"Work It Out" is a 1996 song by the English hard rock band

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals) ...

from their

gold album Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

Slang Slang is vocabulary (words, phrases, and usage (language), linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in spoken conversation but avoided in formal writing. It also sometimes refers to the language generally exclusive to the members of p ...

''. It was written entirely by new guitarist

Vivian Campbell Vivian Patrick Campbell (born 25 August 1962) is a Northern Irish guitarist. He came to prominence in the early 1980s as a member of Dio, and has been a member of Def Leppard since 1992 (replacing Steve Clark after his death). Campbell has a ...

. It was released as a single later that year, reaching number six on the US

Mainstream Rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent the middle ground between classic rock and active rock ...

chart and number 22 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

Background

Lead singer

Joe Elliot Joseph Thomas "Joe" Elliott (born 1 August 1959) is an English–Irish rock singer, best known as the lead singer and one of the founding members of the hard rock band Def Leppard. He has also been the lead singer of the David Bowie tribute ba ...

said in the album's commentary that ''Work It Out'' "was Vivian ampbell'sfirst songwriting contribution to the band" and that Elliot "had this opportunity to channel isinner

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the " Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band The Stooges, who w ...

instead of screeching in this high register like

e had E, or e, is the fifth letter and the second vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''e'' (pronounced ); plur ...

always done in the past". The music video was directed by

Nigel Dick Nigel Dick (born 21 March 1953) is a British music video and film director, writer and musician from Catterick, England, now based in Los Angeles, California. He directed the Britney Spears videos " ...Baby One More Time" and " Oops!... I Did I ...

in April 1996 at Occidental Studios in Los Angeles, California. The video was released in May 1996. "Work It Out" has not been played live by the band since the

Slang World Tour The Slang World Tour was a worldwide concert tour by English hard rock band Def Leppard in support of their album ''Slang'', which was released in May 1996. Although ''Slang'' was the first Def Leppard album to feature new material with guitar ...

in 1997.

Track listing

;CD Bludgeon Riffola - Mercury/LEPDD16 (UK)/578 271-2 (INT) This single contains collector's postcards of classic Def Leppard album covers. It contains the ''

On Through the Night ''On Through the Night'' is the debut studio album by the English rock band Def Leppard, released on 14 March 1980. The album was produced by Tom Allom. It charted at No. 15 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 51 on the ''Billboard'' 200. The album ...

'', ''

High 'n' Dry ''High 'n' Dry'' is the second studio album by the English rock band Def Leppard, released on July 6, 1981. ''High 'n' Dry'' was Pete Willis' last full-time album with Def Leppard. It charted at No. 38 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and No. 26 on t ...

'', ''

Pyromania Pyromania is an impulse control disorder in which individuals repeatedly fail to resist impulses to deliberately start fires, to relieve some tension or for instant gratification. The term ''pyromania'' comes from the Greek word (''pyr'', 'f ...

'' and ''

Hysteria Hysteria is a term used colloquially to mean ungovernable emotional excess and can refer to a temporary state of mind or emotion. In the nineteenth century, hysteria was considered a diagnosable physical illness in women. It is assumed that ...

'' postcards, with band members comments on the back. * "Work It Out" * "Work It Out" (original demo version) * "Truth?" (original demo Version) ;CD Bludgeon Riffola - Mercury/LEPCD16 (UK)/578 270-2 (INT) * "Work It Out" * "Move With Me Slowly" * "

Two Steps Behind "Two Steps Behind" is a song by English hard rock band Def Leppard from their album ''Retro Active'' and the soundtrack to the film ''Last Action Hero''. It reached number five on the US ''Billboard'' Album Rock Tracks chart, number 12 on the ...

" (live acoustic version) ;CD Bludgeon Riffola - Mercury/LC0268 (UK)/578 293-2 (INT) * "Work It Out" * "Move With Me Slowly" * "Work It out" (original demo) * "Truth?" (original version)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Notes

{{Authority control Def Leppard songs 1996 singles Music videos directed by Nigel Dick Songs written by Vivian Campbell 1996 songs Mercury Records singles