Def Leppard Unleash Hysteria

1987

After years of delays, Def Leppard's Hysteria album is released in the US.

Thanks in large part to producer Mutt Lange, Def Leppard hit it big with their 1983 album Pyromania. The follow-up, however, proves a struggle. Lange is exhausted after working on The Cars' Heartbreak City album, so the Leppers bring in Jim Steinman - the guy responsible for Meat Loaf's hits - to produce. This pairing doesn't pan out, and in late 1984, Steinman is dismissed and the work is scrapped. The new year is marked by tragedy when on December 31, 1984, drummer Rick Allen loses an arm after crashing his Corvette. As Allen recovers and learns to play with one arm (using a modified drum kit with electronic foot pedals), Mutt Lange returns to the fold and they basically start over. Two years later, Hysteria is finally done. It shoots to #1 in the UK its first week of release and makes a slow climb to the top in America, where it tops the chart in July 1988 after the hot, sticky-sweet "Pour Some Sugar On Me" becomes a breakout hit. It's another Mutt Lange masterpiece, and a massive seller, eventually shifting over 25 million copies worldwide. Seven singles from the album make the Hot 100, including "Love Bites," which goes to #1.