"Love Bites" is a song by English glam metal band Def Leppard from their 1987 album Hysteria. The power ballad is Def Leppard's only number-one single on the US Billboard Hot 100 and became a Top 10 hit in Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand. The track peaked at number 11 on the UK Singles Chart.
When Robert John "Mutt" Lange originally brought the song to the band's attention, it was a country ballad, which the band thought sounded like nothing they had done before. The band then added power rock elements and emotive backing vocals similar to those used in R&B ballads at the time. The title "Love Bites" was originally used for a very different song that was eventually re-titled "I Wanna Be Your Hero", and which appeared as a Hysteria B-side and later on the album Retro Active. Musically, the song has been described as glam metal, and is considered a classic of the genre.
Following the huge momentum generated by "Pour Some Sugar on Me", the song was released in August 1988 and peaked atop the US Billboard Hot 100 for one week. The song also reached number eleven in the United Kingdom, number two in New Zealand, number three in Canada, and number seven in Ireland. The "Love Bites" 45 release in Canada and UK included limited edition gatefold with complete "Hysteria" lyrics. This was the only official release of the "Hysteria" lyrics.
AllMusic called it "one of the most satisfying songs in the Def Leppard catalog, as well as one of the best products of the late-'80s power ballad craze."
"Billy's Got a Gun" was recorded at Tilburg, Netherlands, in 1987.
7-inch: Polygram/870-402-7 (US)
7-inch: Polygram /870-402-7 (DJ) (US)