Album · 45 years old this year
High ’n’ Dry
High 'n' Dry is the second studio album by the English band Def Leppard, released on Vertigo in July 1981. It followed their debut, On Through the Night, and was the last full-time record with guitarist Pete Willis. It reached No. 38 on the Billboard 200 and No. 26 on the UK Albums Chart.
It sits at an interesting point in the band's story, between their debut and the huge step forward of Pyromania. When that later album took off, High 'n' Dry returned to the American chart and climbed to No. 72 in 1983. The title track, "High 'n' Dry (Saturday Night)", was later ranked No. 33 on VH1's 40 Greatest Metal Songs. It is a good place to hear the hard rock and heavy metal side of Def Leppard before the polish arrived.
High ’n’ Dry: tracklist, credits and charts
10 tracks · 42:03Tracklist
- 1Let It GoClark, Elliott, Willis4:43
- 2Another Hit and RunJoe Elliott and Rick Savage4:59
- 3High ’n’ Dry (Saturday Night)Clark, Elliott, Savage3:25
- 4Bringin’ On the HeartbreakClark, Elliott, Willis4:33
- 5Switch 625Steve Clark3:03
- 6You Got Me Runnin’Clark, Elliott, Willis4:22
- 7Lady StrangeAllen, Clark, Elliott, Willis4:40
- 8On Through the NightClark, Elliott, Savage5:06
- 9Mirror, Mirror (Look Into My Eyes)Clark, Elliott, Willis4:07
- 10No No NoElliott, Savage, Willis3:05
- Produced by
- Robert John “Mutt” Lange, Mutt Lange
- Recorded at
- Battery Studios (London)
- Recorded
- March–June 1981
- Mixed by
- Mike Shipley
- Engineered by
- Mike Shipley
- Label
- Vertigo
- Length
- 42:03
Line-up
- Rick Allen · drums (drum set), background vocals
- Steve Clark · electric guitar, background vocals, guitar
- Rick Savage · bass guitar, background vocals
- Pete Willis · electric guitar, background vocals, guitar
- Joe Elliott · lead vocals
Singles
- “Let It Go” · 14 August 1981
- “Bringin' On the Heartbreak” · 13 November 1981 (US)
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1981 | 26 |
| US Billboard 200 · 1981 | 38 |
| Swedish Albums · 1981 | 31 |
| Scottish Albums · 2020 | 52 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Canada · 1988 | Platinum |
| United States · 1992 | 2× Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
58.2
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
2.4k
ListenBrainz listeners
117k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
9.8k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Also released on 6 July
Every year →
More from Def Leppard
Full discography →
The Def Leppard E.P.
1978
On Through the Night
1980
Pyromania
1983
Hysteria
1987
Adrenalize
1992
Retro Active
1993
Vault: Def Leppard Greatest Hits 1980–1995
1995
Slang
1996
Euphoria
1999
X
2002
Best Of
2004
Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection
2005
Yeah!
2006
Songs From the Sparkle Lounge
2008
Mirror Ball: Live & More
2011
Viva! Hysteria: Live at The Joint, Las Vegas
2013
Def Leppard
2015
Live at Abbey Road Studios
2018
The Story So Far: The Best of Def Leppard
2018
The Early Years 79–81
2020
Electric Warriors
2021
Deep Cuts
2021
Old School Leppard
2021
Let There Be Drums
2021
The Two Arm Years
2021
Leppard on the Loose
2021
Diamond Star Halos
2022
Pour Some Sugar on Me
2023
The best of 1981
All of 1981 →
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More on Vertigo
The label →
Metallica
Metallica · 1991
…And Justice for All
Metallica · 1988
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Metallica · 2008
St. Anger
Metallica · 2003
Load
Metallica · 1996
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath · 1970
S&M
Metallica · 1999
Vol 4
Black Sabbath · 1972
Heaven and Hell
Black Sabbath · 1980
Pyromania
Def Leppard · 1983
Sabotage
Black Sabbath · 1975
Mob Rules
Black Sabbath · 1981
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia 1981-07-06; musicbrainz + wikidata 1981-07-11 (5 days apart, likely another territory)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 11 July 1981 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 6 July 1981 | |
| Wikidata | 11 July 1981 | |
| US release | 11 July 1981 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 11 July 1981 | earliest UK or European date |
28 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | XE | Mercury Records | 042281883620 | other |
| — | US | Mercury Records | 731451235627 | other |
| 1981 | PT | Vertigo | other | |
| 11 July 1981 | GB | Vertigo | original | |
| 11 July 1981 | US | Mercury Records | original | |
| 11 July 1981 | US | Mercury Records | original | |
| 11 July 1981 | US | Mercury Records | original | |
| 1984 | US | Mercury Records | 042281883620 | other |
| 1984 | US | Mercury Records | other | |
| 1984 | US | Mercury Records | 042281883620 | other |
| 1984 | US | PolyGram | 042281883644 | other |
| 14 May 1984 | GB | Mercury Records | 042281883620 | other |
| 31 December 1984 | CA | Vertigo | 042281883620 | other |
| 5 March 1988 | JP | Vertigo | 4988011310676 | other |
| 25 November 1988 | JP | Vertigo | 4988011313127 | other |
| 1990 | CA | Vertigo | other | |
| 5 November 1991 | JP | Vertigo | 4988011328459 | other |
| 10 September 1992 | US | Mercury Records | 731451235627 | other |
| 26 January 1994 | JP | Vertigo | 4988011339806 | other |
| 21 November 2003 | JP | Vertigo | 4988005348807 | other |
| 30 April 2008 | JP | Mercury Records | 4988005509543 | other |
| 21 December 2011 | JP | Mercury Records | 4988005688439 | other |
| 19 January 2018 | DZ | UMC | 0602567157540 | other |
| 19 January 2018 | US | UMC | 602567157601 | other |
| 20 March 2020 | AF | Universal UMC | 602508263910 | remaster |
| 20 March 2020 | XE | UMC | 602577793196 | other |
| 20 March 2020 | US | Bludgeon Riffola Ltd. | 602577793196 | other |
| 25 October 2023 | JP | UMC | 4988031597538 | other |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · native: native 3000x3000
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 3000×3000 | native: native 3000x3000 |
| itunes | 3000×3000 | native |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |