Armageddon It

"Armageddon It"
Single by Def Leppard
from the album Hysteria
B-side	Ring of Fire (UK) Release Me (US)
Released	1988
Format	7" 12" CD CDV
Recorded	January 1987
Genre	Hard rock
Length	5:20
Label	Mercury
Writer(s)	Joe Elliott, Phil Collen, Steve Clark, Rick Savage, Robert John "Mutt" Lange
Producer	Robert John "Mutt" Lange
Def Leppard singles chronology
"Love Bites" (1988) "Armageddon It" (1988) "Rocket" (1989)

"Armageddon It" is a song by British hard rock band Def Leppard from their 1987 album Hysteria. It was released as a single in 1988 and went to No. 3 in the U.S. (their fourth U.S. Top Ten hit).

The actual line of "Armageddon It" is meant to be a word play on the line "I'm A Gettin' It," thought up by the band during the recording sessions for the Hysteria album.^{[citation needed]} The vocal style of the song is described as "Eddie Cochran meets T.Rex", according to singer Joe Elliott.

The video for the song was the second to feature Def Leppard in a live arena setting. On February 12 and 13 1988, the band recorded two shows at the McNichols Arena in Denver, Colorado for a future live film release. However, a month later, "Armageddon It" was set to be released as the sixth single off the popular "Hysteria" album and a promo video clip was urgently needed.

From the band's end, there was hesitation to film another concept video. Although they were happy with the results for "Hysteria" (the single) and "Animal," they were very unsatisfied with the way "Pour Some Sugar on Me" had turned out for its concept.

Therefore, an idea was pitched to quickly create a video edited from the Denver footage. It was another hit in the UK, reaching the Top 20. Months later, it was released in the United States and was even more successful, reaching the Top 3.

However, "Pour Some Sugar on Me" was the first song used there for the "live" concept (in fact, many of the scenes are the same in the two), but instead of filming a different video, slight changes were made using footage filmed in October at the Omni in Atlanta, Georgia.

There are two mixes of the song that appeared in the single, "The Nuclear Mix" an extended version of the song and "The Atomic Mix" that is in fact the album version.

Trivia

• On the recorded version (and during the Hysteria tour), the solo is preceded by Joe Elliot's call to Steve Clark "C'mon Steve, get it". Following Steve's death in 1991, this line was either replaced by "C'mon, boys" or simply removed during concerts.
• The b-side to the US release of "Armageddon It" contains a cherished rarity for Def Leppard fans: a cover of Engelbert Humperdinck's "Release Me" but sung by guitar tech (and later tour manager) Malvin Mortimer under the alias of "Stumpus Maximus".
  Def Leppard is credited with background vocals as "The Good Ol' Boys". The song is remembered for its off-key bombast and humor and turned Mortimer into an unofficial member of the band. The track is included on the "deluxe edition" 2006 re-issue of Hysteria.

Track listing

CD: Bludgeon Riffola / LEPCD4 (UK) / 870 239-2 (INT)

1. "Armageddon It"
2. "Ring of Fire"
3. "Animal"
4. "Pour Some Sugar on Me"

7": Bludgeon Riffola / Vertigo / 872 692-7P (CANADA) / Picture Disc

1. "Armageddon It"
2. "Release Me"

7": Bludgeon Riffola / Polygram Records / Mercury / 872 692-7 (INT)

1. "Armageddon It"
2. "Release Me"