Armageddon It

"Armageddon It" is a song by the English hard rock band Def Leppard from their 1987 album Hysteria. It was released as a single in 1988 and went to No. 3 in the United States, becoming their fourth top-ten hit. It also reached the top 10 in Canada and New Zealand and the top 20 in Ireland and the United Kingdom.

"Armageddon It"
Single by Def Leppard
from the album Hysteria
B-side
  • "Ring of Fire" (UK)
  • "Release Me" (US)
Released
  • March 1988 (UK)
  • November 1988 (US)
Recorded1985–1986
Genre
Length
  • 5:24 (Atomic mix/album version)
  • 7:39 (Nuclear mix)
LabelMercury
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Robert John "Mutt" Lange
Def Leppard singles chronology
"Love Bites"
(1987)
"Armageddon It"
(1988)
"Rocket"
(1989)

The vocal style of the song is described as "T.Rex meets Eddie Cochran with backing vocals", according to lead singer Joe Elliott in the liner notes for Vault: Def Leppard Greatest Hits (1980-1995). There are two mixes of the song that appeared in the single: the "Atomic Mix", which is the album version, and the "Nuclear Mix", which is an extended version.

Music video

The video for the song was the second to feature Def Leppard in a live arena setting. On 12–13 February 1988, the band recorded two shows at the McNichols Arena in Denver, Colorado for a future live film release. However, a month later, "Armageddon It" was set to be released as the sixth single off the popular Hysteria album and a promo video clip was urgently needed.

From the band's end, there was hesitation to film another concept video. Although they were happy with the results for "Hysteria" and "Animal", they were very unsatisfied with the way "Pour Some Sugar on Me" had turned out for its concept. Therefore, an idea was pitched to quickly create a video edited from the Denver footage. It was another hit in the UK, reaching the Top 20. Months later, it was released in the United States and was even more successful, reaching the Top 3. However, "Pour Some Sugar on Me" was the first song used there for the "live" concept (in fact, many of the scenes are the same in the two), but instead of filming a different video, slight changes were made using footage filmed in October at the Omni in Atlanta, Georgia.

Track listings

CD: Bludgeon Riffola / LEPCD4 (UK) / 870 239-2 (INT)

  1. "Armageddon It"
  2. "Ring of Fire"
  3. "Animal"
  4. "Pour Some Sugar on Me"

7-inch: Bludgeon Riffola / Vertigo / 872 692-7P (CANADA) / Picture Disc

  1. "Armageddon It"
  2. "Release Me"

7-inch: Bludgeon Riffola / Polygram Records / Mercury / 872 692-7 (INT)

  1. "Armageddon It"
  2. "Release Me"

Personnel

Charts

References

  1. "Australian-charts.com – Def Leppard – Armageddon It". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  2. "RPM 100 Singles – January 23, 1989" (PDF). RPM. Vol. 49 no. 13. 23 January 1989. p. 6. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  3. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 5 no. 17. 23 April 1988. p. 25. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  4. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Armageddon It". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  5. "Charts.nz – Def Leppard – Armageddon It". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  6. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  7. "Def Leppard Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  8. "Def Leppard Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  9. "End of Year Charts 1988". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  10. "Top 100 Singles of '89". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  11. "1989 The Year in Music: Top Pop Singles" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 101 no. 51. 23 December 1989. p. Y-22. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
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