Florida sure screws up a lot of stuff, but here's one random example of how the state is occasionally responsible for a few wins. And it explains why Phil Collen and his band, Def Leppard, might be super-stoked to play the Cruzan Amphitheatre on June 15.
Turns out, our sun-bleached peninsula was responsible for helping the band's infamous hit, "Pour Some Sugar On Me," become the long-lasting hair-rock anthem it is today.
More precisely, it was our buxom strippers, he says. These days, South Florida gentlemen's clubs mostly hum to hip-hop and pop-techno beats, but once upon a time, hard rock was the sound du jour. Late last year, Collen appeared on Eddie Trunk's That Metal Show on VH1 to reminisce about those salad days.
Before "Pour Some Sugar on Me Broke," it turns out the band's previous single sank like a stone. So how, Collen was asked, did the famous song suddenly skyrocket in popularity? "Strippers in Florida," he answered.
Skip ahead in this video to 3:40 to hear him further explain about how pole acrobats from the Sunshine State contributed to the band's success.... Or don't, as the beginning includes a vintage video interview in which Collen looks just like David St. Hubbins from Spinal Tap. And hey, if he wants to relive the past, Spearmint Rhino, Dreamgirls, and Cheetah are all within a stone's throw of the venue....
(*Thanks to Danny from Jacuzzi Boys for the heads up to this nugget.)
Def Leppard. With Heart, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 15 at Cruzan Amphitheatre, 601-7 Sansburys Way, West Palm Beach. Tickets cost $40 to $149.50; livenation.com
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