In 1988, Def Leppard was flying high. They were at the top of their game, MTV was blasting all their videos all day long. Now was a perfect time to compile all their music videos together in one place and sell it to the buying hungry public on VHS. The video was called ‘Historia’ and it was released on July 5, 1988 and went on to sell over 200,000 copies in the U.S. alone making it a double platinum release. Back in the day, I bought this up on VHS the day it came out. Ran home, popped it in and sat back and enjoyed all the videos of the band from the ‘On Through the Night’ album up to ‘Hysteria’. It was 17 videos of pure Leppard magic. Oops, it was 18 videos actually on the VHS tape because “Love Bites” was added as a bonus and not listed.

Then in 2001, in the DVD era, Def Leppard released ‘Historia’ again except this time as a 2 video set and released with ‘In the Round, In Your Face’ live concert. And if that wasn’t enough, they updated with 5 more videos from the album ‘Slang’ and ‘Euphoria’. And of course, I went and bought this as well. The bad news is, I don’t have the VHS tape anymore as I didn’t think I’d need it anymore which I don’t, but would still be cool to have in the collection though.

The video kicks off with the some old timey style silent film like music and a some openings notes about the videos. Then it goes in to the only video from ‘On Through the Night’ with the video for “Hello America”. It was full of special video effects and why was the drum set out front??? Man, they all looked so young. Really great to see this early promotional video from Top of the Pops. Then we get three more promotional videos all from ‘High & Dry’. We get “Let It Go”, “High & Dry” and “Bringin’ On the Heartbreak (Version 1 with Pete Willis)”. All three were shot on the same day and done with live performances. I remember when I first saw these videos I thought they were the coolest as they looked so cool up there on the stage rocking out. And we get the first glimpse of the Union Jack shorts Rick Allen would help make famous.

By 1983, Def Leppard finally broke through with their Diamond Status album, ‘Pyromania’. The next three videos were the ones I saw on MTV. The production value had ramped up a little and they seem to go with a general theme of medieval rockers. First up was “Photograph” and it blew me away. The chalk outline of the dead body, the flying dagger, the pictures of Marilyn Monroe and now Joe in his Union Jack muscle shirt (which I still have one and no, it doesn’t fit). ”Rock of Ages” gave us a group of monks with one singing “Gunter Glieben Glauten Globen”, then a owl and a woman chained up. The band performing before a misty pit of arms waving in the air. Still not sure what this one is about, but wow did it look cool to a young freshly new teenager. The last was for “Foolin’ with the blind woman playing the harp in front of a wall of fire, Joe tied up to some torture chamber and more live shots of the band. Another cool video and three massively great songs.

But what was really cool was that there were two more videos from ‘Pyromania’ that I had not seen before and they were for “Too Late For Love” and “Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)”. ”Too Late for Love” was a promo video from a TV show (not sure which one), but the boys were lip-syncing and both Steve and Phil were lowered from risen staircases. Then there “Rock! Rock!” which looks like another TV show performance from Japan and sees the band doing a live setting with more lip-syncing. These two were the special videos for me as I had never seen them before.

With the success of ‘Pyromania’, Leppard remixed two songs from the ‘High & Dry’ album and re-issued that album with those two new mixes (well, one was a new song). The videos were for “Bringin’ on the Heartbreak” which this is Version 2 with Phil Collen instead of Pete Willis. Now, there is the thing. According to things I’ve read, on the VHS, it was the new mix. On the DVD, they screwed up and the music is actually the original Pete Willis mix…oops. The other video was for “Me & My Wine” and I love the fact they did the video in the style of the British TV show “The Young Ones”.

The next album, ‘Hysteria’, took the band to even greater heights then ‘Pyromania’ did. Another Diamond Selling album and this time they released 7 singles so we get all 7 here plus a UK version of one. The production level on these went up even more on these and now we were in a different stratosphere of video making and money was dumped in galore and these are all sensational videos. First up is the skateboarding kid and comic book styling of “Women”. This was the first time we really got to see Rick Allen play drums one-handed. Joe’s mullet was running wild and their style was pure 80’s glam rock now. ”Animal” was a fun video with the whole circus vibe and not your typical rock & roll scene. But I loved it. Next up is the UK version of “Pour Some Sugar On Me” which takes place in a house while the house is being destroyed. On the VHS version, you can hear the sounds of the demoing, but the DVD you can not. Not as exciting as the US version, but totally cool as I had never seen it before I bought this video.

“Hysteria” is up next and talk about a mini-movie. It is a cinematic masterpiece with the cars driving down the road, the beautiful scenery and the boys playing in a studio all dressed up. A real classy video for a classy song. ”Armageddon It” shows on the disc as being “Live”, but it is not. It is the studio version of the song with shots of the band playing live (another small mistake). Then comes the song that really broke the album, “Pour Some Sugar On Me” and the US version with the live shots from the tour. It is so much more powerful then the UK version.. It too says “Live” when it is only live shots and studio version of the song. The final ‘Hysteria’ song on there is “Love Bites”. It wasn’t originally listed on the VHS version and was a surprise. The DVD version had it listed. And if you thought “Hsyteria” was classy, this video is that and then some. It is even sexy as it has a bunch of beautiful models doing various things, but all done in such a visually artistic way. One of the most beautiful videos they have ever done.

The DVD Version has a section of Bonus Videos. You get three videos from ‘Slang’ and two from “Euphoria”. And the order is backwards as it starts with “Promises” which is from ‘Euphoria’. The video is very spacey as you are at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, and there is a laser show going on. Joe’s hair is cut really short and they look all 90’s. Not their best video, but I do like the song. Then comes “Goodbye” which is a ballad and shows a group of people on a subway and all the emotions going on with everyone on the train while the band plays in a subway station. A pretty cool video actually. 

Then we get the song “Slang” which is very futuristic as the band looks like they are on a spaceship or something. A weird video with various shots of I don’t know what. One of the band’s coolest songs. Plus, all of these bonus videos I had never seen since I wasn’t watching MTV anymore and Lep was getting played on MTV anyway. ”Work It Out” is another badass song from ‘Slang’ and sees the boys taking turns in a photo booth while the band plays. Not sure how it plays with the song, but damn, what a good song. Lastly, “All I Want Is Everything” which is a slow burner with another artistic video with shots of the band interspersed. It is different, that is all I’ll say as there is a bald guy walking around, crawling around, eyes disappearing, and who knows what else.

And that is it for ‘Historia’. Back in 1988, MTV would play Def Leppard, but you would only get one video at a time. This video allowed me to watch all their videos at one time and I would sit in the basement, pop this in the VHS player, sit back in the recliner rocker and rock out. A great to unwind after coming home from classes and relaxing. My Overall Score is easily a 5.0 out of 5.0 Stars. A great set of videos with a great set of songs and a great band.

NEXT UP: DEF LEPPARD – ‘LIVE: IN THE ROUND, IN YOUR FACE’ – DVD REVIEW

THE DEF LEPPARD COLLECTION SERIES

1. Def Leppard E.P. – 7″ Single (1979)
2. First Strikes 1978-1979 (Bootleg CD)
3. Girl – Sheer Greed (1980)
4. On Through the Night (1980)
5. When the Walls Came Tumbling Down (April 26 1980) (2020)
6. High & Dry (1981)
7. Too Many Jitterbugs – B-Sides And Rarities (2020)
8. Raw – Early BBC Recordings (2020)
9. Girl – Wasted Youth (1982)
10. Pyromania (1983)
11. “Photograph” 7″ Single (1983)
12. “Too Late For Love” 12″ Single (1983)
13. Live at the L.A. Forum 1983 (2018)
14. Seattle, August 3, 1983 (Bootleg CD)
15. Pyromania TV Collection (Bootleg DVD)
16. Hysteria (1987)
17. “Animal” 7″ Single (1987)
18. “Women” 7″ Single (1987)
19. “Pour Some Sugar on Me” 7″ Single (1987)
20. “Hysteria” 7″ Single (1987)
21. “Armageddon It” 7″ Single (1988)
22. “Love Bites” 7″ Single (1988)
23. “Rocket” 7″ Single (1989)
24. Animal Instinct – The Def Leppard Story – Book Review (1987)
25. Rarities – Volume One (2018)
26. Live in Mountain View – August 17, 1988 (Bootleg DVD)
27. Historia – DVD (1988)
28. Live: In the Round, In Your Face (CD Video / DVD) (1989)
29. Adrenalize (1992)
30. “Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad” – Cassette Single (1992)
31. “Tonight” CD Single (1993)
32. Live Shefield 1992 (Bootleg DVD)
33. Retro Active (1993)
34. Visualize DVD (1993)
35. Hard Rock Café – Singapore, Malaysia October 26, 1995 (Bootleg DVD)
36. Vault: Def Leppard Greatest Hits (1980-1995) (1995)
37. “When Love & Hate Collide” – CD Promo Single (1995)
38. Video Archive (1995)
39. Slang (1996)
40. Montreal: The Classic 1996 Broadcast (Bootleg CD)
41. Live Bites: FM Broadcast (Bootleg CD)
42. Live in Argentina 1997 (Bootleg DVD)
43. Euphoria (1999)
44. Rarities – Volume Two (2019)
45. Rarities – Volume Three (2019)
46. Tokyo 1999 (Bootleg CD)
47. Cybernauts – Live (2000)
48. X (2002)
49. Hysteria: Classic Albums DVD (2002)
50. Best of Def Leppard (2004)
51. Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection (2005)
52. Yeah! (2006)
53. Songs from the Sparkle Lounge (2008)
54. Man Raze – Surreal (2008)
55. B-Sides (2021)
56. Yeah! II (2021)
57. Yeah! Live (2021)
58. CMT Crossraods – Taylor Swift & Def Leppard (2009)
59. Down ‘N’ Outz -My ReGeneration (2010)
60. Man Raze – PunkFunkRootsRock (2011)
61. Down ‘N’ Outz -The Further Adventures of… (2014)
62. Def Leppard (2015)
63. The Lost Session (2018)
64. Personal Jesus 7″ Single (2018)
65. Down ‘N’ Outz -This is How We Roll (2019)
66. Hits Vegas: Live at Planet Hollywood – Vinyl (2020)
67. Hysteria: Live – Vinyl (2020)
68. Def Leppard Acoustic Vegas – 10″ Vinyl (2020)
69. Down ‘N’ Outz – The Music Box E.P. (2020)
70. Diamond Star Halos (2022)
71. High & Dry – Picture Disc (RSD) (2022)
72. Drastic Symphonies (2023)
73. Drastic Symphonies – Picture Disc (2023)
74. Definitely: The Official Story of Def Leppard (2023)

PREVIOUSLY POSTED:

1. The Def Leppard E.P. (1979/2017)
2. Def Leppard: Interview Picture Disc (1982?)
3. “Bringin’ On the Heartbreak” – 12″ Promo Single (1984)
4. Live at the Top (Bootleg) (1987)
5. “Pour Some Sugar on Me” –  5″ Shaped Picture Disc (1987)
6. Hysteria U.S. Tour 1988 – Tour Book (1988)
7. “Make Love Like a Man” – 12″ Single (1992)
8. “Let’s Get Rocked” – 12″ Single (1992)
9. Adrenalize: The 7 Day Weekend Tour (1992/1993)
10. X: World Tour (2003)
11. Mirrorball – Live & More (2011)
12. Def Leppard: The Definitive Visual History – Book Review (2011)
13. Viva! Hysteria (2013)
14. And There Will Be A Next Time…Live from Detroit (2017)
15. Hysteria: 30th Anniversary Box Set (2017)
16. The Story So Far – The Best of (2018)
17. The Collection, Volume 1 (2018)
18. Hysteria: The Singles Box Set (2018)
19. Live at Abbey Road Studios (2018)
20. Def Leppard: Concert Review – Charlotte, NC June 9th 2018 (2018)
21. The Story So Far – The Best of Volume 2 (2019)
22. The Collection, Volume 2 (2019)
23. London to Vegas (2020)
24. Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 29 March 2019 (2020)
25. The Early Years ’79-’81 (2020)
26. The Collection, Volume 3 (2021)
27. Def Leppard Funko Pop!