Def Leppard: Nine Lives (Song Spotlight)

Def Leppard’s “Nine Lives” U.S. single was released in April 2008.

The song featured a collaboration with country music superstar Tim McGraw and was chosen as the lead single from the band’s Songs from the Sparkle Lounge album. (The track is also included on the band’s The Story So Far greatest hits album.)

“Nine Lives” is an unconventional Def Leppard song and isn’t among the band’s top chart performers — actually, it didn’t even make it onto Billboard‘s Hot 100 singles chart.

But “Nine Lives” achieved one very important goal as only it could: garnering plenty of publicity for its unique rock and country music alliance while also hyping the release of Songs from the Sparkle Lounge.

Took A Chance On A Chance… And A Song Was Born

Tim McGraw co-wrote “Nine Lives” with Def Leppard (specifically Phil Collen, Joe Elliott, and Rick Savage).

Tim described the experience of working with the band to CMT.com:

“Each of us brought something different to the table, and we drew on each other’s influence to finish it out. They are simply one of the best rock bands ever, and it was a great time working together.”

How did the collaboration come to be? Tim McGraw’s tour manager was none other than Robert Allen (Rick Allen’s brother), and with Tim being such a big fan of Def Leppard’s music, the pieces quickly fell into place.

Joe Elliott elaborated on the joint effort to Billboard.com in 2008:

“We’ve kind of known Tim and [his wife] Faith Hill are huge Leppard fans and have been for many years. When we played the Hollywood Bowl in 2006, Tim happened to be in L.A., so we invited him down; it was one of those, ‘Hey, man, you want to get up and do something?’ So we did “Pour Some Sugar On Me,” which went down really well.

“We had a good laugh that night and lo and behold, when we came through Nashville just a short while later, he came down to soundcheck and we ended up in the Sparkle Lounge, and that’s where the song was conceived.”

The final result is a song that primarily showcases Def Leppard’s rock roots, yet has Tim McGraw’s country music vibe sprinkled in throughout.

Joe Elliott also shared his thoughts on whether the song is more rock or country:

“People have been bringing that question up: ‘You guys have gone country?’ ‘No! Tim went rock!’ And truth be known, that’s really what he did. If you listen to the record, he goes off on his own kind of twangy tangent for the beginning part, but after that, even me and him could barely distinguish one from another… So he really stepped up to the plate in the rock sense.”

Welcome To Def Leppard Country

Def Leppard made a noteworthy push into the world of country music in 2008, which also provided the band with the opportunity to further expand its fan base.

And why not? The band’s music had already crossed over beyond straight-up rock, and their influence on other artists validated how far-reaching their appeal was across genres. Just ask self-proclaimed Def Leppard fans Lady Gaga, Pink, Maroon 5, Mariah Carey, Jewel, Allison Krauss, John Mayer, and so on.

And, of course, there’s also country music superstar (and huge Def Leppard fan) Taylor Swift:

Def Leppard and Taylor Swift’s “CMT Crossroads” performance was also released in 2008, the same year as “Nine Lives.”

And to connect some random events for your amusement:

1. Taylor Swift’s first-ever published song was titled “Tim McGraw”;
2. Def Leppard and Taylor Swift performed together on “CMT Crossroads”;
3. Def Leppard recorded “Nine Lives” with Tim McGraw;
4. When Rick Savage joined his daughter for her live singing debut at the 2010 Dave Kilner tribute concert in Sheffield, the two of them performed the song “Tim McGraw” by Taylor Swift.

Funny how things work out sometimes.

Def Leppard “Nine Lives” Music Video

Directed by the late Sherman Halsey, the “Nine Lives” music video interspersed black & white footage…

…with grainy, washed-out performance footage…

…and vibrant, over-saturated color performance footage.

Even though the briskly paced editing and interwoven black & white vs. color footage are somewhat overdone and distracting, the video ultimately captured the spirit of the project: everyone involved having a really good time.

You can view Def Leppard’s “Nine Lives” music video here (along with every other official music video from the band). By the way, if you really want to indulge in a lot more Def Leppard, check out this must-read book!

Def Leppard “Nine Lives” (Final Thoughts)

This site ranks “Nine Lives” the #7 track off of the Songs from the Sparkle Lounge album.

The track is a bit rough around the edges, which is likely intentional, at least to an extent, to achieve a more “raw” result than your typical slickly-produced Def Leppard song. But, frankly, that carries the track only so far, as its shouted “Nine Lives! Nine Times To Die!” chorus doesn’t quite flow off the tongue so easily or reach the satiating levels of melody fans normally expect from the band.

Arguably, there were stronger song options to launch Songs from the Sparkle Lounge, such as “C’mon C’mon” (as a lead-off single), or “Go” or “Tomorrow” (for album-oriented rock stations), but “Nine Lives” served its purpose by attracting added attention to the album for the band to capitalize on, at least for a little while.

Similar to other short-lived Def Leppard singles — “Tonight” and “Long Long Way To Go” are two examples — “Nine Lives” received concert setlist inclusion for a brief period, primarily with the intent of promoting the Songs from the Sparkle Lounge release on the album’s tour.

In all likelihood, “Nine Lives” won’t have a recurring slot on future Def Leppard tour setlists, which is more a testament to the strength and depth of the band’s catalog rather than how well the track has aged over the years.

Plain and simple, “Nine Lives” is a solid, flat-out rocker. It’s also a fitting title for Def Leppard and the seemingly insurmountable odds the band has had to overcome throughout its career. As the lyric goes, “Are you tough enough, is your stuff enough?” Many would agree when it comes to Def Leppard, the answer is most definitely yes.