Def Leppard – The Story Behind Animal - video Dailymotion

Def Leppard's Joe Elliott looks back on the story behind their first UK and US hit single, Animal, from 1987.

Transcript

00:00 [Music]

00:16 My recollection of animal is fading somewhat because it's a long time ago.

00:22 [Music]

00:36 The one thing about that song, as opposed to everything else on the album,

00:40 or anybody that's ever been in a band and had a song that they've lived with for a while

00:45 but then ended up rewriting parts of it,

00:47 I sang the lead vocal to a completely different backing track.

00:51 It was vastly different.

00:53 [Music]

01:22 I did the vocal for it in Paris.

01:25 We went to work in Paris. I remember we were there when Live Aid was on.

01:28 We were there for the Bastille day and we were working in this little studio.

01:32 And I did the vocal. We spent a couple of days just experimenting with it and then nailing it down.

01:37 And then when we took the tapes back to Holland where we went to finish the album off,

01:41 between Holland and Dublin, we kind of grew tired of the backing track.

01:47 But everybody was commenting on how much they liked the lead vocal,

01:50 so I think it would have been much better to just say,

01:52 "Well look, what I'm going to do is I'm going to strip all the track off

01:55 and just leave the vocal playing against the drums.

01:58 I want you guys to just play underneath and see what you come up with."

02:02 And totally updated the song to the point where it's almost timeless now.

02:06 It was starting to age even before it was released in its original form.

02:11 ♪ And I want, and I need, and I love, and I need more. ♪

02:19 ♪ And I want, and I need, and I love, and I need more. ♪

02:27 ♪ Hey! ♪

02:29 ♪ Woo! ♪

02:31 ♪ Crack a little baby. ♪

02:34 ♪ A cracker's in me. ♪

02:35 ♪ Gonna have you. ♪

02:38 ♪ I'm gonna have a whole lot. ♪

02:42 ♪ Gonna get through you every round. ♪

02:45 ♪ I'm gonna have a whole lot. ♪

02:47 ♪ I'm gonna get through you every round. ♪

02:51 (music fades)

02:53 [BLANK_AUDIO]