Monday, 13th November 2017
Prev  |  Next

36 Years Ago DEF LEPPARD Release Bringin' On The Heartbreak Single

Bringin' On The Heartbreak 1981.

Def Leppard released their classic Bringin' On The Heartbreak single on this day in 1981 in the UK.

The second single to be released from the 'High 'n' Dry' album in the UK.

The follow up to 'Let It Go' which had been released after the album in August 1981.

The song would not reach the UK Top 100 singles chart.

A remix version was released in May 1984 in the USA and reach Number 61 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

The video would receive massive airplay on MTV in the USA during the end of 1982 and help pave the way for the success of the 'Pyromania' album in 1983 despite it not being released there as a single.

Billboard March 2016 - Joe Elliott Interview Quotes

"We treat every song the same - we couldn't distinguish the ugly from the beautiful. But Mutt [producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange] being more of a passive observer, if you like, he was the one who realized if we had a shot at radio it was with this song. So when we were recording the album [High 'n' Dry], it was the one that got the most attention. I'd say for every hour we spent working on another song, we spent three or four on this one. And Mutt put me through the fucking mill singing the thing, because he wanted me to be accepted in the same league as a Paul Rodgers or a Lou Gramm or whoever. Meanwhile, I was just a young kid who was happy enough to be Ian Hunter!"

"The funny thing is, Mutt kept saying to us, "This is the one." And as it happens, it wasn't the one! Not at radio, at least. But we had the foresight to shoot a kind of a video for it, which was just a live performance. And the fledging MTV, having nothing to play, liked the idea of this young U.K. rock band, so they picked it up. So six months, maybe a year after High 'n' Dry came out, we were making Pyromania and we started getting these telexes from the States saying, "Your album is selling 6,000, 7,000, 8,000 copies a week." Then it was 10, 15, 20,000 copies a week. It was heading toward platinum by the time we had Pyromania in the bag. Because of MTV, by 1982 the whole country was playing "Heartbreak."

Bringin' On The Heartbreak 1981.

Def Leppard Bringin' On The Heartbreak - Band Quotes

Rick Savage - "Where it all began - and to think it nearly didn't make the 'High 'n' Dry' album because it was a ballad."

Joe Elliott - "We were waiting around to work with Mutt. I was working on a building site when it was written. Having had a top 20 album in England and done a tour of American Arenas. It was very humbling. At first it was called 'A Certain Heartache'. But Mutt changed it around and it was transformed. Mariah Carey has also covered it - and about bloody time!. It took 21 years for someone to do a proper cover of one of our songs. Apparently she was listening to 'Vault' when she decided to go back into the studio and add it to her own already finished album. That makes it hard not to say. 'God bless ya, Girl',."


Related News - 2 Years Ago DEF LEPPARD Enters US Album Chart At Number 10

Related News - 30 Years Ago DEF LEPPARD's HYSTERIA Album Certified 2x Platinum In USA

Related News - 13 Years Ago BEST OF DEF LEPPARD Album At Number 6 In The UK

Related News - 2 Years Ago DEF LEPPARD Album At #1 On The UK Rock Chart

Related News - 30 Years Ago DEF LEPPARD's HYSTERIA Album Certified 3xPlatinum In Canada

Related News - 34 Years Ago DEF LEPPARD's FOOLIN' Single At #28 In The USA


share this story:





get def leppard news

Stay in touch with the latest updates.


explore def leppard tour history
Phil Collen - Guitar
Phil Collen - Guitar
Phil Collen - Guitar
Phil Collen - Guitar