Tuesday, 30th January 2018
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26 Years Ago DEF LEPPARD's PYROMANIA Album Certified 8xPlatinum In USA

Pyromania 1983.

Def Leppard's classic Pyromania album was certified eight times platinum in the USA 26 years ago on this day in 1992.

The band's third studio album had been released on 20th January 1983 in North America.

It reached Number Two on the Billboard Top 200 chart in May 1983 spending two weeks there.

It was certified eight times Platinum on 30th January 1992.

The album sold over 7 million copies in the USA by late 1988 and by 2004 had sold over 10 million and earned the band its second Diamond award.

It unexpectedly re-entered the Billboard chart in September 2014 for another six weeks. This brought its total weeks on the Billboard Top 200 chart to 122.

The success of the album was helped by the three singles - Photograph, Rock Of Ages and Foolin' which all reached the Top 20 or 30 on the Hot 100 singles chart between May and November 1983.

The band have stated that when they eventually return to play a second Las Vegas residency they might play the 'Pyromania' album in full.

Just under ten years later the album would achieve Diamond status with 10 million sales in July 2004. Their second Diamond Award after 'Hysteria'.

Read some comments about this album below.

Pyromania Album - USA Certification

  • 30th January 1992 - 8x Platinum - (8 Million Album Sales)
Def Leppard 1983. Def Leppard 1983

'Pyromania' Album Title Origin - Joe Elliott 1992 Quote

"Pyromania got titled Pyromania because a guy called Craig Thomson, who was an engineer on it accused us of being PYROMANIACS because we were having such a bad time trying to get the Marshalls to sound good on the Pyromania album."

"At one stage Steve and Mutt suggested we should take them into the garden and burn them. Craig piped up in a brilliant broad Scottish accent."

"Arck you're awl just a bunch of Pyromaniacs! - and hence it became Pyromania. That is where that album name came from, pure accident. That is outside input of a sort but on a definite inside trait and definitely not 'I've got an idea for the album' sort of thing."

Joe Elliott - 'Pyromania' Postcards from 'Work It Out' Single 1996

"Goodbye Pete Willis, hello Phil Collen."

"We decided to try and do something that no other rock band had tried before - blueprint "Sgt. Pepper" (but a bit heavier)."

"A period of time when we allowed our Pop sensibility to come to the fore...and guess what? Our first major success...huge in the U.S....but nowhere else."

Joe Elliott - September 2015 Interview Quotes

"But with Pyromania, when you're selling six million records in America and a tour that started off at the Marquee ends with the last gig in San Diego in front of 55,000 people, there's not much you can say about what went wrong."

'Mutt' asked us: 'What was the biggest pisser of the year for you guys?'. We said: 'Michael Jackson stopping us from getting to number one.' There are worse problems, you know?."

1987 Animal Instinct Biography Quotes

"With Pyromania, the Def Leppard Admiration Society increased its membership by the multi-millions. By September 1983, Pyromania had sold four million copies, becoming the biggest-selling non-soundtrack LP in their record companies history."

"Notably, cassette sales of the album were outstripping record sales three-to-two. Fans were obviously buying Pyromania tapes to play on their car stereos, confirming that the album was great teenage cruising music."


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Phil Collen - Guitar
Phil Collen - Guitar
Phil Collen - Guitar
Phil Collen - Guitar