View source for Pour Some Sugar on Me

{{Short description|1987 single by Def Leppard}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox song
| name       = Pour Some Sugar on Me
| cover      = Def-Leppard-Pour-Some-Sugar-On-Me Single.jpg
| alt        =
| type       = single
| artist     = [[Def Leppard]]
| album      = [[Hysteria (Def Leppard album)|Hysteria]]
| B-side     =
* "I Wanna Be Your Hero" (UK)
* "Ring of Fire" (US)
| released   = 7 September 1987
| recorded   =
| studio     =
| genre      =
* [[Glam metal]]
* [[hard rock]]
* [[arena rock]]
* [[pop rock]]
| length     =
* 4:27 (album version)
* 4:24 (single version)
* 4:52 (''Hysteria'' video edit version)
* 5:35 (extended version)
* 4:21 (2012 re-recorded version)
| label      = [[Mercury Records|Mercury]]
| writer     =
* [[Joe Elliott]]
* [[Robert John "Mutt" Lange]]
* [[Phil Collen]]
* [[Steve Clark]]
* [[Rick Savage]]
| producer   = Robert John "Mutt" Lange
| prev_title = [[Women (Def Leppard song)|Women]]
| prev_year  = 1987
| next_title = [[Hysteria (Def Leppard song)|Hysteria]]
| next_year  = 1987
| misc       = {{Audio sample
 | type        = single
 | file        = Pour-some-sugar-on-me.ogg
 | description = "Pour Some Sugar on Me"
}}
{{External music video
 | type        = single
 | header      = Music videos
 | 1           = {{YouTube|UrZRpXoKoFQ|"Pour Some Sugar on Me" (UK version)}}
}}{{External music video
 | type = single
 | header = no
 | 1 = {{YouTube|0UIB9Y4OFPs|"Pour Some Sugar on Me" (U.S. version)}}
 }}
}}

"'''Pour Some Sugar on Me'''" is a song by the English rock band [[Def Leppard]] from their 1987 album ''[[Hysteria (Def Leppard album)|Hysteria]]''. It reached number two on the US [[Billboard Hot 100|US ''Billboard'' Hot 100]] chart on 23 July 1988. "Pour Some Sugar on Me" is considered the band's [[List of signature songs|signature song]],<ref>{{cite magazine| url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/pictures/readers-poll-the-best-hair-metal-songs-of-all-time-20120620/1-def-leppard-pour-some-sugar-on-me-0313847 | magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |access-date=12 March 2020 |title=Readers' Poll: The Best Hair Metal Songs of All Time |date=20 June 2012}}</ref> and was ranked number two on [[VH1]]'s "100 Greatest Songs of the 80s" in 2006.<ref name=dvf>{{cite web|url=http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/2006/vh180s.htm|title=Rock On The Net: VH1: 100 Greatest Songs of the 80's: 1–50}}</ref>

==Musical style==
"Pour Some Sugar on Me" has been labelled as a [[glam metal]],<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/readers-poll-the-10-greatest-hair-metal-songs-11547/3-def-leppard-pour-some-sugar-on-me-231823/|title=Readers' Poll: The 10 Greatest Hair Metal Songs|date=5 February 2014|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|access-date=17 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Popoff|first=Martin|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/858901054|title=The big book of hair metal : the illustrated oral history of heavy metal's debauched decade|date=2014|isbn=978-0-7603-4546-7|location=Minneapolis, MN|oclc=858901054|pages=146}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=The Ultimate Hair Metal Party Playlist|url=https://www.kerrang.com/features/the-ultimate-hair-metal-party-playlist/|access-date=4 March 2021|website=Kerrang!|date=5 April 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Matt|first=Metal|date=21 February 2014|title=Achy-Breaky Too: Five Hair Metal Jams Destined For Rap Redux|url=https://www.metalsucks.net/2014/02/21/achy-breaky-five-hair-metal-jams-destined-rap-redux/|access-date=14 March 2021|website=MetalSucks|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2 May 2012|title=Tom Cruise to sing Guns N' Roses, Def Leppard, Bon Jovi on 'Rock Of Ages' soundtrack|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/guns-n-roses-137-1284060|access-date=28 June 2021|website=NME|language=en-GB}}</ref> [[hard rock]],<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Wiederhorn|first=Jon|date=27 March 2020|title=Def Leppard Reflects on the 'Early Years' and Why Those Iron Maiden Comparisons Were 'Tiresome'|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/9344191/def-leppard-reflects-on-early-years-interview|access-date=12 February 2021|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]}}</ref> [[arena rock]],<ref>{{cite web|date=13 January 2016|title=Top 80 Hard Rock + Metal Albums of the 1980s|url=https://loudwire.com/top-hard-rock-metal-albums-1980s/|access-date=12 February 2021|website=[[Loudwire]]}}</ref> and [[pop rock]]<ref>{{cite web|date=12 July 2015|title=Top 100 '80s Rock Albums|url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/80s-rock-albums/|access-date=12 February 2021|website=Ultimate Classic Rock}}</ref> song with elements of [[industrial rock]] and [[electropop]].<ref>{{cite web |website=[[Consequence (publication)|Consequence]] |last=Brennan |first=Collin |url=https://consequence.net/2018/02/10-hair-metal-albums-that-dont-suck/3/ |title=10 Hair Metal Albums That Don't Suck |date=5 February 2018 |access-date=1 January 2025}}</ref>

==Production==
Near the end of recording the album ''[[Hysteria (Def Leppard album)|Hysteria]]'', during a production break, lead singer [[Joe Elliott]] was jamming with a riff he had come up with two weeks earlier on an acoustic guitar. Producer [[Robert John "Mutt" Lange]], expressing great liking of it, suggested that it be developed into another song.<ref>{{cite web |last1=McDonald |first1=Dani |title=How We Made: Def Leppard's singer reveals Pour Some Sugar On Me was an accident |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/music/104604941/how-we-made-def-leppards-singer-reveals-pour-some-sugar-on-me-was-an-accident |website=Stuff |date=14 June 2018 |access-date=12 January 2019 |language=en}}</ref>

Although already behind schedule, Lange felt that the album was still missing a strong crossover hit and that this last song had the potential to be one.{{Citation needed|date=October 2017}} Within two weeks the song was completed, smoothed out, and included as the fifth track on ''Hysteria''.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Newman |first1=Melinda |title=Def Leppard's 'Hysteria' Turns 30: An Oral History of the Album's Painful Path to Victory |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/7882158/def-leppard-hysteria-album-anniversary |magazine=Billboard |date=August 2017 |access-date=12 January 2019}}</ref>

Elliott claims the song was at least partially inspired by the [[Aerosmith]] and [[Run-DMC]] version of "[[Walk This Way]]", which made him realize the potential of the mixing of [[Rap rock|rap and rock]].<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Johnston|first=Maura |author-link=Maura Johnston |title=Def Leppard's 'Hysteria': 10 Things You Didn't Know |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/def-leppards-hysteria-10-things-you-didnt-know-253377/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=12 January 2019 |date=3 August 2017}}</ref>

The song's lyrics were written after Elliott and Lange went to opposite ends of the studio control room and delivered stream-of-consciousness words into a pair of dictaphones while the song's backing track played. They then swapped dictaphones and tried to determine what each other's words were. In the ''Hysteria'' episode of the ''[[Classic Albums]]'' documentary series, Elliott said he thought he heard the phrase "love is like a bomb" on Lange's tape "and that set the whole tone for the lyric."<ref>{{cite web |title=Twitch |url=https://www.twitch.tv/videos/44819327 |website=Twitch |access-date=12 January 2019}}</ref> (However, some of the key lyrics as well as the overall theme of the song are similar to those of the song "[[Sugar, Sugar]]" by the Archies.)

Two intros were recorded for the song: the studio version has "Step inside, walk this way, you and me babe, hey hey!" and then cuts immediately to the guitar, while the single version has "love is like a bomb" and a slightly longer progression.

By the spring of 1988, ''Hysteria'' had sold 3 million copies, which was not enough to cover the album's $5 million production costs. Thus, the band edited footage from an upcoming concert film to make a new promo clip for "Pour Some Sugar on Me" and finally released it as the fourth single in North America.

==Reception==

The somewhat delayed success of "Pour Some Sugar on Me" (due to the new promo release) helped send ''Hysteria'' to number 1 on the [[Billboard 200|Top Pop Albums]] chart (now the ''Billboard'' 200) a year after release, selling four million copies during the single's run. The song reached number 2 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|US ''Billboard'' Hot 100]], number 18 in the [[UK Singles Chart]] and number 26 on the [[ARIA charts|Australian Singles Chart]].<ref>[http://finnishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Def+Leppard&titel=Pour+Some+Sugar+On+Me&cat=s Chart positions @ Finnishcharts.com] Retrieved June 2009</ref><ref>{{cite book |first1=Neil |last1=Warwick |first2=Jon |last2=Kutner |first3=Tony |last3=Brown |year=2004 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ib4MyAIpe3MC&pg=PT268 |title=The complete book of the British charts: singles & albums |publisher=Omnibus Press|isbn=9781844490585 }}</ref>

[[MTV]] ranked "Pour Some Sugar on Me" number 1 in its "Top 300 Videos of All Time" countdown in May 1991. In 2006, [[VH1]] ranked the song number 2 on its list of the "100 Greatest Songs of the '80s."<ref name=dvf/>

In 2012, due to royalty conflicts<ref>{{cite web |last1=Halperin |first1=Shirley |title=Pour Some Sugar Again: Why Def Leppard is Rerecording Hits |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/def-leppard-universal-recording-hits-356397 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |date=August 2012 |access-date=12 January 2019 |language=en}}</ref> with their record company regarding profits from online sales, the band re-recorded the song, along with "[[Rock of Ages (Def Leppard song)|Rock of Ages]]", under the title "Pour Some Sugar on Me 2012" and released both digitally in June 2012 (similarly, a re-recorded version of the single "[[Hysteria (Def Leppard song)|Hysteria]]" entitled "Hysteria (2013 Re-recorded Version)" was also released online the following year).

The song is a mainstay of classic rock and classic hits stations. In the 2010s, it was added to some adult contemporary stations despite never hitting that chart.{{efn|Their song [[Two Steps Behind]] in 1992, however, did hit the AC chart}}

==Music video==
Two different [[music video]]s for the song were produced. The first version (directed by [[Russell Mulcahy]]) shows the band playing inside a derelict Irish stately home (Mount Merrion House at [[Stillorgan]], [[Dublin]]) while it is being demolished by a [[wrecking ball]] and a burly, sledgehammer-wielding, female construction worker played by [[Rosemary Henderson]], who at the time was appearing on Saturday morning children's television in Ireland. 

Filmed before the song became a hit in the United States, a second video simply of the band playing the song live was released for American [[MTV]]. The American video (directed by [[Wayne Isham]]) was edited from the band's full-length 1989 video release, ''[[Live: In the Round, in Your Face]]'', recorded at [[McNichols Sports Arena]] in Denver, CO, in February 1988. The music video for the song had an extended, distortion-laden intro in lieu of the album version's "Step inside, walk this way" intro. Most compilations use the extended music video-style intro.

== Track listings ==
'''7": Bludgeon Riffola / Mercury / 870 298-7 (US)'''<ref>[http://www.defleppardworld.info/7_kuvat_singles_pour_some_sugar_on_me_us_8702987.html Def Leppard Discography - Pour Some Sugar on Me 870 298-7 (USA)]</ref>
# "Pour Some Sugar on Me"
# "Ring of Fire"

'''US 12"'''
# "Pour Some Sugar on Me" (extended version)
# "Pour Some Sugar on Me" (album version)
# "I Wanna Be Your Hero"

'''CD single: Bludgeon Riffola / Mercury / 8724872 (Germany)'''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.defleppard-discography.com/results.asp?show=items&format=5|title=Def Leppard website|access-date=14 May 2011|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002154221/http://www.defleppard-discography.com/results.asp?show=items&format=5|archive-date=2 October 2011}}</ref>
# "Pour Some Sugar on Me" (extended version)
# "Release Me"
# "Rock of Ages" (live medley)

==Personnel==
* [[Joe Elliott]] – lead vocals
* [[Phil Collen]] – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
* [[Steve Clark]] – lead guitar, backing vocals 
* [[Rick Savage]] – bass, backing vocals
* [[Rick Allen (drummer)|Rick Allen]] – drums

==Charts==
This song is notable for being the only Def Leppard song to get significant airplay on [[Adult contemporary music|adult contemporary]] stations despite not registering at all on the AC charts while "[[Two Steps Behind]]" did, reaching No. 29.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/def-leppard|title=Def Leppard Chart History|magazine=Billboard}}</ref>

{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}

===Weekly charts===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
!Chart (1987–1989)
!Peak<br />position
|-
{{single chart|Australia|26|artist=Def Leppard|song=Pour Some Sugar On Me|rowheader=true|access-date=20 June 2023}}
|-
{{single chart|Canadatopsingles|22|chartid=8588|rowheader=true|access-date=20 June 2023}}
|-
!scope="row"|Canada 30 Retail Singles (''[[RPM (magazine)|RPM]]'')<ref name="can1">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.8731.pdf|access-date=20 June 2023|title=RPM 30 Retal Singles 1987|magazine=[[RPM (magazine)|RPM]]|date=12 June 1987}}</ref>
|16
|-
{{single chart|Ireland2|8|artist=Def Leppard|song=Pour Some Sugar On Me|rowheader=true|access-date=20 June 2023}}
|-
{{single chart|Dutch100|94|artist=Def Leppard|song=Pour Some Sugar On Me|rowheader=true|access-date=20 June 2023}}
|-
{{single chart|New Zealand|16|artist=Def Leppard|song=Pour Some Sugar On Me|rowheader=true|access-date=20 June 2023}}
|-
{{single chart|UK|18|date=19870927|rowheader=true|access-date=20 June 2023}}
|-
{{single chart|Billboardhot100|2|artist=Def Leppard|rowheader=true|access-date=20 June 2023}}
|-
{{single chart|Billboardmainstreamrock|25|artist=Def Leppard|rowheader=true|access-date=20 June 2023}}
|-
{{single chart|West Germany|50|artist=Def Leppard|song=Pour Some Sugar On Me|songid=25317|rowheader=true|access-date=20 June 2023}}
|}

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
!Chart (2019)
!Peak<br />position
|-
{{single chart|Billboardrocksongs|10|artist=Def Leppard|rowheader=true|access-date=7 May 2019}}
|}
{{col-2}}

===Year-end charts===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
!Chart (1988)
!Position
|-
!scope="row"|US ''Billboard'' Hot 100<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.xuite.net/kanlen/tw/56220281-1988-Billboard%20Year-End%20Hot%20100%20(1988%E5%B9%B4%E5%91%8A%E7%A4%BA%E7%89%8C%E5%B9%B4%E7%B5%82%E6%8E%92%E8%A1%8C%E6%A6%9C)|title=1988-Billboard Year-End Hot 100 (1988年告示牌年終排行榜)|first=Kanlen|last=(kanlen)|date=11 January 2012}}</ref>
|19
|}
{{col-end}}

==Certifications==
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|type=single|artist=Def Leppard|title=Pour Some Sugar on Me|award=Platinum|number=3|relyear=1987|certyear=2024|source=radioscope|access-date=28 January 2025}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=Def Leppard|title=Pour Some Sugar on Me|award=Platinum|relyear=2012|certyear=2022|id=14505-2066-1|access-date=16 December 2022}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=single|artist=Def Leppard|title=Pour Some Sugar on Me|award=Gold|relyear=1987|certyear=2005|digital=true|access-date=7 August 2020}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}

==See also==
*[[List of glam metal albums and songs]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

{{Def Leppard}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1987 songs]]
[[Category:1987 singles]]
[[Category:Def Leppard songs]]
[[Category:Cashbox number-one singles]]
[[Category:RPM Top Singles number-one singles]]
[[Category:Song recordings produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange]]
[[Category:Songs written by Robert John "Mutt" Lange]]
[[Category:Music videos directed by Russell Mulcahy]]
[[Category:Music videos directed by Wayne Isham]]
[[Category:Mercury Records singles]]
[[Category:British pop rock songs]]
[[Category:Songs involved in plagiarism controversies]]