Format 7" vinyl Genre Hard rock, glam rock | Recorded 1975 | |
B-side "Sweet F.A." (Europe)
"Medussa" (USA) Released July 1975
March 1976 (USA) Length 3:32 (single)
3:44 (album) | ||
"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. It reached the Top 10 in 1975 in numerous European countries and Canada but stalled at #15 in the UK and #20 in the US. 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'.
Contents
The song was also featured in Formula One's video for the 2009 Monaco Grand Prix.
Covers
In 1993, British metal band Def Leppard covered it.
The song was also covered by Raven (on their 1981 album Rock Until You Drop), by Black 'n Blue (on their 1984 album Black 'n Blue), by power metal band Vengeance Incorporated on their 1988 album Bad Crazy and by Steve Stevens (on his 1989 album Atomic Playboys). Scorpions released it in German translation as "Wenn es richtig losgeht" on the B-side of the single "Fuchs geh' voran" (a translation of "Fox on the Run", also by Sweet). 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 from their album Retro Active. The music video was directed by Phil Tuckett from NFL entertainment. The approximate shooting date was between June and December 1993. The locations are live in Sheffield, Ottawa, and Joe's home in Ireland. The band 'discovered' the masked backwards vocal on the original track and refer to same on the CD single cover. This version also appears on the special edition of their 2006 album Yeah! available at Target.
Track listing
CD: Bludgeon Riffola / LEPCD 13 (UK) / 858 093-2 (INT)
- "Action"
- "She's Too Tough (Joe's Demo)"
- "Miss You in a Heartbeat (Phil's Demo)"