When Def Leppard‘s Hysteria came out 30 years ago, it made itself known as a massive achievement, its wall-to-wall sonics and skyscraping harmonies sounding like a turbo-charged version of the metal-edged pop the band had laid down on their prior LP, 1983’s Pyromania. “Every track sparkles and burns,” Kurt Loder wrote in his Rolling Stone review of the album. But the journey the band took to Hysteria was long and at times calamitous, marked by producer conflicts, lengthy recording sessions, record-company debts and a near-fatal car accident suffered by drummer Rick Allen. In advance of a new deluxe Hysteria reissue, out Friday, here are 10 facts about the album’s genesis and its current place in music history….
Oh can you feel it, do you believe it? On this day 30 years ago we released the album HYSTERIA. Celebrate with us on social media with the hashtag #Hysteria30 and check out all of the action below!
We want to know what the Hysteria album means to you! Join Brian Johnsonof AC/DC and share your photos & memories using the hashtag #Hysteria30 on social media! Don’t forget to tag @DefLeppard so we can share our favorites.
Def Leppard celebrate the 30th anniversary of their seminal album HYSTERIA
one of the best-selling and most influential releases in music history, with the release of Hysteria (Remastered 2017). Set to debut on August 4, the remastered anniversary edition will be released in various formats via Bludgeon Riffola/Mercury/UMe—Super Deluxe Edition, Deluxe Version, 1 CD Vanilla Version, 2-LP Black Vinyl Version, & limited edition 2-LP Colored Vinyl Version. The reissue boasts B-sides and live tracks, plus the audio for “In The Round In Your Face (Live)” on CD for the first time.
Frontman Joe Elliott says “It’s hard to believe that it’s been thirty years since the release of Hysteria…..In some respects it really does seem like only yesterday. So, to mark this milestone, we wanted to do something very special for our fans and give them the definitive version of the album, one that incorporates all of the memories and milestones that we caught on tape and some of the madness that we got up to on the road. We hope it means as much to you as it does to us.”
Added Phil Collen, “I look back at the whole Hysteria experience with excitement along with fond and tragic memories. It was our commercial zenith thanks to Mutt Lange’s insistence that we create an artistic hybrid between hard rock and pop top 40 music using every genre available as an inspiration. It was a rock album that would garner seven hit singles. Mission accomplished.”
Among the new versions, the Super Deluxe Edition boasts 5-CD/2-DVDs including four books—Story Of; a Ross Halfin photo book; Discography; Hysteria Tour Program and Tour Poster. The Deluxe Version features 3 CDs, the VanillaVersion is 1-CD, and the Vinyl Version is 2 Black LPs. In addition, there will be a limited-edition, 2-LP Colored Vinyl available via D2C channels for the first time.
Def Leppard will celebrate the 30th anniversary of their best-selling LP, 1987’s Hysteria, with a remastered box set out August 4th via Universal.
The reissue will be available in multiple formats: the 1-CD “Vanilla” version, a 3-CD Deluxe version, a 2-LP set on black vinyl, a 2-LP “Direct to Consumer” version on limited-edition colored vinyl and a massive, 5-CD/2-DVD Super Deluxe Edition.
