featured UK/European single 'Heaven Is'. For one pound extra UK fans could buy a Limited Edition version featuring a 9 track bonus CD. This had live songs recorded at the June 1993 Don Valley Stadium show in Sheffield.
In Japan and North America 'Foolin'' was included instead of 'Heaven Is'. The Japanese version added 'Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)' in the main tracklisting as it had been a popular song there.
The North American version also replaced 'Action' with 'Miss You In A Heartbeat'. A thank you to Canadians who had made it a hit in that country. 'Can't Keep Away From The Flame' was included in Japan as the usual extra bonus track.
- Def Leppard - Vault Album Page
- Def Leppard - Vault Acoustic Tour 1995
- Related News - 23rd October 2015