| Action | |
| Cover: | Action single cover.jpg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Sweet |
| Album: | Strung Up and Give Us a Wink |
| B-Side: |
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| Released: | July 1975 (UK) |
| Recorded: | 1975 |
| Genre: | Hard rock[1] |
| Length: |
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| Label: |
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| Producer: | Sweet |
| Prev Title: | Fox on the Run |
| Prev Year: | 1975 |
| Next Title: | The Lies in Your Eyes |
| Next Year: | 1976 |
"Action" is a self-written and produced 1975 song by British 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 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 four months. Lead singer Brian Connolly called it a "blatant rip-off".
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 | |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report) | 4 | |
| UK Singles (OCC)[2] | 15 | |
| US Billboard Hot 100[3] | 20 |
| Action | |
| Cover: | Def-Leppard---Action.jpg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Def Leppard |
| Album: | Retro Active |
| B-Side: |
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| Released: | 3 January 1994 (UK)[5] |
| Recorded: | 1992–1993 |
| Genre: |
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| Length: | 3:41 |
| Label: | Bludgeon Riffola |
| Producer: | Def Leppard |
| Prev Title: | Miss You in a Heartbeat |
| Prev Year: | 1993 |
| Next Title: | When Love & Hate Collide |
| Next Year: | 1995 |
In 1993, English rock band Def Leppard covered "Action" 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.[6] 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 single charted at number 14 on UK Singles Chart.[7]
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!.