Action (Sweet song)


"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.
The single reached No. 15 in the UK in July 1975. 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.
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”.

Covers

In 1993, British metal band Def Leppard covered it.
The song was also covered by Raven, by Black 'n Blue, by power metal band :it:Vengeance Incorporated|Vengeance Incorporated on their 1992 album Bad Crazy and by Steve Stevens. Scorpions released it in German translation as "Wenn es richtig losgeht" on the B-side of the single "Fuchs geh' voran". Bodybuilder/hard rock singer Jon Mikl Thor once performed the song on The Mike Douglas Show.

Def Leppard version

"Action" was covered by British hard rock band Def Leppard on their album Retro Active. "Andy said that our version of 'Action' was the best cover of a Sweet song he'd ever heard," noted singer Joe Elliott. 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!.

Track listing

CD: Bludgeon Riffola / LEPCD 13 (UK) / 858 093-2 (INT)
  1. "Action"
  2. "She's Too Tough "
  3. "Miss You in a Heartbeat "