Def Leppard’s “Let’s Get Rocked” was unleashed onto radio stations in April 1992.
The song was the first single off of the band’s eagerly awaited Adrenalize album.
“Let’s Get Rocked” is also included in all of the band’s greatest hits compilations: Vault, Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection, and The Story So Far.
Do You Wanna? Do You Wanna?!
From the moment Joe Elliott asks the rhetorical question “Do you wanna get rocked?,” Def Leppard fans know they’re in store for nearly five minutes of anthemic rock music loaded to the gills with the band’s signature trademarks: a polished production, a wall of sound featuring thunderous drums, booming guitars, unmistakable power chords and massive hooks, all which lead into an infectious, shout-out-loud chorus.
Undoubtedly, “Let’s Get Rocked” and its carefree take on life was also cathartic for the band (and its fans) back in 1992, still grieving from the tragic death of guitarist Steve Clark.
Instead of going down a darker path as some might have expected, the band took a decidedly lighthearted, feel-good approach with Adrenalize (with the exception of “White Lightning”), attempting to recapture the sonic escapism of Hysteria. “Let’s Get Rocked” is a prime example.
The song’s intended silliness didn’t connect with everyone, though. Over the years, Joe Elliott has spoken out about how the song’s tongue-in-cheek lyrics and humor went over the head of many music critics who were quick to dismiss “Let’s Get Rocked,” not giving it a fair chance.
Joe addressed the topic with Kaos 2000:
“I have a line in the song, ‘I suppose a rock’s out of the question.’ They [music critics] missed the point that it’s supposed to be funny. I’ve said in the past of that song, actually listen to that song. Strip all of your negative things away and listen to it and tell me that Prince couldn’t have done that. I would say, ‘You’re lying’ to anyone who says he couldn’t have. It wasn’t a rip-off of Prince, but I don’t see it a million miles from ‘When Doves Cry’ or ‘Little Red Corvette.’
“It’s a basic, structured-down [song with] me singing over drums and bass. It’s just that our drums and bass were a million times bigger than Prince’s. It was way more bombastic. I think that is the shield that most journalists can’t get through. They just see this overproduced, big, massive sound. In fact, that was exactly what we were trying to achieve.”
Not My Style, Man!
The Bart Simpson character from The Simpsons TV series was the inspiration for “Let’s Get Rocked,” with the song’s opening verse setting the tone with the line “I’m your average, ordinary everyday kid. Happy to do nothin’…” (Decades later, Homer Simpson joined forces with Family Guy‘s Peter Griffin in the Family Guy episode “The Simpsons Guy,” which includes its own, um, special tribute to Def Leppard’s music. Watch it here.)
The song’s intentionally juvenile premise was further spotlighted in Def Leppard’s nothing-but-a-good-time “Let’s Get Rocked” music video, where audiences were introduced to an animated teenage character named Flynn.
The band even included the Flynn character on the Adrenalize tour’s backstage passes. Here’s one from my personal collection:
Even though Flynn ended up being more of a flash in the ’90s pan, never to be seen again, fans still remember the character and what it represented, aptly summed up in the song’s lyric “Let’s get out and play, rock the night away…”
I Suppose A Top 10 Hit Is Out Of The Question
“Let’s Get Rocked” was a major turning point in Def Leppard’s career — in more ways than one.
The song was written by Joe Elliott, Phil Collen, Rick Savage, and Mutt Lange — the same writing team behind all of Hysteria‘s songs, with one glaring exception: Steve Clark.
“Let’s Get Rocked” kicked off a new, Steve Clark-less era for the band.
The single release also marked a change to what had been Def Leppard’s steadfast chart performance: “Let’s Get Rocked” landed on Billboard‘s Hot 100 singles chart at #27 — an exceptionally strong, unprecedented, first-week debut for the band. (The chart feat was due to several factors, including pent-up interest and demand from fans who had waited years for a new Def Leppard song, robust sales of the CD single and cassingle out of the box, and a considerable amount of initial radio support.)
But long-lasting chart momentum, something that became commonplace during the days of Pyromania and Hysteria, had changed noticeably.
Normally, a single debuting at #27 would likely have enough momentum to peak near the top — if not, the top — of the Hot 100 singles charts. Yet after its powerful debut, “Let’s Get Rocked” went from #27 to…#27 in its second week of release, not moving up at all.
In the third week of its single run, it practically stalled again, moving up only one slot to #26, before climbing a few more spots in its fourth week, landing at #18.
It crept up only three more slots to #15 in its fifth week, which is where it would peak — disappointing, and a bit shocking, that after such a strong debut, “Let’s Get Rocked” only climbed a total of twelve slots, and couldn’t even reach the U.S. Top 10.
It was becoming clear that Def Leppard’s days of releasing a single with a prolonged chart life were numbered (no pun intended). The chart performance for “Let’s Get Rocked” was a warning sign, one that should have prompted the Adrenalize single release strategy to be revisited and recalibrated.
Unfortunately, going with yet another tongue-in-cheek song — “Make Love Like A Man” — as the album’s second single was a misstep; the track underperformed, peaking at #36 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 after only four weeks on the chart, further dampening Adrenalize‘s sales momentum.
With the ever-present grunge movement unmistakably changing music tastes, Def Leppard singles significantly charting going forward would be few and far between.
By the way, if you really want to indulge in Def Leppard, check out this must-read book!
Def Leppard: Let’s Get Rocked Again and Again
No matter the chart performance, it’s more than likely that “Let’s Get Rocked” will continue to be included on future Def Leppard concert setlists, as it remains a crowd favorite.
Incidentally, did you ever notice the band usually replaces the song’s lyric “Walk the dog!” with “Shag the dog!” when they perform it live?
Def Leppard: Let’s Get Rocked (Final Thoughts)
This site ranks “Let’s Get Rocked” the #1 track off the Adrenalize album.
Simply accepting the song for what it is — a fun, bombastic, catchy tune, which showcases Def Leppard’s technical wizardry in the process — makes the listening experience all the more enjoyable.
It’s not surprising that it remains one of the band’s most popular songs; decades after its release, it’s abundantly clear that many Def Leppard fans most certainly still wanna get rocked.
