I had an email conversation today in which the word “fool” was written in a response. Now here’s how weird my brain is wired. Even though it was a semi serious conversation, after seeing “fool” my next thought was Def Leppard’s huge hit, Foolin’, off their third album, Pyromania.. That tune immediately became stuck in my head… Now I’ll attempt to firmly implant it in your grey matter:
….hoo boy they had jacked up videos back in 1983! FUN FACT: The girl playing the harp in the video was Billy Idol’s girlfriend at the time, Perri Lister…
…. and I swear to God the other girl is that hot girl, Ariel, from the original Footloose, though I couldn’t confirm it… Oh, and drummer Rick Allen HAS BOTH OF HIS ARMS! And he’s playing while wearing British flag Underoos! In case you didn’t know, a year after that video came out, Rick lost his left arm in a horrible car accident. He eventually recovered, determined to remain the drummer of Def Leppard, and became skilled with an electronic drum kit that allowed him to play with his feet via extra pedals… in addition to his remaining arm.
DID YOU KNOW? Pyromania sold 6,000,000 copies in 1983; putting it number two behind serial child molester Michael Jackson’s Thriller? The lead single from Pyro, Photograph, ultimately beat out pee pee toucher Jackson’s Beat It to become the most requested video that year on MTV! Relive Photograph with me here:
…. I WANNA TOUCH YOU!…. Damn, I’m having a lot of fun writing this post… forgot how much I liked Def Leppard!
Man…I feel like a… OH this post is filled with FUN FACTS… Def Leppard’s producer for Pyromania and their previous album High ‘n’ Dry was Mutt Lange, a.k.a “the guy who married, and got to have sex with…
… Shania Twain for 15 years! Then he screwed up! Try to follow me here, and I may screw this up, but I believe Mutt cheated on Shania with her best friend, Marie, thus causing their divorce and now Shania is married to Marie’s ex-husband, Frederic, and I think Mutt is now married to Marie. Holy shit! Talk about a wife swap! Moral of the story? Never mix South Africans & rock and roll with Canadians & country music!
Okay… I got a bit off track there.. back to Def Leppard! In 1984, Mutt dropped out due to probably cheating exhaustion, and a former Meat Loaf producer stepped in and then the album Hysteria happened in 1987… and this…
… that’s widely known as Def Leppard’s biggest hit… though they’re much deeper than that song. Okay… this one is no deeper, but was, and always has been, one of my favorite tunes…
In 1991, the band was once again stricken by tragedy when long time guitarist Steve Clark died from an overindulgence in alcohol and prescription drugs. That shit was sad back then and I feared the loss of one of my favorite bands, but they all persevered and moved on from Steve’s death, releasing their 5th studio album, Adrenalize, in 1992.
I went to see Def Leppard live for their Adrenalize tour back then and it was fuckin’ awesome! They had a diamond shaped stage and they all worked the hell out of it!
Since then, however, they have done little, so I’m left with one of their best singles ever….
… with lyrics right now…
That shouldn’t be from time to time.
I sure found out, thought love was such a crime
The more you care, the more you fall
No need to worry, no need to turn away
‘Cause it don’t matter, anyway
(oohh oohh oohh)
I miss you in a heartbeat
(oohh oohh oohh)
I miss you right away
(oohh oohh oohh)
I miss you in a heartbeat
’cause it ain’t love, if it don’t feel that way
oh no
When we touch, I just lose my self control
A sad sensation I can’t hide
To love is easy, it ain’t easy to walk away
I keep the faith and there’s a reason why, yeah
No need to worry, no need to turn away
‘Cause it don’t matter, anyway
baby
(oohh oohh oohh)
I miss you in a heartbeat
(oohh oohh oohh)
Yeah I miss you right away
(oohh oohh oohh)
I miss you in a heartbeat
’cause it ain’t love, if it don’t feel that way
Now, I ain’t big on promises, I’ll be true to you
‘Cause I’d do ’bout anything, yeah
for some one like, baby for you
(oohh oohh oohh)
I miss you in a heartbeat
(oohh oohh oohh)
yeah I miss you right away
(oohh oohh oohh)
oh, I’m gonna miss you in a heartbeat
’cause it ain’t love, if it don’t feel that way