Pour Some Sugar on Me

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"Pour Some Sugar on Me" is a song recorded by British hard rock band Def Leppard in 1987 from the album Hysteria. It reached number 2 on the U.S. Hot 100. It later became an MTV classic^{[citation needed]}, and is generally regarded as the band's signature song. The title of the song alludes to the coda of the 1969 bubblegum pop classic "Sugar, Sugar" by The Archies.

Although the band was nearing the end of recording sessions for Hysteria in 1986, producer Mutt Lange felt that the album was still lacking a song that would have an appeal beyond the hard rock fans who had bought Pyromania. That song came to him during a bathroom break. Singer Joe Elliott was jamming with a riff he'd come up with recently on the guitar, and Lange suggested that the riff be taken a step further. It was a risky move, as everyone in the band had been worn out by the never-ending sessions.

By Def Leppard standards, the song was developed and recorded quickly, within two weeks (in contrast to "Animal", which took almost three years) and included as the 12th track on Hysteria. "Pour Some Sugar on Me" was released as the second single from the album in the UK, where it reached the top 20. The British single was accompanied by a video depicting the band playing in a house as it is being demolished and features a cameo by the members of Tesla in the outdoor crowd scenes.

However, by the spring of 1988, Hysteria had sold "only" 3 million copies, but it still wasn't enough to cover the album's production costs (the most expensive ever at the time). Thus, the band edited footage from an upcoming concert film to make a new promo clip for "Pour Some Sugar on Me" and finally released it as the fourth single in North America.

The video, intended to showcase the vibe of the band's "In the Round" shows, instantly gained heavy MTV airplay. The song itself caught on with pop radio with an arena rock anthem feel in the style of Queen's "We Will Rock You" and Joan Jett's "I Love Rock 'N Roll" (in fact, the verses of Pour Some Sugar On Me strongly resemble the verses from We Will Rock You, while the chord progression of the chorus of Pour Some Sugar On Me is exactly the same as the one in I Love Rock 'N Roll). The band later confessed that the semi-rap verses were inspired by the Aerosmith/Run-D.M.C. version of "Walk This Way"^{[citation needed]}.

The success of "Pour Some Sugar on Me" would send sales of Hysteria into the stratosphere. It finally reached number 1 on the Top Pop Albums (now the Billboard 200) a year after release, and sold four million copies during the single's run. The video remained at number 1 on the request show Dial MTV for 68 days.^{[citation needed]}

MTV would rank "Pour Some Sugar on Me" #1 in its "Top 100 Videos of All Time" Countdown in 1991. In 2006, VH1 ranked the song #2 on its list of the "100 Greatest Songs of the '80s".^{[citation needed]}

In 2005, the single was awarded RIAA Gold certification for digital downloads of over 500,000 units, despite the fact that it was not even commercially released that year. It is one of very few songs recorded before 2004 to accomplish this feat.

Further cementing the timeless popularity of "Pour Some Sugar on Me", the song also charted as a top 40 Ringtone that same year.

The music video for the song had an extended, distortion-laden intro in lieu of the album version's "Step inside, walk this way" intro. Most compilations use the extended music video-style intro.

[edit] Video

• US version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSaAXDBvfho

[edit] Track listing

7": Bludgeon Riffola / Mercury / 870 298-7 (USA)

1. "Pour Some Sugar On Me"
2. "Ring Of Fire"

US Vinyl, 12"

1. Pour Some Sugar On Me [Extended Version]
2. Pour Some Sugar On Me [Album Version]
3. I Wanna Be Your Hero

Germany CD, Maxi-Single

1. Pour Some Sugar On Me 4:23
2. Rocket [The Lunar Mix] 7:06
3. Rock Of Ages [Live] 9:15

[edit] Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• It's been said that Joe Elliott's lyrical delivery of the song foreshadowed the fusion of rap and rock styles that would be later embraced by Kid Rock and Limp Bizkit^{[citation needed]}.
• The 2000 film Coyote Ugly helped to introduce "Sugar" to a new generation, as it was one of the most prominently featured songs, played during two key moments in the film. Curiously enough, it is not included on either of the movie's two soundtrack albums.
• Shania Twain, Mutt Lange's wife, performed "Pour Some Sugar on Me" during her early years in Canadian lounge bars, and has gone on record in expressing a strong interest in recording the song one day.
• There are two different, but equally known intros of the song:
  • 1) The original version on Hysteria, beginning with "step inside, walk this way, you and me, babe! Hey! Hey!";
    
  • 2) The U.S. video clip version, beginning with "love is like a bomb". This version is now the one used on compilation albums.
• The song has long been a favorite at strip clubs, a fact confirmed by Howard Stern when Def Leppard were guests on his radio show.
• There are two different music videos to the song:
  • 1) A video showing the band playing inside a derelict Irish stately home (Mount Merrion House at Stillorgan, Dublin) while it is being demolished by wrecking-balls. Members of the band Tesla appear in the crowd scenes. This version, filmed in 1986, was disliked by the band.
  • 2) A video of the band playing the song live, aimed at American audiences.
• The American video was edited from the band's full-length 1989 video release, "Live: In the Round in Your Face", recorded at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado in February 1988.
• Only one laser was needed for the live performance featured in the US video. It was merely bounced off dozens of mirrors to achieve the desired effect. [1]
• The video's director, Wayne Isham, has directed many classic rock videos before and after "Pour Some Sugar on Me".
• Bill Simmons of ESPN.com recently called the song the "greatest strip club song of all time." [2]
• It was played in TV promotions for Blades of Glory.
• It was performed by the Tampa based karaoke band "Rocklamation" during the Gasparilla festivals 2001-2004.
• The Christian band Apologetix did a parody of this song titled "Learn Some Deuteronomy".
• The song was referenced in an episode of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, when Mac drinks some fruit punch that has been over filled with sugar he sings "Pour some sugar on Mac."
• The song was recorded by Emm Gryner on her album of rock covers entitled "Girl Versions".
• The lyrics from Pour Some Sugar On Me are used in the Online Game World Of Warcraft in a flirt by the Blood Elf Race.
• The song was used in a scene in the movie Balls of Fury.
• A riff similar to the song, but different enough to not legally be infringement, was used in an episode of Family Guy, Saving Private Brian.
• In the video inside the Irish estate, Rick Allen is wearing a Metallica shirt.