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Mercury

‘Photograph’ – Def Leppard

By Music News Feb 12, 2024 | 6:00 PM

Writers: Steve Clark, Joe Elliott, Robert John “Mutt” Lange, Rick Savage and Pete Willis

Producer: Robert John “Mutt” Lange”

Recorded: 1982 in London, England

Released: Early 1983

Players: Joe Elliott – vocals
Steve Clark — guitar, vocals
Pete Willis — guitar, vocals
Rick Savage — bass, vocals
Rick Allen — drums
Album: Pyromania (Mercury, 1983)

Also on: Vault — Greatest Hits 1980-1995 (Mercury, 1996)

“Photograph,” a subtle homage to Marilyn Monroe, was Def Leppard's first hit single in the U.S., peaking at Number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Finding some clouds amongst the silver lining, singer Joe Elliott notes that “Photograph” “broke us big time in the States and all I could think was how disappointing it was that it wasn't a hit in the U.K.”

The Pyromania album peaked at Number Two on the Billboard 200, held out of the top spot by Michael Jackson's Thriller. It spent 92 weeks on the chart and sold more than nine million copies.

The album's timing also helped Def Leppard become one of the first acts whose star was established by then-burgeoning cable music channel MTV.

The album peaked at Number 18 on the U.K. chart.

Pyromania also marked the debut of guitarist Phil Collen to the Def Leppard lineup. He replaced original member Pete Willis, who was fired because of personal conflicts with the other band members –some of which stemmed from alcoholism. Willis did play on most of the Pyromania album, however, including “Photograph.