Action (Sweet song)

"Action" is a self-written and produced 1975 song by the glam rock band Sweet.

"Action"
Single by Sweet
from the album Strung Up and Give Us a Wink
B-side	"Sweet F.A." (Europe) "Medussa" (USA)
Released	July 1975 March 1976 (USA)
Recorded	1975
Genre	Hard rock, glam rock
Length	3:18 (Single Version) 3:44 (Album Version)
Label	RCA (Europe) Capitol (USA)
Songwriter(s)	Andy Scott, Brian Connolly Steve Priest, Mick Tucker
Sweet singles chronology
"Fox on the Run" (1975) "Action" (1975) "The Lies in Your Eyes" (1976)

Background

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.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'. The first verse has a striking resemblance to the hard rock section of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”, which was not released for another 4 months. Lead singer Brian Connolly called it a “blatant rip-off”.

Chart performance

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
UK Singles Chart[1]	15
US Billboard Hot 100[2]	20

Def Leppard version

"Action"
Single by Def Leppard
from the album Retro Active
B-side	"She's Too Tough (Joe's Demo), Miss You in a Heartbeat (Phil's Demo)."
Released	1994
Recorded	1992-1993
Genre	Heavy metal, glam metal, speed metal
Length	3:41
Label	Bludgeon Riffola
Songwriter(s)	Andy Scott, Brian Connolly Steve Priest, Mick Tucker
Producer(s)	Def Leppard
Def Leppard singles chronology
"Two Steps Behind" (1993) "Action" (1994) "Desert Song" (1994)

In 1993, British metal band Def Leppard covered it 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.[3] 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 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!.

CD: Bludgeon Riffola / LEPCD 13 (UK) / 858 093-2 (INT)

1. "Action"
2. "She's Too Tough (Joe's Demo)"
3. "Miss You in a Heartbeat (Phil's Demo)"

Other cover versions

• The song was also covered by Raven (on their 1981 album Rock Until You Drop)
• Black 'n Blue (on their 1984 album Black 'n Blue)
• Power Metal band Vengeance Incorporated on their 1992 album Bad Crazy
• Steve Stevens (on his 1989 album Atomic Playboys).
• Scorpions released it in German translation as "Wenn es richtig losgeht" on the B-side of the single "Fuchs geh' voran" (a translation of "Fox on the Run", also by Sweet).
• Bodybuilder/hard rock singer Jon Mikl Thor once performed the song on The Mike Douglas Show.[4]

References

1. "UK Official Charts". Official Charts Company. 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
2. Whitburn, Joel (2013). Joel Whitburn’s Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012. Record Research. p. 821.
3. Ling, Dave (July 2006). "The dirt: Joe Elliott". Classic Rock #94. p. 38.
4. "?". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2016-01-21. Retrieved 2014-06-05.