Friday, 8th March 2018
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39 Years Ago DEF LEPPARD's HELLO AMERICA Single At Number 45 In UK

Def Leppard 1980. Hello America 1980

Def Leppard's classic single Hello America hit Number 45 in the UK singles chart 39 years ago on this day in 1980.

The first and only UK single to be taken from the 'On Through The Night' album was released in February.

The single peaked at Number 45 on this day in 1980.

In all it spent four weeks on the Top 75 chart.

Having entered on 23rd February at 72 it went up to 55 in week 2, 45 in week three before falling to its last position of 52.

The song was a brand new recording. The 1979 'Wasted' single having included the first version which was recorded in September 1979 in London, England at Olympic Studios.

The band performed the song on UK TV show Top Of The Pops but the recording was not broadcast due to the single failing to enter the main Top 40. Only the Top 40 was covered on the show.

Blondie were at Number One on this day with their single 'Atomic'.

Other rock acts on the chart that week included Rainbow (10), AC/DC (29), Iron Maiden (34) and Sammy Hagar (43).

Def Leppard had toured with both AC/DC and Sammy Hagar in late 1979 and would go on to make their New York debut in August 1980 with AC/DC and new singer Brian Johnson.

Hello America 1980.

UK Singles Chart - 8th March 1980

  • 01 - Blondie - Atomic
  • 02 - Fern Kinney - Together We Are Beautiful
  • 03 - Marti Webb - Take That Look Off Your Face
  • 04 - Elvis Costello - I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down
  • 05 -The Whispers - And The Beat Goes On
  • 45 - Def Leppard - Hello America - (Peak Position)

Joe Elliott - March 2016 Interview Quote

"We had never even been to America at that point. I was working in a factory with lots of nuts and bolts and no natural light. But there was a lot of downtime, and I would sit around writing stuff. With this one, I had seen a TV show the night before - Kojak or Starsky & Hutch, something where they show the tree-lined boulevards of L.A. You see all these palm trees and you go, "Wow, this is a lot sexier than Sheffield!" That's where that lyric came from - "Well I'm takin' me a trip/I'm going down to Californ-i-a." It was, "Get me out of here!"."


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