However, the social divide and conflict in visions of the album between both the band and Steinman became problematic during the sessions, the latter being more into theatrical ideas which did not sit well with the group. Sessions with Steinman began at Wisseloord Studios on 11 August 1984, with Neil Dorfsman as engineer.
Joe Elliott later stated in an interview: " Todd Rundgren produced (Meat Loaf's) Bat Out of Hell. Meat Loaf songwriter Jim Steinman was brought in, but Steinman's intention to make a raw-sounding record that captured the moment conflicted with the band's interest in creating a bigger, more pristine pop production. Initially, Hysteria was to be named Animal Instinct and produced by Lange, but he dropped out after pre-production sessions, citing exhaustion from a gruelling schedule from the past few years. Lasting 62 minutes and 32 seconds, the album is the band's longest to date. Subsequent to the album's release, Def Leppard published a book titled Animal Instinct: The Def Leppard Story, written by Rolling Stone magazine senior editor David Fricke, on the three-year recording process of Hysteria and the tough times the band endured through the mid-1980s. Hysteria 's creation took over three years and was plagued by delays, including the aftermath of drummer Rick Allen's accident that cost him his left arm on 31 December 1984. The album is the follow-up to the band's 1983 breakthrough Pyromania. It is the last album to feature guitarist Steve Clark before his death, although songs co-written by him would appear on the band's next album, Adrenalize. The title of the album was thought up by drummer Rick Allen, referring to his 1984 car accident, the amputation of his arm, and the ensuing worldwide media coverage surrounding it. Hysteria was produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange. The album charted at number one on both the Billboard 200 and the UK Albums Chart. It is Def Leppard's best-selling album to date, selling over 20 million copies worldwide, including 12 million in the US, and spawning seven hit singles. Many words mean many different things.Hysteria is the fourth studio album by English rock band Def Leppard, released on 3 August 1987 through Mercury Records. It was a case of taking it and just showing how the English language is an awkward beast. The idea of it was that it’s like, love bites, love bleeds. We’re aware of the fact that in Britain, ‘love bites’, you guys call them hickeys. When somebody chews on your neck, you get a bruise. Joe Elliott is also quoted on the same site, saying: The song went on to become our first and only number-one U.S. The backing track was recorded live, and it ended up on the record. Steve and I jammed the song out with a drum box, and recorded it. There was a harmony guitar thing that me and Steve did where we orchestrated the chords. For “Love Bites,” we just added Def Leppard guitars to it. He recently produced his wife’s album (Shania Twain’s multiplatinum The Woman in Me), and it’s one of the biggest-selling country releases.
Mutt has always been a big fan of country music.
When he first showed it to us, it sounded a bit country-and western. On a Def Leppard’s fan website, Collen is quoted saying: It was so high and it was such a problem for him, we were all scared of this song. It’s one of the best songs that Joe sings. We had to take two days off and go into a little studio in Vancouver to learn the song. We’d never even played “Love Bites” through as a song when we recorded it, let alone together.