Def Leppard News - 26 Years Ago Def Leppard's ADRENALIZE Starts 5 Week Run At #1 In USA

Wednesday, 18th April 2018

26 Years Ago Def Leppard's ADRENALIZE Starts 5 Week Run At #1 In USA

Adrenalize 1992

Def Leppard's fifth studio album Adrenalize entered the US album chart at Number One on this day in 1992.

The album was the first to be released after the death of guitarist Steve Clark and was dedicated to him. It was finished off in 1991 as a four piece with Phil Collen playing all of the guitar parts.

This was the band's second Number One album in the USA after 'Hysteria' reached the top in July 1988.

'Adrenalize' entered at the top spot on 18th April 1992 after its North American release on 31st March and would spend the first five weeks at Number One.

It sold 380,000 copies in its first week and almost 100,000 copies a week for the next four weeks alone.

By the end of May the album received simultaneous Gold, Platinum and 3 x Multiplatinum certification. Selling over 3 million copies over two months before the band played its first US shows to support the album in August 1992.

It would go on to spend 65 weeks on the Billboard Top 200 chart between April 1992 and 10th July 1993.

The run at the top lasted until 16th May and it would spend the first 15 weeks inside the Top 10 (compared to Hysteria's 77 weeks). They were knocked off the top by Kriss Kross with their album 'Totally Krossed out'.

Bruce Springsteen's two new albums had been released on the same day and entered at Number 2 (Human Touch) and Number 3 (Lucky Town). His sister Pamela had taken some of the photos of the band for the 'Adrenalize' album booklet and the promo photo used on the 'Let's Get Rocked' single inlay. 'Human Touch' would only spend two weeks at Number 2 behind 'Adrenalize'.

Other notable albums in the Top 10 on this day were Nirvana at Number 7 with 'Nevermind' and Ugly Kid Joe at Number 8 with their 'As Ugly As They Wanna Be' EP. They would go on to support Def Leppard in Europe, UK and North America in 1993 towards the end of the Adrenalize world tour.

A future Lep friend (who attended a VIVA! Hysteria show and was pictured with the band) Wynonna Judd, was at Number 4 with her self titled 'Wynonna' album. The 'Wayne's World' movie soundtrack was at Number 5 having been at One the previous week.

Read a 26th Anniversary Special feature on the album marking 26 years since its release and telling the story of how it was made featuring many rare quotes from all band members.

USA Album Chart - 18th April 1992

01 - Def Leppard - Adrenalize - (Peak Position Week #1/Highest New Entry)
02 - Bruce Springsteen - Human Touch - (New Entry)
03 - Bruce Springsteen - Lucky Town - (New Entry)
04 - Wynonna - Wynonna - (New Entry)
05 - Soundrack - Wayne's World

Def Leppard 1992.

1996 Work It Out Album Postcards - Joe Elliott Quotes

"Mike Shipley was co-producing, we went to Wisseloord Studios in Hilversum, Holland to make this one. We lost a dear friend in that year. It was tough going, I think that we all felt the strain or recording under these circumstances. But we made a conscious effort to complete the record as a four piece."

"We finished it at my house in Dublin. It went straight in at Number One on both sides of the Atlantic keeping the likes of Bruce Springsteen out of the picture for five weeks (Sorry Boss)."

Adrenalize March 1992 - Joe Elliott Interview Quotes

"I am really, really excited about this album. I'm really looking forward to the future of the band. It's so open and so up in the air and so unpredictable. That you can't help but have that little adrenaline rush going through ya. Because you don't know what's gonna even happen tomorrow. And the slight unpredictability of that mixed in with the predictability of the album being released, the tour happening. All the press that you have to do. all the photo shoots, videos you have to make. It's like a treadmill that you're on."

Adrenalize 1992.

"It's all part of the process. All we wanna do is get out there and play live. You know entertain people. Get back on the bus. Get on the plane or whatever. Travel to the next city/country and just do it again."

Adrenalize March 1992 - Rick Allen Interview Quote

"I'm really raring to go. To get out on this tour. And get over to fans either new or old. And I think the record speaks for itself. And I think the name Adrenalize really conjures up exactly what this record is about. And I think it's probably gonna be our biggest record to date."

Def Leppard - Adrenalize Album Section
Def Leppard - Adrenalize Tour 1992/1993
Related News - 16th April 2018
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