When Love & Hate Collide - Wikipedia

1995 single by Def Leppard

"When Love & Hate Collide"
UK CD1 artwork, also used for the cassette
Single by Def Leppard
from the album Vault: Def Leppard Greatest Hits (1980–1995)
B-side	"Can't Keep Away from the Flame"
Written	1990
Released	2 October 1995 (1995-10-02)
Genre	Rock
Length	4:18
Label	Mercury Bludgeon Riffola
Songwriters	Joe Elliott Rick Savage
Producers	Def Leppard Pete Woodroofe
Def Leppard singles chronology
"Action" (1994) "When Love & Hate Collide" (1995) "Slang" (1996)
Alternative cover
UK CD2 artwork, also used in Germany
Music video
"When Love & Hate Collide" on YouTube

"When Love & Hate Collide" is a song by English rock band Def Leppard from their 1995 greatest hits album Vault, written by Joe Elliott and Rick Savage. The power ballad,[1] released by Mercury Records, was originally written and demoed for Adrenalize, but not finalized until 1995 for its inclusion on Vault. The demo version is much more heavily produced in the signature style of Hysteria and Adrenalize, and the final version is more stripped down, supposedly toward the style of the following studio album Slang. The original demo version contains the final recorded guitar solo by late original guitarist Steve Clark.

"When Love & Hate Collide" became one of their most successful singles in the band's homeland, where it reached number two in the UK Singles Charts, but it failed to make a significant impact in the United States, reaching number 58 on the Billboard Hot 100. It did become a top-10 hit in Canada, climbing to number six on the RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart. The song also reached the top spot in Ireland. In 2008, the song was re-recorded, this time with featured vocals of American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. The original version was re-released as a digital download on 12 February 2013.

Background

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"When Love & Hate Collide" was written by lead singer Joe Elliott and bassist Rick Savage in 1990 during the composition and recording sessions for the band's fifth studio album Adrenalize. According to Elliott on the liner notes on the band's Best of compilation, the song was written when guitarist Steve Clark was in rehab. They then recorded a demo of the song at Savage’s home studio, featuring what turned out to be Clark's final recorded guitar solo before he died in 1991.[2]

The song was ultimately left off the track listing for Adrenalize, with the band preferring "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad" according to guitarist Phil Collen. According to Elliott on the Adrenalize Deluxe Edition liner notes, the inclusion of the song would have been "one ballad too many" so they set it aside for their next album.

The song resurfaced whilst the band were recording their sixth studio album Slang in 1994. According to new guitarist Vivian Campbell on the Best of liner notes, their record label wanted a "syrupy-sounding" single for a possible compilation album, but they had "nothing at all in that vein". So the band sent over the demo to the label. As "the suits at the label really loved it", the band took a break from the production of Slang to record a new version of the song. According to Collen, the new recording took two weeks to complete, "which was really good for us". They re-used Stevie Vann’s backing vocals from the original 1990 demo.[2]

Elliott said to a fan question "Why did it take so long to release Vault?" during a late 1995 promotional appearance on the MuchMusic programme Intimate and Interactive that the band had not come to fully agreeing to that decision until July of that year. Before the decision had come, the song was already considered for Slang, but evidently it did not suit the change in musical direction they took for the album. The decision to release Vault instead allowed the band to fully "close the door" on the Steve Clark era and to continue working on Slang.[2]

Critical reception

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Pan-European magazine Music & Media wrote in their review of the single, "An epic ballad in the finest Leppard tradition, this track comes armed with a killer hook."[3]

Music video

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There are 3 different versions of the accompanying music video for "When Love & Hate Collide", all of which are available on DVD:

• Band-only version (most commonly used version available on Visualize / Video Archive DVD)
• 4-minute "epic" version (available on Visualize/Video Archive DVD and Best of the Videos DVD, this version features future Survivor: The Australian Outback contestant Jerri Manthey)
• 8-minute condensed epic version (available on Best of the Videos DVD as a bonus feature)

Track listings

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• CD: Mercury / Bludgeon Riffola / PY 840 / 852 429-2 / LC-7179 (UK)

1. "When Love & Hate Collide"
2. "Rocket"
3. "Armageddon It"

• CD: Mercury / Bludgeon Riffola / 422 852 424-2 (US)

1. "When Love & Hate Collide"
2. "Can't Keep Away From the Flame"

• Cassette: Mercury / Bludgeon Riffola / LEPMC 14 (UK) / 852 401-4 (INT)

1. "When Love & Hate Collide"
2. "Pour Some Sugar on Me"

• CD: Mercury / Bludgeon Riffola / LEPCD 14 (UK) / 852 401-2 (INT)

1. "When Love & Hate Collide"
2. "Pour Some Sugar on Me"
3. "Armageddon It"
4. "When Love & Hate Collide" (original demo with Steve Clark's final solo)

• CD: Mercury / Bludgeon Riffola / LEPDD 14 / PY 940 / LC 7179 (UK)

1. "When Love & Hate Collide"
2. "Rocket"
3. "Excitable"

• CD: Mercury / Bludgeon Riffola / LEPCJ 14 (UK) / Not for Resale

1. "When Love & Hate Collide" (album version) – 4:16
2. "When Love & Hate Collide" (A/C mix) – 4:17
3. "When Love & Hate Collide" (no strings) – 4:17

Personnel

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Def Leppard

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• Joe Elliott – lead vocals, producer
• Phil Collen – lead guitar, backing vocals, producer
• Vivian Campbell – rhythm guitar, backing vocals, producer (1995 final recording)
• Steve Clark – rhythm guitar, guitar solo (1990 demo)
• Rick Savage – bass, backing vocals, producer
• Rick Allen – drums, producer

Additional personnel

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• Pete Woodroffe – producer, engineer (1995 final recording)
• Michael Kamen – string arrangements (1995 final recording)
• Stevie Vann – backing vocals
• Randy Kerber – piano (1995 final recording)

Charts

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Weekly charts [edit] Chart (1995–1996) Peakposition Australia (ARIA)[4] 22 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[5] 28 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[6] 6 Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[7] 41 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[8] 16 Europe (European Hit Radio)[9] 6 Germany (GfK)[10] 67 Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[11] 27 Ireland (IRMA)[12] 1 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[13] 41 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[14] 27 Scotland Singles (OCC)[15] 3 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[16] 36 UK Singles (OCC)[17] 2 UK Rock & Metal (OCC)[18] 1 US Billboard Hot 100[19] 58 US Adult Pop Airplay (Billboard)[20] 39 US Pop Airplay (Billboard)[21] 29

Year-end charts [edit] Chart (1995) Position UK Singles (OCC)[22] 54 UK Airplay (Music Week)[23] 36 Chart (1996) Position Canada Top Singles (RPM)[24] 64 US Top 40/Mainstream (Billboard)[25] 99

Release history

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Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United Kingdom	2 October 1995	CD1 cassette	Mercury Bludgeon Riffola	[26]
	9 October 1995	CD2		[27]
Australia	16 October 1995	CD cassette		[28]
United States	23 October 1995	Rock radio		[29]
	24 October 1995	Contemporary hit radio		[30]

References

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1. ^ "The 21 best power ballads". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
2. ^ a b c "Def Leppard History 21st October 1995 (When Love & Hate Collide #2 In UK Chart)". Def Leppard Tour History. Retrieved 4 August 2025.
3. ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 12, no. 42. 21 October 1995. p. 10. Retrieved 19 March 2025.
4. ^ "Def Leppard – When Love & Hate Collide". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
5. ^ "Def Leppard – When Love & Hate Collide" (in French). Ultratop 50.
6. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Image 2872". RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
7. ^ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Image 2879". RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
8. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 12, no. 43. 28 October 1995. p. 22. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
9. ^ "EHR Top 40" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 12, no. 46. 18 November 1995. p. 37. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
10. ^ "Offizielle Deutsche Charts" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. To see the peak chart position, click 'TITEL VON', followed by the artist's name.
11. ^ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (11.11. '95 – 17.11. '95)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 11 November 1995. p. 50. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
12. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – When Love and Hate Collide". Irish Singles Chart.
13. ^ "Def Leppard – When Love & Hate Collide" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
14. ^ "Def Leppard – When Love & Hate Collide". Top 40 Singles.
15. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart on 21/10/1995 – Top 100". Official Charts Company.
16. ^ "Def Leppard – When Love & Hate Collide". Swiss Singles Chart.
17. ^ "Official Singles Chart on 21/10/1995 – Top 100". Official Charts Company.
18. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart on 14/10/1995 – Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
19. ^ "Def Leppard Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
20. ^ "Def Leppard Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard.
21. ^ "Def Leppard Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard.
22. ^ "Top 100 Singles 1995". Music Week. 13 January 1996. p. 9.
23. ^ "Airplay Top 50 of 1995" (PDF). Music Week. 13 January 1996. p. 23. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
24. ^ "RPM Year End Top 100 Hit Tracks". RPM. Retrieved 6 April 2018 – via Library and Archives Canada.
25. ^ "Airplay Monitor Best of '96: Top 40/Mainstream Titles". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 4, no. 53. 27 December 1996. p. 30.
26. ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 30 September 1995. p. 61. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
27. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 7 October 1995. p. 47.
28. ^ "New Releases – Product Available from : 16/10/95: Singles". The ARIA Report. No. 296. 15 October 1995. p. 20.
29. ^ "Rocktober's New Music". Radio & Records. No. 1114. 29 September 1995. p. 66.
30. ^ "Selected New Releases" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1117. 20 October 1995. p. 34. Retrieved 11 August 2021.

v t e Def Leppard
Rick Savage Joe Elliott Rick Allen Phil Collen Vivian Campbell Pete Willis Steve Clark
Studio albums	On Through the Night High 'n' Dry Pyromania Hysteria Adrenalize Slang Euphoria X Yeah! Songs from the Sparkle Lounge Def Leppard Diamond Star Halos
Live albums	Mirror Ball – Live & More Viva! Hysteria And There Will Be a Next Time... Live from Detroit
Compilations	Retro Active Vault: Def Leppard Greatest Hits (1980–1995) Best of Def Leppard Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection The Story So Far – The Best Of The Early Years 79–81 Drastic Symphonies
EPs	The Def Leppard E.P.
Singles	"Wasted" "Hello America" "Let It Go" "Bringin' On the Heartbreak" "Photograph" "Rock of Ages" "Foolin'" "Too Late for Love" "Animal" "Women" "Pour Some Sugar on Me" "Hysteria" "Armageddon It" "Love Bites" "Rocket" "Let's Get Rocked" "Make Love Like a Man" "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad" "Stand Up (Kick Love into Motion)" "Heaven Is" "Tonight" "Two Steps Behind" "Miss You in a Heartbeat" "Action" "When Love & Hate Collide" "Slang" "Work It Out" "All I Want Is Everything" "Breathe a Sigh" "Promises" "Now" "Long, Long Way to Go" "No Matter What" "Rock On" "20th Century Boy" "Undefeated"
Videography	Historia Live: In the Round, in Your Face Visualize Rock of Ages: The DVD Collection Mirror Ball – Live & More Viva! Hysteria And There Will Be a Next Time... Live from Detroit
Concert tours	Adrenalize World Tour Slang World Tour Viva! Hysteria Kiss 40th Anniversary World Tour World Tour 2015 Def Leppard & Journey 2018 Tour The Stadium Tour The World Tour
Related	Discography Members Songs Awards and nominations Cybernauts Man Raze Down 'n' Outz Gogmagog Jeff Rich Frank Noon
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