Def Leppard’s Slang album was released on May 14, 1996.
Def Leppard Slang: A Sign Of The Times
With the possible exception of On Through The Night, Slang is arguably the band’s most polarizing album.
Upon its release, it was difficult for some longtime fans to accept (at least favorably) that Slang didn’t sound at all like Def Leppard’s previous releases. Where were the anthemic, arena-rocking, chorus-chanting, “sugar”-to-the-ears songs? How about a customary power ballad? Was it possible that a Def Leppard album could not prominently feature those things?
With Slang, it was.
Grunge music was ruling playlists and charts during this time, and for many radio stations and “previous” Def Leppard fans (as odd as that may sound), it all of a sudden became cool to not like the band’s music, past or present, and even ridicule it.
By the same token, MTV, once a staunch supporter of the band, changed its format and was now airing series like “Beavis and Butt-Head,” a show whose main characters would watch Def Leppard’s “Animal” video in one particular episode and comment, “Spinal Tap really sucks lately!”
Welcome to the mid-’90s!
Do You Wanna Get…Slanged?
Def Leppard was in a no-win situation: if the band was to release an album with songs remotely resembling tracks like “Pour Some Sugar On Me,” many would contend they were stuck in the ’80s and out of touch; if they were to go in a grunge-like creative direction, they’d be accused of being inauthentic and copycats of the alternative bands who stole their spotlight.
Put simply: Damned if they do, damned if they don’t.
But this didn’t happen overnight. When Adrenalize was released in 1992, many radio stations that used to play Def Leppard’s music were beginning to switch formats, as the groundswell for grunge became inescapable. (Fortunately, Adrenalize was still able to break through due to strong sales out of the box; the album’s massive tour helped support the release, too.)
But people’s music tastes were unquestionably changing during the Adrenalize years.
One prime example was Def Leppard’s 1992 performance at the MTV Music Video Awards, which began to reveal a chasm between the band’s music and MTV’s newly “hip” audience. Being on stage performing “Let’s Get Rocked” and shouting out lyrics to the audience about “mowing the lawn” and “tidying your room” just wasn’t working out so well.
Things just seemed…off.
Joe Elliott appearing in a rather unique, un-Leppard-like outfit consisting of biker shorts and a dead mouse/skull t-shirt, capped off with a beret and what looked to be a bathrobe, didn’t seem to help the situation either, as evidenced by the rather muted, oft-put crowd response.
Slang With Me…Or Not
By the time of Slang‘s release in 1996, large segments of Def Leppard’s “casual” fans from the late ’80s — especially those who came aboard during Hysteria‘s heyday — had completely lost interest in the band. They now preferred groups like Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains.
This was the music landscape Def Leppard was up against.
Not only that, it was a challenging time for band members on a personal level, as hardships and life changes inevitably had to be dealt with: Rick Savage had been diagnosed with Bell’s palsy between the Adrenalize and Slang releases; his father had also passed away. Joe Elliott, Rick Allen, and Phil Collen also had their share of marital/personal issues.
It was a trying time, to put it mildly. (Joe Elliott would go on to describe Slang as the album that brought “life into the equation.”)
All I Ever Wanna Get Is…Slang?
Promoting the Slang album was a whole other dilemma.
While some radio stations no longer had any interest in playing (i.e., supporting) anything resembling Def Leppard’s brand of music, other stations that still played some form of “rock” had alternative-music-leaning audiences who didn’t necessarily want to hear Def Leppard.
The situation became even more challenging when the band’s record company didn’t have unequivocal, radio-friendly hit singles to choose from to launch the album: there was no “Pour Some Sugar On Me” sequel, not even tongue-in-cheek anthems like “Armageddon It,” “Let’s Get Rocked,” or “Make Love Like A Man.”
Moreover, Slang featured a stripped-down production; it wasn’t recorded in a typical recording studio setting but primarily at a house in Marbella, Spain. Other divergences included Rick Allen using an acoustic drum kit for the project and Mutt Lange having no production or songwriting involvement.
The Slang album cover didn’t even showcase Def Leppard’s iconic logo or burst with vibrant colors, nor did it involve the band’s usual go-to graphic designer, Andie Airfix.
But this was all done intentionally. The band knew Slang was a complete departure from previous Def Leppard albums, especially the most commercially successful ones, so much so that the band joked that Slang‘s original working album title was “Commercial Suicide.”
Here’s how Joe Elliott described the band’s thought process for Slang:
“We couldn’t just go out there and make an album sounding like Nirvana. That’d be ridiculous. That would have been like cashing in, bandwagon-style. But what we did do is just strip back a lot of the harmony stuff and just made a much more lyrically honest record.”
Def Leppard: Slang Promotional Strategy
The majority of Slang‘s songs were written by one or two band members (a creative approach Def Leppard would repeat on future release Songs from the Sparkle Lounge).
“Work It Out” was chosen as Slang‘s all-important first U.S. single, designated to do the heavy lifting of launching the album — a surprising choice, as the song arguably would have been considered more of a deep cut in prior years.
Solely written by Vivian Campbell, the song’s original version was “Leppard-ized” to an extent, yet still featured a distinctly different sound and vibe than what Def Leppard fans were accustomed to. (As mentioned in this site’s Slang album song ranking, the promotional strategy for “Work It Out” was unconventional; the song was played for some radio station program directors without telling them who the band was, just letting the music — featuring Joe Elliott’s relatively unrecognizable Iggy Pop-like vocals — speak for itself.)
Ultimately, some radio stations were pleasantly surprised at the fact that it was a Def Leppard song and did end up supporting the “Work It Out” single, but it didn’t result in the heavy airplay rotation the band routinely enjoyed in years past.
The band’s music videos for Slang prominently had a more somber tone too: “Work It Out” had a serious look and feel, while “All I Want Is Everything” was in the vein of the band’s dark, moody “Tonight” music video, with shots of the band intercut throughout its solemn storyline.
Only “Slang” had a music video that was playful, not to mention visually kinetic, but it was mostly enjoyed by international audiences, as it was rarely seen in the U.S. (You can view all of the band’s official videos in the Music Video section. And if you really want to indulge in more Def Leppard, check out this must-read book!)
Slang‘s Reception
The typical press outlets that normally would have been relied upon to heavily promote a new Def Leppard album just weren’t as willing anymore.
And with MTV no longer being a viable promotional outlet, Slang got a fraction of the television coverage the band would have ordinarily received for an album release.
Def Leppard did appear on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” to perform “Work It Out” — surprisingly, the band’s first appearance on the late-night program — but major promotional opportunities were still few and far between.
That’s not to say there wasn’t a lot of interest and coverage elsewhere around the world. There were some terrific interviews with the band that promoted Slang effectively, but, as you can see from the subtitles in the picture below, just not in the U.S.
There was an in-depth program that featured the band discussing the Slang album, including answering fan questions and taking part in numerous interviews.
For example, interview segments featured Joe and Sav…
Joe and Phil…
Joe and Rick…
Joe and Vivian…
And then the entire band together…
Capped off with showing Slang tour rehearsal footage…
This excellent promotional vehicle actually aired on MTV…in Europe.
If you’re ever interested in watching this MTV Europe Slang special, here it is:
Def Leppard Slang Sales
It’s not all that shocking that Slang was not a #1 album for Def Leppard, like its predecessors Hysteria and Adrenalize.
The release debuted at #14 on Billboard‘s U.S. album chart, selling 59,500 copies in its first week, a far cry from the 380,000 copies that previous album Adrenalize sold in its debut week. (To put things further into perspective, Adrenalize sold over 100,000 copies in each of its first six weeks of release.)
But the fact that Def Leppard was still able to achieve a Top 15 album debut in the mid-’90s, with decidedly less radio and press willing to support it, is an accomplishment.
Slang ultimately ended up being certified gold, selling over 500,000 copies.
Def Leppard also released a Slang deluxe edition in 2014 and loaded it up with bonus tracks — demos, alternate versions, and more. The reissue provided the band with a great opportunity to once again spotlight and reflect on a release that just never seemed to find its audience or get its due.
Slang: Final Thoughts
Regrettably, many “casual” Def Leppard fans fled around the time of Slang, or simply didn’t give the album a fair chance. They missed out on some excellent music that not only showcased Slang‘s depth but some of the band’s most raw and mature work.
The album included some incredible tracks which, unfortunately, remain rarities as far as Def Leppard tour setlists go: “All I Want Is Everything” featured some of Joe Elliott’s best songwriting and vocals; the same can be said about “Where Does Love Go When It Dies” and “Blood Runs Cold” (which Joe co-wrote with Phil Collen). Other standout tracks that still hold their own include “Turn to Dust” and “Pearl of Euphoria.”
Whether or not Slang‘s songs sound like Def Leppard is beside the point; most of the tracks are solid and easily stand on their own.
In hindsight, Slang could feasibly be interpreted as a concept album, not only representing the challenging music climate of the mid-’90s but also as Def Leppard’s manifesto to the industry and fans who had dismissed them and moved on. But that’s a discussion for another time!
In the meantime, you can read this site’s ranking for all of Slang‘s songs here.
Joe Elliott reflected on the divided response to Slang and summed it up this way:
“Some people think it’s the best thing we ever did, some people think it’s the worst thing we ever did.”
Interestingly, glam rock legend Ian Hunter confirmed to this site that while “Pour Some Sugar On Me” is his favorite Def Leppard song, Slang is his favorite Def Leppard album:
As for whether Slang is Def Leppard’s best or worst album, that’s entirely up to you.
In the end, though, it was the right album at the right time.
