Love at First Sting
1984 studio album by Scorpions
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Love at First Sting is the ninth studio album by German hard rock/heavy metal band Scorpions. It was released in February 1984 by Mercury Records in the US[9][10] and in March 1984 by Harvest Records in the UK.[3] The album contains "Rock You Like a Hurricane", "Still Loving You", and "Big City Nights", three of the band's most famous songs Which is a controversial album because of its nudity
| Love at First Sting | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Cover photo by Helmut Newton | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | February 1984 (US) | |||
| Recorded | 1983[1] | |||
| Studios | Dierks (Stommeln, West Germany) | |||
| Genres | ||||
| Length | 40:55 | |||
| Label | Harvest/EMI | |||
| Producer | Dieter Dierks | |||
| Scorpions chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Love at First Sting | ||||
| ||||
| Alternate "clean" cover | ||||
 | ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [4] |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 7/10[5] |
| Forces Parallèles |  [6] |
| Rock Hard | 7.5/10[7] |
| Rolling Stone | [8] |
Music
The album's music has been described as heavy metal,[11] hard rock,[11] and glam metal.[12]
Background and recording
The album was recorded at Dierks Studios in Stommeln, West Germany. Initial sessions took place in Stockholm's Polar Studios in the Summer of 1983 with ex-Rainbow members Jimmy Bain on bass and Bobby Rondinelli on drums, but nothing made it to the final album.[13]
It became the group's most successful album in the US, where it peaked at number 6 on the Billboard 200 chart in 1984,[14] and went double-platinum by the end of the year, reaching triple-platinum status in 1995.[15] The song "Rock You Like a Hurricane" reached number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the same year;[14] "Still Loving You" reached number 64 on the same chart,[14] number 14 in Germany,[16] and number 3 in the French[17] and Swiss[18] single charts.
Artwork
The original cover art was created by Kochlowski, which is a German graphic design company, and features a photo shot by renowned German photographer Helmut Newton. Despite the record company having shown the original cover art to retailers without any concerns, a complaint by Walmart in the US after the album was released resulted in PolyGram Records issuing a "clean" cover for use in several department store chains. The alternative cover was designed to be less controversial by simply showing a photo of the band members, which was the same photo as the one on the inner sleeve.[19][20][21]
Track listing
All lyrics are written by Klaus Meine except where noted; all music is composed by Rudolf Schenker except where noted.
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Bad Boys Running Wild" |
| 3:54 |
| 2. | "Rock You Like a Hurricane" |
| 4:11 |
| 3. | "I'm Leaving You" | 4:16 | |
| 4. | "Coming Home" | 4:58 | |
| 5. | "The Same Thrill" | 3:30 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 6. | "Big City Nights" | 4:08 |
| 7. | "As Soon as the Good Times Roll" | 5:01 |
| 8. | "Crossfire" | 4:31 |
| 9. | "Still Loving You" | 6:26 |
| No. | Title | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10. | "Coming Home" (Demo Version) | 3:17 | |
| 11. | "Living at Night" (Demo Song) | 4:14 | |
| 12. | "First Sting Jam" (Demo) |
| 1:25 |
| 13. | "Anytime (You Want It)" (Demo Song) | 5:16 | |
| 14. | "Still Loving You" (Demo Version) | 5:46 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Countdown" | 1:58 |
| 2. | "Coming Home" | 3:11 |
| 3. | "Blackout" | 3:48 |
| 4. | "Bad Boys Running Wild" | 4:11 |
| 5. | "Loving You Sunday Morning" | 4:45 |
| 6. | "Big City Nights" | 5:14 |
| 7. | "Coast to Coast" | 4:58 |
| 8. | "Still Loving You" | 5:52 |
| 9. | "Rock You Like a Hurricane" | 4:20 |
| 10. | "The Zoo" | 8:05 |
| 11. | "Dynamite" | 6:41 |
Personnel
Scorpions
- Klaus Meine – lead and backing vocals
- Rudolf Schenker – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2, 3, 8), lead guitar (6, 7, 9)
- Matthias Jabs – lead guitar, rhythm guitar (6, 7, 9)
- Francis Buchholz – bass guitar, Moog Taurus
- Herman Rarebell – drums
Production
- Dieter Dierks – producer, mixing
- Gerd Rautenbach – engineer, mastering
- Kochlowski/Missmahl/Pieczulski – cover design
Charts
| Chart (1984) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[22] | 19 |
| Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[23] | 15 |
| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)[24] | 4 |
| French Albums (SNEP)[25] | 4 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[26] | 6 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon)[27] | 25 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[28] | 48 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[29] | 17 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[30] | 9 |
| UK Albums (Official Charts)[31] | 17 |
| US Billboard 200[32] | 6 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[33] | 2× Platinum | 200,000^ |
| France (SNEP)[34] | Platinum | 400,000* |
| Germany (BVMI)[35] | Gold | 250,000^ |
| Japan (RIAJ)[34] | Gold | 100,000^ |
| Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[34] | Gold | 25,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[36] | 3× Platinum | 3,000,000^ |
|
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||