From the Ignition of Pyromania to Mass Hysteria

From the Ignition of Pyromania to Mass Hysteria

In November 1996 in the very tiny town of Grove City, PA, back when I was serving as an LDS Missionary in Western Pennsylvania it was transfer day and I was waiting at the Grove City apartment with another missionary named Marc to meet our new companions, and shortly after lunch Marc’s new companion Brian from Eugene, OR and my new companion Jeff from Sandy, UT walked through the door and we all met for the first time.  As much as Brian was not my new companion, both of us instantly hit it off and very quickly became good friends.  Inevitably, Brian and I started to talk about music and he enjoyed a lot of the metal and alternative rock bands I was into and the conversation transitioned to Def Leppard to which Brian said “now the greatest Def Leppard album is Hysteria!” to which I very tactically responded “I respectfully disagree with you, the best Leppard album is Pyromania!” and we had a pretty intense discussion about both albums.  Regardless of whether Pyromania or Hysteria is your favorite Def Leppard album, the influence of both albums on the metal scene is substantial and the memories I have associated with both albums I wouldn’t trade for anything.

Back in 1980, I don’t know how my Dad did it, but he knew about Def Leppard from the very get go and he bought On Through the Night when it first came out, however, he thought the album was ok, but not great.  However, about one year later my Dad heard the song “High n’ Dry” on the radio, it completely blew him away, and he very quickly bought the album High n’ Dry shortly after it was released.   High n’ Dry, unlike its predecessor completely took my Dad by surprise.  From “Let It Go” to “No No No” my Dad thought it was the one of the best heavy metal albums he had ever heard up to that point and High n’ Dry along with Back In Black by AC/DC, Fair Warning by Van Halen, and Blackout by The Scorpions were in heavy rotation on my Dad’s record player. 

Also, during this period of time my Dad was a huge fan of the heavy southern rock band Blackfoot and in 1981 my Dad saw Def Leppard open for Blackfoot at the Salt Palace Assembly Hall.  My Dad still remembers Def Leppard opening their show with “Let It Go”, that Pete Willis was wearing a cape and that he was playing a guitar that was bigger than he was.  But ultimately my Dad still remembers how tight, energetic, and awesome Def Leppard’s show was that night and that Blackfoot was just as amazing!  This show still ranks as one of the best concerts my father has ever attended.

When Pyromania was released in 1983 my father bought it the day it came out and just loved every second of it.  Def Leppard had caught lightning once again and this time the world came along for the ride.  At age 7 I thought Pyromania was amazing all the way.  One thing I know will sound weird to people that don’t know me personally is that Pyromania along with Back In Back and several other metal albums my Dad was into when I was growing up were very much my nursery rhymes and were the soundtrack of my life at a very young age.  When I was a kid I assumed that everyone listened to the awesome music that my Dad was into, but I learned very quickly when I started elementary school that most kids were still singing nursery rhymes and I was kind of different because no one was listening to the music I was into at all.  In turn, when I was 7 years old I thought it was really weird that the other 7 year olds weren’t listening to ‘real’ music.  Pyromania to this day brings back a lot of positive memories of my childhood and I used to crank my cassette of it as loud as I could when I would bicycle or rollerblade through my neighborhood growing up and “Rock! Rock! Till You Drop”, “Stagefright”, and “Coming Under Fire” rank as my favorites from Pyromania.

Between Pyromania and Hysteria Def Leppard’s drummer Rick Allen was in a car accident and lost his left arm and it was uncertain if Def Leppard would continue on for a time.  But Rick Allen was resilient and thanks to a custom built drum kit with electronic foot pedals which simulated the drum sounds he used to play with his left arm, Def Leppard went to work on Hysteria and were in the studio on and off for almost three years to complete the record.  Little did they know what lay ahead when Hysteria would be released in August 1987.

Once again my father was big time looking forward to the release of Hysteria and bought it the day it came out.  My father gave the album a couple of listens and as much as he did not feel like it quite stacked up to Pyromania, however, my father thought the album was pretty cool and went to see Def Leppard at the Salt Palace with Tesla opening in December 1987.  Just as they had when they opened for Blackfoot in 1981, Def Leppard put on a high energy and spectacular live show, my father had a great time, and it was the live show that sold my Dad on Hysteria. 

The funny thing about Hysteria because the album would eventually go so huge, the fact is that Hysteria was not a hit right out of the box and it took about six month for the album to gain momentum.   “Women” did not hit the Billboard top 40.  However, once “Pour Some Sugar On Me” is released as a single the world turned upside down and Hysteria take off with fury.  As much as at this point in my life I had been listening to heavy metal for a pretty long time, thanks to MTV as well as extensive airplay in Salt Lake City, many of my friends were introduced to metal via Def Leppard for the very first time.  What made Hysteria appealing to so many is that the album was not as heavy and did not have a stigma like Appetite for Destruction by Guns n’ Roses, yet it’s not the metal pop of Slippery When Wet by Bon Jovi.  Hysteria is truly the perfect mix of heavy metal guitars with pop melodies that still remain very true to their metal roots.  I love every song on Hysteria, but “Run Riot”, “Rocket”, “Hysteria”, and “Love and Affection” still rank as my favorites and the album still sounds amazing even today.

By the time I start sixth grade Def Leppard with L.A. Guns opening was coming to Salt Lake City for two sold out shows at the Salt Palace in October 1988 and my Dad got tickets!  Even better, both of my brothers and I were going to the show with him.  Then the day of the show finally came and I was so excited I could not sleep the night before and I was the envy of the 6^th grade of Midvalley Elementary School (surprisingly my first crush was also at the show, however, having the fact that we were both fans of Def Leppard in common did not earn me any brownie points with her).  I still remember the lights going down at the Salt Palace, Def Leppard taking the stage and opening their show with “Rock! Rock! Till You Drop!” and let’s just say their music videos do not close to do justice for how great they are live.  The laser show on the stage was the first one I had ever seen and the show was just amazing all the way around.  What I remember the most about this show is the set list was every song on Hysteria, every song on Pyromania, and the songs “High n’ Dry”, “Bringing on the Heartache”, and “Me and My Wine”, which made the show even more special to me as well as having the time of my life with my Dad and my brothers.  I did not want the night to end.  The next day at school I showed up wearing the Hysteria tour shirt I had bought at the show and for the first and only time in my life, I was the fashion envy for the 6^th grade.  Everyone wanted that shirt and for that matter everyone wished they were at the show.  I have now seen Def Leppard three times and their show is always amazing, but the Hysteria concert in 1988 has gone down as one of the best and most memorable concerts I have ever been to.

Back in the day Pyromania and Hysteria both peaked at #2 on the Billboard top 200 album chart and were both kept out of the #1 spot by Michael Jackson’s Thriller and Bad and both albums are considered two of the best albums of the 80’s and of the genre of heavy metal.  Looking back at Pyromania and Hysteria in retrospective brings back a lot of fond memories.  Pyromania is still my favorite Def Leppard album.  In many respects it is the peak of Def Leppard the heavy metal band in the purest sense.  However, Hysteria took Def Leppard to the next level and showed the world how amazing this band really is and is considered to be their magnum opus.  Whenever I talk music with anyone my age, a couple of years older or younger, Hysteria holds a very near and dear place to them and it is one of the albums we all have in common and love regardless of where our musical tastes would lead us.  Whether Pyromania, Hysteria, or perhaps both are your favorite Def Leppard album, the commercial peak of Def Leppard are days to be remembered!