When you think of some of the most iconic and memorable bands of all time, Def Leppard is always at the top of the list of 80s rock/metal “hair” bands. Speaking of which, their iconic hit, “Pour Some Sugar On Me” is easily considered one of the best rock hits of any era. So much so that it has been a widely covered and performed song throughout the history of cinema. This video in particular will showcase some of the best performances of the song throughout the years, and while there might be a rather long list of entertainers to be featured in the clip, you should be able to recognize quite a few of them without assistance.
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In the 30 years since the song came out, many people have speculated as to what the song meaning actually was and what made it such a memorable track. The irony in all of it, is that it very nearly never even made it onto a record to be played. This was merely a passing idea that the lead singer Joe Elliott had, which he toyed around with in the studio while on break from recording other tracks already set to be on the record. When the studio producer they had used for both of their first two albums overheard the hook for the chorus, he insisted that the band work to get this song on the latest record.
In regard to what the song is actually about, it is a “safe for radio” way of saying that the singer is up for anything sexually that his partner might be into. Without delving too much beyond broad innuendo, it became a song that could appeal to the pop ears of large audiences without losing the gritty rock foundation that had made them successful to this point. It could also largely explain why this song was ideal for those that needed that same level of innuendo without going over the top with sexualization.
Influence wise, the song would take a lot of inspiration from three primary sources that Elliott was into at the time: the collaboration of Run DMC and Aerosmith, The Archies’ “Sugar, Sugar”, and the general cadence and delivery from “Bang A Gong (Get It On) by T. Rex. What would result from this unique blend of influence would be a track worth of being documented throughout cinema history. This video details nearly every account of this track in movies, from the campy films to more serious dramatic presentations. It actually might take more than one watching of this well-edited video to pick out all of the scenes and films that are featured here.
The common thread throughout the films is that all of these actors and actresses are currently performing the song while the clips switch back and forth between the 75 different sources. You might not have even realized yourself how many presentations of “Pour Some Sugar On Me” that you have heard performed in the movies that you grew up with (and some you have seen far more recently) until you isolate small cuts of scenes from this massively entertaining mashup creation.
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