Guns N' Leppard: 2 Albums, 1 Destiny

Two of the most seminal '80s rock albums were released only two weeks apart in the Summer of 1987. They are tied at the hip.

There were so many seminal rock albums released in pairs during the 1980s. Back In Black and Blizzard of Ozz, both in 1980. Metal Health and Shout at the Devil, both in 1983. Slippery When Wet and Master of Puppets, both in 1986.

But what if I told you that two of the most seminal ‘80s rock albums were released only two weeks apart in the Summer of 1987? And they may have more in common than you think.

One was a hotly anticipated follow-up album by a leader of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement, a record delayed by years because of a devastating, personal tragedy that would have crushed lesser bands.

The other was the debut studio album for a group that was mostly unknown to America and the rest of the world outside of their Sunset Strip origins, where they developed a well-earned reputation for debauchery and bad behavior.

Def Leppard released Hysteria on August 3, 1987.

Guns N’ Roses released Appetite for Destruction two weeks earlier, on July 21, 1987.

Life, as they say, would never be the same.

Let’s dive into the similarities. Of course, the obvious one is the timing of both records. It boggles the mind that these two albums appeared almost simultaneously because of what they ended up selling.

Simply put, these are two records that reside highly on the list of best-selling albums of ALL TIME. I’m not just talking about rock albums. I’m talking about ALL albums, which means a list that includes Michael Jackson, Taylor Swift and Adele.

Appetite for Destruction has sold 18 MILLION COPIES. Hysteria has sold 12 MILLION COPIES. Those are just U.S. sales. You can add several million more when accounting for global sales.

Now, we all know about Gold records, denoting 500,000 in sales, and Platinum records, denoting 1 million in sales. The Recording Industry Association of America, or RIAA, created a new category for U.S. record sales of 10 million or more called Diamond. That is the Mount Everest of record sales. That list is truly select company.

That also means both Hysteria AND Appetite are Diamond-certified albums.

Quick trivia question. Do you know there’s only one album that has a quadruple Diamond designation? If you guessed Michael Jackson’s Thriller, that would be a good guess.

It also would be wrong.

The sole album that has the designation of 40 million albums sold in the U.S.? Well, The Dude from the movie The Big Lebowski won’t be happy.

It’s the Eagles with Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 collection which holds that distinction. How about that?

But let’s get back to our comparison.

Hysteria and Appetite have another thing in common. Both were slow out of the gate with their first singles.

Def Leppard released “Women” as Hysteria’s lead single. Perhaps they thought this hard rocker would replicate the performance of Pyromania’s debut single in 1983, “Photograph,” which peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard pop singles chart.

“Women”? It stalled at No. 80. Yikes.

Guns N’ Roses, on the other hand, had even worse luck. MTV and radio stations were not interested in playing this new band’s song or video, “Welcome to the Jungle.” Even though there was an underground buzz about the record that built up over several months, it wasn’t until the following summer, in 1988, that “Sweet Child O’ Mine” finally broke through for the group.

Which brings me to the third thing these guys have in common – dominating the Summer of 1988.

As I said, Def Leppard bombed with “Women” but regained their footing with “Animal,” which cracked the Top 20 singles chart at No. 19, and the title track, which managed to reach No. 10 in March 1988. But that was nothing compared to the earthquake that followed:

“Pour Some Sugar on Me.”

By July of ‘88, that song peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard pop singles chart. I can personally attest – you couldn’t get away from that song during that summer, and it’s jokingly said that it first caught fire with exotic dancers at strip clubs. I don’t know if that’s true or just an urban legend, but this set the stage for even more Leppard hits to come – “Love Bites,” “Armageddon It” and “Rocket.” It’s an album that started slow but ended up staying on the chart well into 1989.

But the Summer of ‘88 also belonged to the Gunners.

In June, “Sweet Child O’ Mine” was released as a single along with its iconic video. America and the world finally caught up with Guns N’ Roses, and “Sweet Child” would top the singles chart for two weeks in early September of that year.

Of course, that set the table for “Welcome to the Jungle” and “Paradise City,” also giving their album legs well into 1989.

Can you imagine if Def Leppard and Guns N’ Roses had toured together at that time? There were no two bands that were hotter.

But what triumphs these were for both groups. Def Leppard recovered from the terrible accident in which drummer Rick Allen lost his arm. It still remains to this day one of the greatest comebacks in all of rock history.

For Guns N’ Roses, they separated themselves from the hair metal pack with Appetite and immediately plotted their next moves – GN’R Lies and the mammoth Use Your Illusion release.

And guess what? In 2026, you can still find both acts on the concert circuit. Def Leppard suffered another tragedy in losing guitarist Steve Clark, but Vivian Campbell stepped in valiantly to help keep Leppard a highly active entity all these years.

And Guns N’ Roses? Well, we all know the story. The group flamed out after The Spaghetti Incident, with Axl Rose carrying on with the band name for the much-delayed and much-debated Chinese Democracy. But the core of the classic lineup – Axl, Slash and Duff – regrouped a few years ago, and they’re still out there doing their thing in concert.

So, do you have a favorite between these two classic albums? Do you like the catchy pop metal of Hysteria from Def Leppard and their perfectionist producer, Mutt Lange? Or do you prefer the hard and grimy Appetite for Destruction, featuring the original Gunner lineup in full flight? Let me know in the comments!