Def Leppard’s “Promises” single was unleashed on U.S. radio stations in May 1999. (The U.K. release was July 1999.)
The track is also included in two of the band’s greatest hits releases: Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection and The Story So Far (2-CD version only).
“Promises” could very well be considered Def Leppard’s return to form following a short-lived creative detour by way of the band’s previous album, Slang.
In other words, “Promises” is Def Leppard being, well, Def Leppard.
Let’s take an in-depth look back.
Def Leppard: Promises Made
By 1999, the grunge movement, which practically tormented Def Leppard’s brand of music for the majority of the decade, had run its course. Ironically, part of what made the grunge phenomenon such a powerful force as an alternative to the corporate mainstream was also what contributed to its demise, as it, too, ended up becoming a mainstream corporate product.
As grunge dissipated from Top 40 stations’ airwaves, popular music redefined itself once again, this time going in a completely different direction, led by the likes of Britney Spears, the Backstreet Boys, and NSYNC.
Over three years had passed since Def Leppard released Slang, arguably the most un-Leppard-like sounding album the band ever recorded. It quickly came and went from a sales standpoint, which wasn’t all that shocking, considering even Def Leppard joked that the album should have been titled “Commercial Suicide.”
With the darker days of the grunge era now behind them, though, and the return of a more cheery, pop music trend emerging in their favor, what better time for Def Leppard to release another new album!
Def Leppard: Promises Kept
The time was ripe for Def Leppard to revisit their arsenal of harmonies and hooks, all tightly wrapped within a big, slick production, and quench their fans’ years-long thirst for feel-good, melodic songs. More specifically, for Def Leppard to do what they do best.
The end result was Euphoria, an album some would argue is the worthy successor to Hysteria, even more so than Hysteria‘s actual follow-up, Adrenalize. (Read an in-depth overview of Euphoria here.)
This brings us to “Promises,” the song selected as the all-important first single to launch the Euphoria album. The song was co-written by Phil Collen and Robert John “Mutt” Lange, Def Leppard’s pseudo-sixth member. (Mutt hadn’t contributed as a songwriter since the band’s Adrenalize release.)
“Promises” recaptured the radio-friendly harmonies the band frequently enjoyed in years past, with a refreshed take on their trademark sound for the new millennium.
This was essential, as it’s important to keep in mind how much had changed for the band over the past decade: the glorious, chart-topping days of Hysteria were long gone; Steve Clark was no longer a song contributor due to his tragic death; Adrenalize didn’t include guitar contributions from newest member Vivian Campbell; Slang was a considerable departure from Def Leppard’s “typical” sound.
So Euphoria, on the back of “Promises,” was truly the first opportunity for the band’s latest lineup (i.e., with Vivian Campbell) to return to and showcase Def Leppard’s signature sound.
“Promises” Single Strategy
“Promises” effectively launched Euphoria and, more importantly, relaunched the Def Leppard brand.
The song performed admirably on Billboard‘s secondary U.S. charts — the Hot Mainstream Rock Chart (reaching #1) and Mainstream Top 40 (peaking at #38) — but it failed to even make it onto Billboard‘s most prominent one, the Hot 100 singles chart. A disappointing outcome, especially for a band who regularly appeared, if not ruled, that chart back in the days of Pyromania, Hysteria, and, to an extent, Adrenalize.
The performance of the “Promises” single was a bit of a letdown to the band, too:
“‘Promises’ should have been a hit and ’21st Century Sha La La La Girl,’ stuff like that. They were great and had they been done in a slightly different time or environment, I think they would have been bigger songs.”
— Phil Collen (Songfacts.com)
“It’s a little difficult with the radio aspect. Radio is changing to a certain degree, but the first single [Promises] hasn’t really kicked in the way we thought it was going to.”
— Rick Allen (Music Morsels Magazine)
“Promises” not being a bona fide hit single doesn’t negate the fact that it helped position Euphoria for a strong launch, though.
Charting in the late ’90s was vastly different than the ’80s. Music trends weren’t the only things that had changed; chart trends and performance did as well, which is why that type of data became increasingly less important with each subsequent Def Leppard release.
When “Promises” was officially released, references were made that compared it to “Photograph,” which was rather unfair in setting expectations. Understandably, this was done to position the track positively and promote Euphoria‘s release, but it was unrealistic to expect “Promises” to perform as well as one of Def Leppard’s most iconic songs.
Nevertheless, that type of comparison provided Def Leppard’s record company with an opportunity to solicit pop radio stations that hadn’t played new music from the band in years and encourage them to reconsider. The sales pitch was compelling, along the lines of: “Promises” has “hit single” written all over it! It features Def Leppard’s classic sound, Mutt Lange is involved, and it will remind you of “Photograph.” Forget Slang and Adrenalize, think Pyromania and Hysteria!
In the end, for a band that had to withstand nearly a decade of their music becoming much less popular, the amount of radio airplay “Promises” ended up receiving was respectable.
“Promises” Music Video
The “Promises” music video’s concept is similar to numerous other Def Leppard videos, balancing the band’s performance footage with a secondary storyline, this time featuring an audience enjoying a 3-D planetary light show at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles.
The band’s footage interacts well with the video’s light show narrative, though a few too many edits back and forth between the two, along with an abundance of strobe lighting and other visual effects, become a bit distracting.
Ultimately, there isn’t anything wrong with the video’s concept, but fans sometimes just want to see the band straight-up perform, and they don’t need unnecessary special effects to take center stage.
The video also provided band members with an opportunity to showcase their new short-hair “look” to fans.
For example, Joe Elliott:
And Rick Savage:
You can watch Def Leppard’s “Promises” music video here (along with every other official music video from the band). And if you really want to indulge in a lot more Def Leppard, check out this book!
Def Leppard “Promises” (Final Thoughts)
“Promises” did a commendable job reintroducing the type of music many Def Leppard fans had longed for, and, frankly, expected from the band.
The song also effectively served its purpose as Euphoria‘s first single. It’s a major reason why the album ended up selling nearly 100,000 copies (just over 98,000) in the U.S. in its first week of release. (The album went on to achieve gold certification status, with sales exceeding 500,000 copies.)
“Promises” put Def Leppard back on a path to do what initially brought the band great success: providing listeners with music escapism via feel-good songs overflowing with hooks and melodies. It also periodically makes an appearance on Def Leppard’s tours, pleasantly surprising audiences, especially those yearning for a bit of a shake-up to the band’s setlist.
This site ranks “Promises” the #1 track off of the Euphoria album, as the song best represents what the album is all about: Def Leppard’s return to form.
To this day, “Promises” remains one of the band’s “newer” classics, delivering the pleasing-to-the-ear harmonies Def Leppard fans crave.
That’s a promise.
