Sunday, 18 October 2026
RIFFOLOGY
Hysteria by Def Leppard, album cover
Album

Hysteria

by Def Leppard
Released3 August 1987
LabelMercury Records
Popularity75.9
hard rockglam metalrockaorarena rock
Wikipedia ↗MusicBrainz ↗Apple Music ↗Deezer ↗Podcast cover

Hysteria is Def Leppard's fourth studio album, released by Mercury Records on 3 August 1987. It followed the breakthrough of Pyromania in 1983, but making it took more than three years. Delays piled up, not least after drummer Rick Allen lost his left arm in a car accident on 31 December 1984. Allen came up with the title, a nod to the crash and the worldwide media frenzy that followed. It was the last Def Leppard record produced by Mutt Lange, and the last to feature guitarist Steve Clark before his death in 1991.

Sales were slow beyond the band's devoted fans at first, but the album went on to reach number one on both the Billboard 200 and the UK Albums Chart. Seven hit singles followed, and it has sold over 20 million copies worldwide, 12 million of them in the US, making it the band's biggest seller. At 62 minutes and 32 seconds, it is also their longest studio album.

Hysteria on Riffology

riffology.co →
Podcast · Episode 28 · 1 h 29 min
Def Leppard – Hysteria
0:00 / 1:29:07
Exploring the Creation of Def Leppard’s Hysteria
Album deep dive
Exploring the Creation of Def Leppard’s Hysteria
14 August 2024

Hysteria: tracklist, credits and charts

12 tracks · 1:02:38

Tracklist

  1. 1WomenClark, Collen, Elliott, Lange, Savage5:42
  2. 2RocketClark, Collen, Elliott, Lange, Savage6:38
  3. 3AnimalClark, Collen, Elliott, Lange, Savage4:05
  4. 4Love BitesClark, Collen, Elliott, Lange, Savage5:47
  5. 5Pour Some Sugar on MeClark, Collen, Elliott, Lange, Savage4:27
  6. 6Armageddon ItAllen, Clark, Collen, Elliott, Lange, Savage5:24
  7. 7Gods of WarAllen, Clark, Collen, Elliott, Lange, Savage6:38
  8. 8Don’t Shoot ShotgunClark, Collen, Elliott, Lange, Savage4:27
  9. 9Run RiotClark, Collen, Elliott, Lange, Savage4:39
  10. 10HysteriaClark, Collen, Elliott, Lange, Savage5:55
  11. 11ExcitableClark, Collen, Elliott, Lange, Savage4:19
  12. 12Love and AffectionClark, Collen, Elliott, Lange, Savage4:37
Produced by
Robert John “Mutt” Lange, Mutt Lange
Recorded at
Wisseloord (Hilversum), Windmill Lane (Dublin), Studio Des Dames (Paris)
Recorded
February 1984 – January 1987
Mixed by
Nigel Green, Mike Shipley
Mixed at
Battery Studios
Engineered by
Nigel Green, Erwin Musper, Ronald Prent, Peter Woolliscroft, Mark Flannery
Label
Mercury Records
Length
1:02:38

Line-up

  • Rick Allen · drums (drum set)
  • Steve Clark · guitar
  • Phil Collen · guitar
  • Rick Savage · bass guitar
  • The Bankrupt Brothers · background vocals
  • Joe Elliott · lead vocals

Singles

  • “Animal” · July 1987
  • “Women” · August 1987
  • “Pour Some Sugar on Me” · September 1987
  • “Hysteria” · November 1987
  • “Armageddon It” · March 1988
  • “Love Bites” · July 1988
  • “Rocket” · January 1989

Peak chart positions

ChartPeak
UK Albums Chart · 1987–19891
US Billboard 200 · 1987–19891
Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1987–19891
Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts) · 1987–19891
New Zealand Albums · 1987–19891
Norwegian Albums · 1987–19891
US Cashbox Albums Chart · 1987–19891
US Catalog Albums · 2017–20181
Swedish Albums · 1987–19892
Swiss Albums · 1987–19892
All 19 charts
Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1987–19895
US Top Rock Albums · 2017–20185
European Albums (European Top 100 Albums) · 1987–19897
German Albums · 1987–198910
Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1987–198912
Dutch Albums · 1987–198914
Austrian Albums · 2017–201871
Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · 2017–201876
Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 2017–2018153

Certifications

RegionCertification
Australia4× Platinum
Canada · 1988Diamond
Denmark · 2024Gold
Germany · 1992Gold
Ireland2× Platinum
Japan · 1988Gold
Mexico · 1987Gold
New ZealandPlatinum
Norway · 1987Gold
Sweden · 1988Gold
Switzerland · 1990Platinum
United Kingdom · 19882× Platinum
United States · 198912× Platinum

From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.

75.9
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
8.6k
ListenBrainz listeners
225k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
38k
Deezer fans (all editions)
← Pyromania (1983)Adrenalize (1992) →

Released the same week

The $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re‐Revisited by Metallica, album cover
The $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re‐Revisited
Metallica · 1987

More from Def Leppard

Full discography →
The Def Leppard E.P. by Def Leppard, album cover
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1978
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1980
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1981
Pyromania by Def Leppard, album cover
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1983
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1992
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1993
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1995
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1996
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1999
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2002
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2004
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2005
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2006
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2008
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2011
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2013
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2015
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2018
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2018
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2020
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2021
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The best of 1987

All of 1987 →
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A Momentary Lapse of Reason
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More on Mercury Records

The label →
The $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re‐Revisited by Metallica, album cover
The $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re‐Revisited
Metallica · 1987
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Def Leppard · 1996

Releases and pressings

How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz + wikidata
SourceDateNote
MusicBrainz3 August 1987
Wikipedia infobox3 August 1987
Wikidata3 August 1987
US release3 August 1987earliest US date
UK / Europe release3 August 1987earliest UK or European date
37 editions
DateCountryLabelBarcodeKind
—USMercury Records015775158023other
—XEBludgeon Riffola042283067523other
1987XEMercury Records042283067516other
1987ZABludgeon Riffola6001210538738other
1987USMercury Records042283067516other
3 August 1987GBMercury Records042283067516original
3 August 1987USMercury Records042283067523original
3 August 1987CABludgeon Riffola042283067523original
3 August 1987USMercury Records042283067523original
3 August 1987GBMercury Records042283067523original
3 August 1987CABludgeon Riffola042283067547original
3 August 1987USMercury Records042283067523original
17 August 1987DEBludgeon Riffola042283067523other
25 August 1987JPMercury Records4988011306143other
25 January 1989JPBludgeon Riffola4988011314186other
15 December 1991JPMercury Records4988011329586other
11 May 1993USMobile Fidelity Sound Lab015775158023other
16 October 2006XEBludgeon Riffola602498430477deluxe
30 April 2008JPMercury Records4988005509567other
8 October 2008JPMercury Records4988005531902other
26 August 2009JPMercury Records4988005572301deluxe
12 October 2011JPMercury Records4988005677556other
4 August 2017USUMC602557560787deluxe
4 August 2017USUMC602557560930deluxe
4 August 2017USBludgeon Riffolaother
4 August 2017XEUMC602557567014other
4 August 2017USUMC602557567014deluxe
4 August 2017JPUniversal Music4988031235119deluxe
4 August 2017—Bludgeon Riffola602557560923other
4 August 2017USBludgeon Riffoladeluxe
19 January 2018DZMercury Records602567176176deluxe
19 January 2018XWMercury Records602567295600other
19 January 2018DZUniversal UMC602567295594other
19 January 2018DZUniversal UMC602567176084deluxe
19 January 2018AIMercury Records602567305712deluxe
27 August 2022GB—602445779123other
25 October 2023JPUMC4988031597552other
Cover art sources

coverartarchive · native: native 3000x3000

SourceSizeVerdict
coverartarchive ✓3000×3000native: native 3000x3000
itunes3000×3000native
deezer1200×1200upscaled
fanarttv1000×1000upscaled