#Def leppard photograph lyrics trial#

Track listing 7': Vertigo / Phonogram Ltd / VER 5 (UK) 1.2 7': Vertigo / Phonogram Ltd / VERP 5 / Photograph pop-up cover (UK).1.1 7': Vertigo / Phonogram Ltd / VER 5 (UK).

16 and 28, respectively, pushing Pyromania to eventual diamond status in the United States for sales exceeding 10 million. Follow-up singles 'Rock of Ages' and 'Foolin'' reached Nos. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, their highest-charting single to date. The video was a hit on MTV and helped propel 'Photograph' to No. The flashy 'Photograph' video, directed by David Mallet, also features Monroe impersonator Kay Kent as the victim of a 'passion killer,' interspersed with footage of the band performing. Like, what about somebody that's the ultimate 'you can't have,' because they're not here anymore? Not because they've run off with your neighbor or your brother or your mate - they're not here.' 'I used to see this thing on a daily basis - this beautiful woman - and I used that analogy, that 'die young, stay pretty' sort of thing,' Elliott explained. The lyrics to 'Photograph' were partially inspired by Elliott's apartment in Isleworth, London, which had 'a hole in the bathroom wall that resembled the one in Shawshank Redemption,' which he covered with a poster of Marilyn Monroe. 'But all I remember is that the guys who were watching cricket, we all sat up and we looked at each other like, 'What the fuck is that?'' I've got this thing that might work same key,'' Elliott continued. 'Then there was a bit of silence, and then all of a sudden, we heard the intro that is the intro now – which I'm guessing Steve or somebody said, 'I don't know. Between Mutt, Sav, Steve and Pete, they were trying to come up with something to make it work. 'But we were watching cricket, and hearing through the wall this riff from 1981 over and over again. 'I remember being in the common room a couple crew guys, a couple band guys, watching cricket – a game I cannot stand,' Elliott recalled in a Leppard Vault interview.

#Def leppard photograph lyrics trial#

I still try to do that on my solos.'ĭef Leppard had been kicking around 'Photograph' since 1981, with singer Joe Elliott, guitarist Steve Clark, bassist Rick Savage and Willis struggling to whittle the deceptively simple lead riff and stadium-sized choruses to a razor-sharp point. After years of trial and error, it finally clicked. He was having me keep it very fiery and all that stuff, while also respecting the songs. And it's one that has carried over to now, really.

'What Mutt was having me do, it was an amazing lesson to learn. Let go and do a bit of shredding as well, but it's gotta be in the groove, it's gotta have the melody,'' Collen later told Metal Edge. After cutting a one-take solo for the song 'Stagefright' as his audition, Collen was tasked with writing a solo for 'Photograph.' 'Mutt said, 'Do a solo that's really melodic. It also marked a personnel shift, as the band sacked guitarist Pete Willis and recruited Phil Collen during the recording process. With the January 1983 release of their third album Pyromania and lead single 'Photograph,' they harnessed their momentum and rocketed into the stratosphere.Īs the second consecutive Def Leppard album produced by Robert John 'Mutt' Lange, Pyromania slightly softened the group's hard-rock edges with soaring pop hooks and meticulous, multilayered production. Def Leppard was primed for stardom following the release of their 1981 sophomore album High 'n' Dry, which earned the Sheffield quintet its first RIAA gold certification the following year.