Def Leppard - Photograph

Sunday, time for a classic.

"Photograph" is a song performed by English hard rock band DEF LEPPARD and produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange. It is the lead single from the band's third studio album, "Pyromania" (1983). Their lead vocalist Joe Elliott has described the song as generally about "something you can't ever get your hands on". In 2006 the song was used in promotional adverts for the DVD release of Blades of Glory. In 2009 it was named the 13th greatest hard rock song of all time by VH1. It was also listed as the No. 17 greatest song of the past 25 years by VH1.

"Photograph" was a smash hit for the Sheffield, U.K based group in 1983, helping launch the band and their "Pyromania" album into the rock stratosphere, and frontman Joe Elliott didn’t need a thousand words to get his point across.

The lyrics reveal right from the start that the singer is “Outta luck and outta love” and it doesn’t take long to figure out that his photograph collection isn't getting the job done romantically. He longs to touch the real thing, whoever she is. Alas, this mystery girl remains only a fantasy and much to his despair, he can only love her from afar.

DEF LEPPARD knows the formula for creating a good single, and this was just one of many for this talented group. Elliott and guitarist Phil Collen are both humongous fans of rock ‘n’ roll, and with mentors like the Beatles, David Bowie and MOTT THE HOOPLE, this band of believers were destined for their own stardom.

There are two slightly different versions of the music video. The uncensored version shows a knife scene at the beginning, and on the censored version of the video, it is almost the same except the knife scene is replaced with a stationary black cat among other minor bits removed. There are several appearances of a look-alike impersonating Marilyn Monroe in the video, as the song is actually about the star and lead singer Joe Elliott's declaration that he does not just "want her photograph" but that is all he has of her, and he must admire her from afar.

The music video was directed by David Mallet and was shot on 2 December 1982 (bassist Rick Savage's 22nd birthday), in Battersea, London, England. It featured the video debut of their co-lead guitarist Phil Collen. Released on 3 February 1983.

Enjoy today's tune!



Live In McNichols Sports Arena In Denver, Colorado, 1988.



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