| "Love Bites" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Def Leppard | ||||
| from the album Hysteria | ||||
| B-side | Billy's Got a Gun (Live) | |||
| Released | 1988 | |||
| Format | 7" | |||
| Recorded | 1984-1987 | |||
| Genre | Hard rock | |||
| Length | 5:46 | |||
| Label | Mercury | |||
| Writer(s) | Joe Elliott, Phil Collen, Steve Clark, Rick Savage, Robert John "Mutt" Lange | |||
| Producer | Robert John "Mutt" Lange | |||
| Def Leppard singles chronology | ||||
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"Love Bites" is a power ballad recorded by British rock band Def Leppard in 1987 on the album Hysteria. It is Def Leppard's only number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100 to date.
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The title "Love Bites" was originally used for a very different song that was eventually re-titled "I Wanna Be Your Hero", and which appeared as a Hysteria B-side and later on the album Retro Active.
Following the huge momentum generated by "Pour Some Sugar on Me", the song was released in August 1988 and quickly shot to the top of the U.S. charts, dethroning Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry Be Happy". It stayed there for one week before giving up the position to UB40's "Red Red Wine". The song also hit number eleven in the UK (their second best showing from the album).
"Love Bites" was ranked #8 on the list of "VH1's 25 Greatest Power Ballads" and #52 on the list of "VH1's 100 Greatest Love Songs".
An urban legend about the song concerns the final seconds. After the line "If you've got love in your sights, watch out, love bites", what is seemingly heard is "Jesus of Nazareth, go to Hell". This rumour has been denied by the band, most notably on a Hysteria documentary. The line is in fact producer Mutt Lange rambling in a Yorkshire accent, to the effect of "Yes it does, bloody Hell", with the aid of a vocoder.
The live track was recorded at Tilburg, Netherlands in 1987[1]
| Preceded by "Don't Worry, Be Happy" by Bobby McFerrin |
Billboard Hot 100 number-one single October 8, 1988 |
Succeeded by "Red Red Wine" by UB40 |