Def Leppard
Bringin' On the Heartbreak
"Bringin' on the Heartbreak" isn't simply the best power ballad of the 1980s: it's also the savviest. The second single from Def Leppard's sophomore album High ‘N' Dry ushered power ballads squarely into the pop mainstream, demonstrating that ostensibly earnest love songs burnished with the sound and spirit of hard rock could dominate commercial airwaves - a formula for success proven time and again throughout the decade, and beyond.
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Track Facts
"Bringin' On the Heartbreak" was released on Mercury Records November 13, 1981 in the U.S. and January 22, 1982 in the UK.
B-side: "Me and My Wine"
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"Bringin' On the Heartbreak" is a power ballad originally recorded by English rock band Def Leppard. It was the second single from their 1981 album High 'n' Dry. The song was written by three of the band's members: Steve Clark, Pete Willis, and Joe Elliott.
High 'n' Dry was released in the U.S. in summer 1981. "Bringin' On the Heartbreak" was commercially released in the U.S. on 13 November, with "Me and My Wine" (a non-album track) and "You Got Me Runnin'" included as B-sides. It did not appear on the U.S. charts, but its music video was picked up by the recently launched television channel MTV and received heavy rotation. The popularity of the video and the exposure the band received caused a resurgence in sales of High 'n' Dry, which subsequently sold over two million copies. It was released in Mexico as "Llevarlo en la Desilusión" with "Yo y mi Vino" ("Me and My Wine"), featuring the cover art from the single "Too Late for Love".
High 'n' Dry was re-issued in May 1984 with two new tracks, one of which was a synthesizer-heavy remix of "Bringin' On the Heartbreak". With a newly-filmed video featuring Phil Collen on guitar, the remix was released as a single and peaked at 61 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The original version of the song was later included on three of their compilation albums: Vault: Def Leppard Greatest Hits (1980–1995) (1995) Best of Def Leppard (2004) and Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection (2005). The latter compilation ends with the instrumental "Switch 625", as it does in High 'n' Dry.
