Love at First Sting

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}} {{Infobox album | name = Love at First Sting | type = studio | artist = Scorpions | cover = The_Scorpions_LatFS.jpg | alt = A man and a partially nude woman locked in an embrace, with the man giving the woman a tattoo on her thigh. | caption = Cover photo by Helmut Newton | released = {{start date|df=yes|1984|2}} (US) | recorded = 1983<ref>{{cite book|last=Popoff|first=Martin|author-link=Martin Popoff|title=Scorpions: Top of the Bill|year=2013|publisher=Power Chord Press|location=Toronto, Canada|isbn=978-0981105796|pages=190–192|chapter=Love at First Sting}}</ref> | studio = Dierks (Stommeln, West Germany) | genre = {{Flatlist| * Hard rock * heavy metal * {{Nowrap|glam metal}} }} | length = 40:55 | label = Harvest/EMI | producer = Dieter Dierks | prev_title = Blackout | prev_year = 1982 | next_title = Savage Amusement | next_year = 1988 | misc = {{Singles | name = Love at First Sting | type = studio | single1 = Rock You Like a Hurricane | single1date = 30 January 1984<ref name="record mirror">{{cite news|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Record-Mirror/80s/84/Record-Mirror-1984-01-21-OCR.pdf|title=News|newspaper=Record Mirror|page=6|via=World Radio History|date=21 January 1984|access-date=21 June 2024|quote=The Scorpions bring out a new single 'Rock You Like a Hurricane' on January 30. It comes from an album 'Love at First Sting' which is released a couple of weeks later on February 13. The German heavy metal group start their world tour in Birmingham next week.}}</ref> | single2 = Still Loving You | single2date = June 1984 (US)<ref name="Martin">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/greatrockdiscogr00stro/page/721/mode/2up|title=The Great Rock Discography|year=1995|page=721 |isbn=9780862415419 |last1=Strong |first1=Martin Charles |publisher=Canongate Press }}</ref> | single3 = Big City Nights | single3date = August 1984 (UK) | single4 = I'm Leaving You | single4date = November 1984 (US) }} {{Extra album cover | header = Alternate "clean" cover | type = studio | cover = LoveAtFirstStingBandCover.jpg | border = | alt = | caption = }} }} {{Music ratings | rev1 = AllMusic | rev1Score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.allmusic.com/album/love-at-first-sting-mw0000195649 | title = Scorpions Love at First Sting review | access-date = 11 November 2012 | last = Weber | first = Barry | work = AllMusic | publisher = Rovi Corporation}}</ref> | rev2 = ''Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal'' | rev2Score = 7/10<ref name="martin" >{{cite book | last1 = Popoff | first1 = Martin | author-link1 = Martin Popoff | title = The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties | publisher = Collector's Guide Publishing | date = 1 November 2005 | location = Burlington, Ontario, Canada | isbn = 978-1894959315 | page= 319}}</ref> | rev3 = Forces Parallèles | rev3score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite web | url = http://fp.nightfall.fr/index_3286_scorpions-love-at-first-sting.html | title = Scorpion Love At First Sting review | access-date = 28 October 2014 | last = Gaguet | first = Guillaume | work = Forces Parallèles }}</ref> | rev4 = ''Rock Hard'' | rev4Score = 7.5/10<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Review Album: Scorpions – Love at First Sting |magazine=Rock Hard |year=1984 |last=Lerch |first=Uwe |issue=5 |url=https://www.rockhard.de/megazine/reviewarchiv/review-anzeigen.html?tx_rxsearch_pi1%5Breview%5D=5666 |access-date=18 June 2017 |language=de}}</ref> | rev5 = ''Rolling Stone'' | rev5Score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine | url = https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/scorpions/albums/album/245795/review/5941957/love_at_first_sting | title = Album Reviews: Scorpions – Love at First Sting | access-date = 11 November 2012 | last = Loder | first = Kurt | author-link = Kurt Loder | date = 26 April 1984 | magazine = Rolling Stone | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071014033951/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/scorpions/albums/album/245795/review/5941957/love_at_first_sting | archive-date = 14 October 2007}}</ref> | noprose = yes }}

'''''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<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Archive-RandR/1980s/1984/RR-1984-01-06.pdf|title=Off The Beaten Track|magazine=Radio & Records|location=Los Angeles|issue=515|page=50|issn=0277-4860|date=January 6, 1984|access-date=November 20, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/80s/1984/BB-1984-02-04.pdf|title=SLOW MONTH: Little Superstar Album Product On Labels' February Schedule|last=Grein|first=Pau|magazine=Billboard|page=4|date=February 4, 1984|access-date=November 20, 2025}}</ref> and in March 1984 by Harvest Records in the UK.<ref name="Martin" /> The album contains "Rock You Like a Hurricane", "Still Loving You", and "Big City Nights", three of the band's most famous songs.

==Music== The album's music has been described as heavy metal,<ref name="ucr" >{{Cite web |last=Rivadavia |first=Eduardo |date=March 27, 2015 |title=Top 50 Classic Heavy Metal Albums |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/heavy-metal-albums/ |access-date=2022-09-14 |website=Ultimate Classic Rock}}</ref> hard rock,<ref name="ucr" /> and {{nowrap|glam metal}}.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Popoff|first=Martin|title=The big book of hair metal : the illustrated oral history of heavy metal's debauched decade|date=2014|isbn=978-1-62788-375-7|location=Minneapolis, MN|oclc=891379313|pages=63, 91}}</ref>

==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.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/scorpions-guitarist-doesn-t-rule-out-recording-new-album-with-michael-schenker-uli-jon-roth/|title=SCORPIONS Guitarist Doesn't Rule Out Recording New Album With MICHAEL SCHENKER, ULI JON ROTH|date=3 August 2005|work=BLABBERMOUTH.NET|access-date=17 September 2017|language=en-US}}</ref>

It became the group's most successful album in the US, where it peaked at number 6 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart in 1984,<ref name="US" >{{cite web | url = http://www.allmusic.com/album/love-at-first-sting-mw0000195649/awards | title = Love at First Sting Billboard Albums | access-date = 11 November 2012 | work = AllMusic | publisher = Rovi Corporation | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131125135523/http://www.allmusic.com/album/love-at-first-sting-mw0000195649/awards |archive-date=25 November 2013}}</ref> and went double-platinum by the end of the year, reaching triple-platinum status in 1995.<ref name="RIAA" >{{cite web |url=https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&se=scorpions#search_section |title=RIAA Searchable Database: search for Scorpions |publisher=Recording Industry Association of America |access-date=5 February 2017 }}</ref> The song "Rock You Like a Hurricane" reached number 25 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in the same year;<ref name="US" /> "Still Loving You" reached number 64 on the same chart,<ref name="US" /> number 14 in Germany,<ref name="GER" >{{cite web | url = https://www.offiziellecharts.de/titel-details-1190| title = Single – Scorpions, Still Loving You | access-date = 11 November 2012 | work = Charts.de | publisher = Media Control Charts |language=de }}</ref> and number 3 in the French<ref name="FR" >{{cite web | url = http://lescharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Scorpions&titel=Still+Loving+You&cat=s | title = Scorpions – Still Loving You (Chanson) | access-date = 11 November 2012 | work = Lescharts.com | publisher = Media Control Charts}}</ref> and Swiss<ref name="CH" >{{cite web | url = http://hitparade.ch/showitem.asp?interpret=Scorpions&titel=Still+Loving+You&cat=s | title = Scorpions – Still Loving You | access-date = 11 November 2012 | work = Hitparade.ch | publisher = Media Control Charts|language= de}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Metal Exiles interview with Klaus Meine">{{cite web |author=Jeffrey Easton |title=Metal Exiles interview with Klaus Meine' |url=http://www.metalexiles.com/_mgxroot/page_11070.html |publisher=metalexiles.com |access-date=21 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100421000657/http://www.metalexiles.com/_mgxroot/page_11070.html |archive-date=21 April 2010}}</ref><ref name="Book">{{cite book | last = Nuzum | first = Eric | title = Parental Advisory: Music Censorship in America | publisher = HarperCollins | year = 2001 | location = New York City | pages = [https://archive.org/details/parentaladvisory00nuzu/page/78 78, 245] | isbn = 978-0688167721 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/parentaladvisory00nuzu/page/78 }}</ref><ref name="Web">{{cite web |author=Nuzum, Eric |title= 1980's Censorship Incidents |url=http://www.ericnuzum.com/banned/incidents/80s.html |access-date=19 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031005190352/http://www.ericnuzum.com/banned/incidents/80s.html |archive-date=5 October 2003}}</ref>

==Track listing== {{Track listing | headline = Side one | all_lyrics = Klaus Meine except where noted | all_music = Rudolf Schenker except where noted | title1 = Bad Boys Running Wild | lyrics1 = {{hlist|Meine| Herman Rarebell}} | length1 = 3:54 | title2 = Rock You Like a Hurricane | lyrics2 = {{hlist|Meine| Herman Rarebell}} | length2 = 4:11 | title3 = I'm Leaving You | length3 = 4:16 | title4 = Coming Home | length4 = 4:58 | title5 = The Same Thrill | length5 = 3:30 }} {{Track listing | headline = Side two | title6 = Big City Nights | length6 = 4:08 | title7 = As Soon as the Good Times Roll | length7 = 5:01 | title8 = Crossfire | length8 = 4:31 | title9 = Still Loving You | length9 = 6:26 }} {{Track listing | headline = 2015 bonus tracks (50th anniversary deluxe edition) | title10 = Coming Home | length10 = 3:17 | note10 = Demo Version | title11 = Living at Night | length11 = 4:14 | note11 = Demo Song | title12 = First Sting Jam | length12 = 1:25 | music12 = {{hlist|Matthias Jabs| Schenker}} | note12 = Demo | title13 = Anytime (You Want It) | length13 = 5:16 | note13 = Demo Song | title14 = Still Loving You | length14 = 5:46 | note14 = Demo Version }} {{Track listing | headline = 2015 bonus CD live at Madison Square Garden, New York City, 7 June 1984 (50th anniversary deluxe edition) |title1 = Countdown |length1 = 1:58 |title2 = Coming Home |length2 = 3:11 |title3 = Blackout |length3 = 3:48 |title4 = Bad Boys Running Wild |length4 = 4:11 |title5 = Loving You Sunday Morning |length5 = 4:45 |title6 = Big City Nights |length6 = 5:14 |title7 = Coast to Coast |length7 = 4:58 |title8 = Still Loving You |length8 = 5:52 |title9 = Rock You Like a Hurricane |length9 = 4:20 |title10 = The Zoo |length10 = 8:05 |title11 = Dynamite |length11 = 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, Moog Taurus * Herman Rarebell – drums

'''Production''' * Dieter Dierks – producer, mixing * Gerd Rautenbach – engineer, mastering * Kochlowski/Missmahl/Pieczulski – cover design

==Charts== {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" |- ! Chart (1984) ! Peak<br/>position |- {{Album chart|Austria|19|artist=Scorpions|album=Love at First Sting|rowheader=true|accessdate=March 25, 2024}} |- {{Album chart|Canada|15|chartid=6752a|artist=Scorpions|album=Love at First Sting|rowheader=true|accessdate=March 25, 2024}} |- ! scope="row"| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)<ref name=FINI>{{cite book|last=Pennanen|first=Timo|title=Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972|edition=1st|publisher=Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava|location=Helsinki|year=2006|isbn=978-951-1-21053-5 | page= 166 | language= fi}}</ref> | align="center"| 4 |- !scope="row"| French Albums (SNEP)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.infodisc.fr/Album_Y.php |website =Infodisc.fr |language=fr |access-date=March 25, 2024 |title=Le Détail des Albums de chaque Artiste – S |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022124902/http://infodisc.fr/Album_S.php |archive-date=22 October 2014 }} ''Select ''Scorpions'' from the menu, then press ''OK''.''</ref> | align="center"| 4 |- {{Album chart|Germany|6|id=80|artist=Scorpions|album=Love at First Sting|rowheader=true|accessdate=March 25, 2024}} |- !scope="row"|Japanese Albums (Oricon)<ref name="JPN">{{cite book|title=Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005|publisher=Oricon Entertainment|location=Roppongi, Tokyo|year=2006|isbn=4-87131-077-9|language=ja}}</ref> | align="center"| 25 |- {{Album chart|New Zealand|48|artist=Scorpions|album=Love at First Sting|rowheader=true|accessdate=March 25, 2024}} |- {{Album chart|Sweden|17|artist=Scorpions|album=Love at First Sting|rowheader=true|accessdate=March 25, 2024}} |- {{Album chart|Switzerland|9|artist=Scorpions|album=Love at First Sting|rowheader=true|accessdate=March 25, 2024}} |- {{Album chart|UK2|17|date=19840318|refname=UK albums|rowheader=true|accessdate=March 25, 2024}} |- {{Album chart|Billboard200|6|artist=Scorpions|refname=Billboard 200|rowheader=true|accessdate=March 25, 2024}} |}

==Certifications== {{Certification Table Top}} {{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|type=album|artist=Scorpions|title=Love at First Sting |award=Platinum|number=2|relyear=1984|certyear=1988}} {{Certification Table Entry|type=album|region=France|award=Platinum|relyear=1984|certyear=1985|certref=<ref name=BILLBOARD>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Billboard-Index/IDX/1985/1985-04-27-Billboard-Page-0053.pdf|title=Scorpions - Love at First Sting|magazine=Billboard|date=April 27, 1985|page=53}}</ref>|certmonth=4}} {{Certification Table Entry|type=album|region=Germany|artist=Scorpions| title=Love at First Sting|award=Gold|relyear=1984|certyear=1985}} {{Certification Table Entry|type=album|region=Japan|award=Gold|relyear=1984|certyear=1985|certref=<ref name=BILLBOARD />}} {{Certification Table Entry|type=album|region=Switzerland|award=Gold|relyear=1984|certyear=1985|certref=<ref name=BILLBOARD />}} {{Certification Table Entry|type=album|region=United States|artist=Scorpions|title=Love at First Sting|award=Platinum| number=3|relyear=1984|certyear=1995}} {{Certification Table Bottom}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * [http://www.the-scorpions.com/ Official website]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Love At First Sting}} Category:1984 albums Category:Scorpions (band) albums Category:EMI Records albums Category:Harvest Records albums Category:Mercury Records albums Category:Albums produced by Dieter Dierks Category:Glam metal albums