Action (Sweet song)

"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)
Format	7" vinyl
Recorded	1975
Genre	Hard rock, glam rock
Length	3:32 (single) 3:44 (album)
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)
"Fox on the Run" (1975) "Action" (1975) "The Lies in Your Eyes" (1976)

"Action" is a self-written and produced 1975 song by the 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. It reached the Top 10 in 1975 in numerous European countries and Canada but stalled at #15 in the UK and #20 in the US. 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 song was also featured in Formula One's video for the 2009 Monaco Grand Prix.

Covers

In 1993, British metal band Def Leppard covered it.

The song was also covered by Raven (on their 1981 album Rock Until You Drop), by Black 'n Blue (on their 1984 album Black 'n Blue), by power metal band Vengeance Incorporated on their 1988 album Bad Crazy and by 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.^[1]

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
Format	CD, 7" Single, Cassette
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)
"Two Steps Behind" (1993) "Action" (1994) "Desert Song" (1994)

"Action" was covered by British hard rock band Def Leppard 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.^[2]

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!.

Track listing

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)"

References