Even moderate 80s rock fans can sing several Def Leppard songs by heart. Their many hits include “Pour Some Sugar On Me”, “Armageddon It”, “Love Bites”, and more. But Def Leppard also has several album cuts that fans love as well. These three Def Leppard songs are deep album cuts that likely every 80s rock fan knows by heart.
“Love And Affection”
On Hysteria, a 1987 album that remains one of Def Leppard’s biggest records of their career, is “Love And Affection”. “Love And Affection” was written by band members Joe Elliott, Rick Savage, Phil Collen, and Steve Clark, along with producer Robert “Mutt” Lange. Together, they wrote all 12 songs on the record.
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A song about the heat of the moment, “Love And Affection” says, “Oh, it’s a passion crime / With a danger sign / Oh, can you handle it? / You’re just another girl / I’m just another man / It’s just another night / Don’t give me love and affection / Or what you think it should be / Don’t give me love, the wrong reason, yeah / It won’t matter to me.”
“Love And Affection” is a fan favorite, even if it wasn’t a single. But it’s a bit ironic that Def Leppard had any success with Hysteria, since they partied as much as they made music.
“You’ve gotta remember that we were all in our early 20s, single, and had been on the road for a year,” Elliott tells Louder. “So not only did we write for the new album, but also partied really hard! In about six months, we got through about 300 bottles of vodka, 400 bottles of whiskey, and cases of beer. It was insane.”
“Another Hit And Run”
On Def Leppard’s sophomore High ‘N’ Dry record is “Another Hit And Run”. The song is written by band members Joe Elliot and Rick Savage,
“Another Hit And Run” says, “I say you got no respect / Respect for authority / You’re just playing your dirty tricks / And then come cryin’ to me / Hit and run, hit and run / It’s just a hit and run / Another hit and run, hit it.”
“Billy’s Got A Gun”
A lot of people might assume “Billy’s Got A Gun” was a single, since it’s so popular. On their Pyromania project, “Billy’s Got A Gun” was written by Clark, Elliott, Savage, Pete Willis, and Lange.
Loosely inspired by the 1974 Death Wish movie, “Billy’s Got A Gun” begins with, “Billy’s got a gun, he’s on the run / Confusion in his mind, the blind leads the blind / Yeah, Billy’s got a gun, he’s gonna shoot ya down / He’s got evil in his eyes, got a reason to despise / There’s danger in the air.”
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