‘Love Bites’ is a song by English glam metal band Def Leppard from their 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. On the UK Singles Chart, the track peaked at number 11.
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.
‘Love Bites’ was written by Phil Collen, along with Elliott, bassist Rick Savage, and late guitarist Steve Clark. Hysteria producer Robert John “Mutt” Lange also has a writing credit on ‘Love Bites,’ along with the remaining album tracks. Lange wrote the first version of “Love Bites’ and played it on acoustic guitar for Collen and Clark. At first, the guitarists thought it sounded country and more like an Eagles song than a Def Leppard one. “It sounded more like the Eagles,” shared Collen. “He [Lange] sounds like Don Henley. Mutt’s got an amazing voice, and most of the backing vocals on that song are actually Mutt singing. We are on there but you can’t really hear us. That’s all Mutt’s vocals.”
Collen, who said he played an earlier version of the song for his mother who cried after hearing it, admitted that for ‘Love Bites,’ the band wanted to go “over the top” with guitars and melodies and countermelodies. “It wasn’t just a rock groove,” said Collen. “It was almost like R&B grooves and different things going off and that’s what makes it, I think. If you get too genre-specific, stay in a box, then you remain in a box. The important thing is to kind of mix it all up. I love all different types of music and I’m constantly making a hybrid of them and I think that is the way to go.”
The band recorded ‘Love Bites’ in separate sessions with Lange piecing it all together for Hysteria. When the song hit No. 1, Def Leppard had still never played the track together in one room. When it topped the charts, they rented a studio to figure out how to put all the pieces together and play it live on their Hysteria world tour. At the end of 1988, Hysteria was the third highest-selling album of the year, behind the Dirty Dancing soundtrack and George Michael’s Faith.
The thing you hear right after "If you got love in your sights, love bites", is Mutt Lange saying "Yes it does, it does..... Bloody hell" using a vocoder (a machine used to gives specific effects to a human voice) and a Yorkshire accent.
Label – Mercury
Songwriters – Robert John "Mutt" Lange, Phil Collen, Steve Clark, Joe Elliott, Rick Savage
Producer – Robert John "Mutt" Lange
SONG LYRICS
[Intro]If you've got love in your sights
Watch out
Love bites
[Verse 1]
When you make love, do you look in the mirror?
Who do you think of, does he look like me?
Do you tell lies? And say that it's forever
Do you think twice, or just touch and see?
Ooh, babe
Oh, yeah
When you're alone, do you let go?
Are you wild and willing or is it just for show?
Ooh, come on
[Pre-Chorus]
I don't want to touch you too much, baby
'Cause making love to you might drive me crazy
I know you think that love is the way you make it
So I don't want to be there when you decide to break it
No
[Chorus]
Love bites, love bleeds
It's bringing me to my knees
Love lives, love dies
It's no surprise
Love begs, love pleads
It's what I need
[Verse 2]
When I'm with you, are you somewhere else?
Am I getting through or do you please yourself?
When you wake up, will you walk out?
It can't be love if you throw it about
Ooh, babe
[Pre-Chorus]
I don't want to touch you too much, baby
'Cause making love to you might drive me crazy
Oh
[Chorus]
Love bites, love bleeds
It's bringing me to my knees
Love lives, love dies
It's no surprise
Love begs, love pleads
It's what I need
[Instrumental Break]
[Pre-Chorus]
I don't want to touch you too much, baby
'Cause making love to you might drive me crazy
I know you think that love is the way you make it
So I don't want to be there when you decide to break it
No
[Chorus]
Love bites, love bleeds
It's bringing me to my knees
Love lives, love dies...
Love bites, love bleeds
It's bringing me to my knees
Love lives, love dies
It's no surprise
Love begs, love pleads
It's what I need
[Outro]
If you've got love in your sights
Watch out
Love bites