Def Leppard News - 4 Years Ago Def Leppard Release Re-Recorded Version Of Hysteria

4 Years Ago Def Leppard Release Re-Recorded Version Of Hysteria

Sunday, 19th March 2017

Def Leppard released a new re-recorded version of Hysteria on this day in 2013 ahead of their first Las Vegas residency.

The 'Hysteria 2013 (Re-Recorded Version)' was released digitally via Amazon and iTunes on 19th March 2013.

The release came a few days before they started the VIVA! Hysteria residency in Las Vegas, NV.

The new version was mostly recorded at Joe's Garage studio in Dublin, Ireland and co-produced by the band and Ronan McHugh.

The second time the band had re-recorded classic old songs after putting out new versions of 'Rock Of Ages' and 'Pour Some Sugar On Me' in 2012 before the 'Rock Of Ages' tour with Poison/Liat Ford.

The decision to re-record these old songs was a major talking point amongst fans at the time with many unhappy with the new versions.

In the years since various band members explained the situation with Universal Records and the reasons for their ongoing dispute over digital royalties and why Universal are not allowed to sell Def Leppard songs digitally.

The potential forthcoming vinyl reissues/box set being partly release in conjunction with Universal could be a sign of a thawing of relations between the band and their old record company, paving the way for digital releases of their original back catalogue.

The band publicly raised their middle fingers to Universal at the June 2011 Kerrang! Awards in London.

Buy 'Hysteria 2013 (Re-Recorded Version)' Online

Buy MP3 @ - Amazon

Joe Elliott - 19th March 2013 Interview Quote

"We wanted to do something special to coincide with the Las Vegas Viva! Hysteria residency, so we decided that to re-record the album's title track would be the perfect way to bring together the live and the studio experience in a 2013 celebration of all things Hysteria."

Joe Elliott - July 2012 Interview Quotes

"Our contract is such that they can't do anything with our music without our permission, not a thing. So we just sent them a letter saying, 'No matter what you want, you are going to get "no" as an answer, so don't ask.' That's the way we've left it. We'll just replace our back catalog with brand new, exact same versions of what we did."

Joe Elliott - August 2012 Interview Quotes

"It's about principle. I'd be lying if I didn't say it was about money because the problem we've got is, they want to pay us what we think is a ridiculously low rate. It’s a well-known fact: Artists throughout the years have always been shafted by record companies. … The reason we're being so sticky about it is because two years ago, we made a deal with a gentleman at Universal who was pretty much on our side -- he was a fan, a smart businessman and a fair guy -- and we shook hands. Fifteen days later, somebody above his head said the deal's not going through. To an Englishman, when you shake hands, it's a binding contract, and Universal reneged on it. So we dug in our heels and said, “We're gonna say a blanket no to anything that you ask for."

"They can't release our back catalog, we're not going to let them put a song on a compilation unless we want it there, and they'll never be able to license. They won’t be able to do anything without our permission because that’s in our contract."

"We want to get the same rate for digital as we do when we sell CDs, and they're trying to give us a rate that doesn't even come close. They illegally put up our songs for a while, paying us the rate they chose without even negotiating with us, so we had our lawyer take them down."

"When you do your own recordings, you're making about 85 percent and 15 percent goes to iTunes or whichever particular digital domain you put them up. Something along those lines would be fair. But they were offering us the opposite -- a quarter of what we get paid on our CDs. So we thought if we can't get them to pay us a decent rate on the digital, then we're going to go in, rerecord them and pay ourselves decently."

Joe Elliott - January 2013 Interview Quotes

"We're trying to wrestle back our career and ownership of these songs. They [Universal] own the originals, we're at loggerheads with them over the digital rights. And as long as they're playing silly buggers we'll just keep recording them again."

"Until we can come to some kind of humane conclusion to this ridiculous stand-off, we're going to say: 'Fuck you!' We were offered a great deal two years ago and shook hands on it. And then some other twat at the label put a stop to it. It's our life and our music and we're not going to let them exploit us to the extent that they're trying to."

"Between us and Bon Jovi we fucking built that company. We built their penthouse sushi bar, wherever it may be, and they just treated us like shit. We can either roll over like little dandelions or we can stand up and punch them in the bollocks. And that's exactly what we're doing."

Rick Allen - February 2016 Interview Quote

"The royalty rates they were talking about giving us is a joke. It seems insane to me the record company continues to let this go."

Joe Elliott - June 2011 Interview Quote

"I'm not going to use 'dispute,' but we're in negotiations with our now ex-record company and until we come up with some satisfactory decision, a relatively sane offer to put the music up, then we won't do it because we won't put our music up for free. They're not allowed to put it up, we can actually stop them - we have stopped them doing it. We will go with rerecording our own back catalog ourselves or come to some kind of negotiation."

19th March 2013 Hysteria Re-Record - Press Release Quotes

On the 3rd August 1987 British rock band Def Leppard released the album 'Hysteria'. Already a major force in rock music, 'Hysteria' catapulted the band into the stratosphere. The album has sold in excess of 20 million copies and counting.

Due to the incredible success of previous album 'Pyromania' (released in 1983) and 'Hysteria' Def Leppard are one of only five rock groups who can claim two separate original 10 million plus selling albums in the US. The others are The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Van Halen. The 'Hysteria' album also spawned 7 hit singles! Enormous hits such as 'Pour Some Sugar On Me', 'Animal', 'Love Bites', 'Armageddon It' and 'Rocket' are rock staples that still enjoy huge popularity today and have helped make Def Leppard Britain’s greatest ever arena rock band.

2013 sees Def Leppard release 'Hysteria 2013' – a contemporary take on their classic album’s title track. Produced by Def Leppard and Ronan McHugh, the single was recorded in Joe’s Studio in Dublin, Eire.

Fresh off their 2012 USA “Rock Of Ages” tour, Def Leppard has announced plans for an exclusive eleven show residency at The Joint inside Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Las Vegas. The band’s will be playing songs from across the whole spectrum of their career in addition to their iconic album 'Hysteria' being played in full. Entitled VIVA Hysteria!, the spring 2013 residency will kick off on Friday, March 22nd and run through Saturday, April 13th. Show time is 8pm.

Produced exclusively by AEG Live, VIVA Hysteria!, will feature an elaborate set design created only for Def Leppard’s Las Vegas residency and will include an encore performance highlighting other classic material from throughout the band’s career. Known for legendary big-scale arena shows, Def Leppard will bring their over-the-top production to The Joint offering an up-close-and-personal experience like never before. With the furthest seat only 155 feet from the intimate venue’s stage, VIVA Hysteria! is unlike any show the band has ever done or will ever do again.

Having sold over 100 million albums worldwide since their debut release in 1980 and proved themselves one of rock music’s hardest working and consistently powerful live bands (playing to over 50 million fans in the last 15 years alone), Def Leppard’s 'Hysteria Re-Recorded' is a single not to miss!