"Action" | ||||
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Single by Sweet | ||||
from the album Strung Up and Give Us a Wink | ||||
B-side |
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Released | July 1975 (UK) | |||
Recorded | 1975 | |||
Genre | Hard rock[1] | |||
Length |
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Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Sweet | |||
Sweet singles chronology | ||||
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"Action" is a self-written and produced 1975 song by British glam rock band Sweet.
The song went through several iterations; a 7" single version was recorded at Ian Gillan's Kingsway Studios in London and slightly different versions appear on the albums Strung Up and Give Us a Wink.[citation needed] The lyrics refer to Sweet's negative treatment as pop stars, particularly by the music press, and to the demands of the music industry. The track features a masked "backwards vocal" with the words "You kiss my arse".[citation needed]
The first verse has a striking resemblance to the hard rock section of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody", which was not released for another four months.[citation needed] Lead singer Brian Connolly called it a "blatant rip-off".[citation needed]
The single reached No. 15 in the UK in July 1975, and went to the Top 40 in the US the following year.
Chart (1975) | Peak position |
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Australia (Kent Music Report)[2] | 4 |
UK Singles (OCC)[3] | 15 |
US Billboard Hot 100[4] | 20 |
Chart (1975) | Position |
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Australia (Kent Music Report)[2] | 37 |
"Action" | ||||
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Single by Def Leppard | ||||
from the album Retro Active | ||||
B-side |
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Released | 3 January 1994 (UK)[5] | |||
Recorded | 1992–1993 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:41 | |||
Label | Bludgeon Riffola | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Def Leppard | |||
Def Leppard singles chronology | ||||
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In 1993, English rock band Def Leppard covered "Action" on their album Retro Active. "Andy [Scott] said that our version of 'Action' was the best cover of a Sweet song he'd ever heard," noted singer Joe Elliott.[6] The original 1992 recording, recorded before guitarist Vivian Campbell joined the band, was released as a B-side to "Make Love Like a Man"; the version featured on Retro Active and released as a single features a newly-recorded snare drum from drummer Rick Allen and additional backing vocals from Campbell and P.J. Smith. The single charted at number 14 on UK Singles Chart.[7]
The music video was directed by Phil Tuckett from NFL entertainment. The approximate shooting date was between June and December 1993; in Sheffield, Ottawa, and Joe Elliott's home in Ireland. The band 'discovered' the masked backwards vocal on the original track and refer to it on the CD single cover.
Leppard's version reappeared on a special edition of their 2006 album Yeah!.
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