Album · Compilation
Retro Active
Retro Active is a compilation from Def Leppard, released on 4 October 1993 in the UK and Europe, with a US release the following day on their own Bludgeon Riffola label. It gathers B-sides and previously unreleased recordings from sessions across 1984 to 1993, with several tracks touched up for the collection.
It arrived between Adrenalize (1992) and Slang (1996), and works as a look at what the band left on the shelf during the Hysteria years and after. For fans who know the hit albums well, it offers the sideroads of their story rather than a rerun of the singles. It reached number 9 on the Billboard 200 and number 6 on the UK Albums Chart.
Retro Active: tracklist, credits and charts
13 tracks · 1:00:35Tracklist
- 1Desert SongAllen, Campbell, Collen, Elliott, Savage5:19
- 2Fractured LoveAllen, Campbell, Collen, Elliott, Savage5:08
- 3ActionConnolly, Priest, Scott, Tucker3:40
- 4Two Steps Behind (acoustic version)Joe Elliott4:17
- 5She’s Too ToughJoe Elliott3:40
- 6Miss You in a HeartbeatPhil Collen4:04
- 7Only After DarkScott Richardson and Mick Ronson3:52
- 8Ride Into the SunJoe Elliott and Rick Savage3:12
- 9From the InsideJoe Elliott4:16
- 10Ring of FireClark, Collen, Elliott, Lange, Savage4:42
- 11I Wanna Be Your HeroClark, Collen, Elliott, Lange, Savage4:29
- 12Miss You in a Heartbeat (electric version)Phil Collen4:56
- 13Two Steps Behind (electric version) / Miss You in a Heartbeat (unplugged)8:59
- Produced by
- Def Leppard, Pete Woodroffe, The Hippies From Hell, Pete Woodroffe, Robert John “Mutt” Lange
- Recorded at
- Joe’s Garage, Wisseloord Studios, (Hilversum, Netherlands), Rainbow Studios, (Munich, Germany), Bow Lane Studios, (Dublin, Ireland)
- Recorded
- February 1984 – June 1993
- Mixed by
- Pete Woodroffe, Mike Shipley, Def Leppard, Nigel Green
- Engineered by
- Albert Boekholt, Ronald Prent, Pete Woodroffe, Janfred Arendsen, Nigel Green, Stephen McLaughlin, Freek Feenstra, Erwin Musper, Robert Scovill, Mark Flannery
- Label
- Bludgeon Riffola
- Length
- 1:00:35
Line-up
- Rick Allen · drums (drum set)
- Steve Clark · electric guitar
- Phil Collen · electric guitar, background vocals, acoustic guitar
- Rick Savage · bass guitar, keyboard, background vocals, acoustic bass guitar, electric guitar
- Joe Elliott · lead vocals, background vocals, piano, vocals
- Vivian Campbell · background vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar
- PJ Smith · background vocals · guest
- Def Leppard · guest
- Pete Woodroffe · piano · guest
- Ian Hunter · piano · guest
- Fiachna Ó Braonáin · tin whistle · guest
- Liam Ó Maonlaí · grand piano · guest
- Peter O’Toole · mandolin · guest
- Robert John “Mutt” Lange · background vocals · guest
Singles
- “Two Steps Behind” · August 1993 (US)
- “Miss You in a Heartbeat” · December 1993 (US)
- “Action” · January 1994 (UK)
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1993–1994 | 6 |
| US Billboard 200 · 1993–1994 | 9 |
| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts) · 1993–1994 | 6 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1993–1994 | 7 |
| Swiss Albums · 1993–1994 | 7 |
| Swedish Albums · 1993–1994 | 12 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1993–1994 | 16 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1993–1994 | 33 |
| German Albums · 1993–1994 | 36 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Canada · 1993 | Platinum |
| Switzerland · 1994 | Gold |
| United Kingdom · 1994 | Silver |
| United States · 1994 | Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
37.8
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
479
ListenBrainz listeners
43k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
3.4k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 4 October
Every year →
More from Def Leppard
Full discography →
The Def Leppard E.P.
1978
On Through the Night
1980
High ’n’ Dry
1981
Pyromania
1983
Hysteria
1987
Adrenalize
1992
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 1993
All of 1993 →
In Utero
Nirvana · 1993
Pablo Honey
Radiohead · 1993
Siamese Dream
The Smashing Pumpkins · 1993
Vs.
Pearl Jam · 1993
“The Spaghetti Incident?”
Guns N’ Roses · 1993
Undertow
Tool · 1993
Chaos A.D.
Sepultura · 1993
Bloody Kisses
Type O Negative · 1993
Live at Donington: August 22nd 1992
Iron Maiden · 1993
A Real Live One
Iron Maiden · 1993
A Real Dead One
Iron Maiden · 1993
Bastards
Motörhead · 1993
More on Bludgeon Riffola
The label →Euphoria
Def Leppard · 1999
Vault: Def Leppard Greatest Hits 1980–1995
Def Leppard · 1995
X
Def Leppard · 2002
Yeah!
Def Leppard · 2006
Songs From the Sparkle Lounge
Def Leppard · 2008
The Story So Far: The Best of Def Leppard
Def Leppard · 2018
The Def Leppard E.P.
Def Leppard · 1978
Live at Abbey Road Studios
Def Leppard · 2018
Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection
Def Leppard · 2005
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz; also seen: 1993-10-05 (wikidata)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 4 October 1993 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 4 October 1993 | |
| Wikidata | 5 October 1993 | |
| US release | 5 October 1993 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 4 October 1993 | earliest UK or European date |
14 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | XE | Bludgeon Riffola | 731451830525 | other |
| 1993 | FR | Bludgeon Riffola | 731451830525 | other |
| 1993 | FR | Bludgeon Riffola | 731451830525 | deluxe |
| 1993 | ZA | Bludgeon Riffola | 6001210693031 | other |
| 4 October 1993 | XE | Bludgeon Riffola | 731451830525 | original |
| 4 October 1993 | JP | Bludgeon Riffola | 4988011337871 | original |
| 4 October 1993 | GB | Bludgeon Riffola | 731451830525 | original |
| 5 October 1993 | US | Mercury Records | 731451830525 | other |
| 8 October 2008 | JP | Mercury Records | 4988005531926 | other |
| 18 May 2016 | JP | Mercury Records | 4988031147351 | other |
| 19 January 2018 | DZ | Bludgeon Riffola | 602567157724 | other |
| 19 January 2018 | DZ | Bludgeon Riffola | 602567157748 | other |
| 6 May 2022 | CA | Bludgeon Riffola | 602567313823 | other |
| 25 October 2023 | JP | UMC | 4988031597576 | other |
Cover art sources
itunes · native: native 3000x3000
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| itunes ✓ | 3000×3000 | native: native 3000x3000 |
| coverartarchive | 1404×1413 | upscaled |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |