Hall of Famers Def Leppard set to shake Rogers Place
Def Leppard not content to rest amid massive change in music world
Does Def Leppard really have anything left to achieve?
It wouldn’t seem as though the English hard-rockers, still among the world’s best-selling bands, have much to prove. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March (picking up a ridiculously large portion of the fan vote in the process), Def Leppard continue to pack arenas on a regular basis. Trends come and go, but Def Leppard? They’re always there.
“Oh, I don’t know,” disagrees guitarist Phil Collen.
Taking time off from a series of Mediterranean gigs, Collen and his bandmates (vocalist Joe Elliott; bassist Rick Savage; drummer Rick Allen; guitarist Vivian Campbell) are enjoying a day to themselves in Milan.
“There’s always something new to achieve. Last year we did an amazing stadium tour with Journey that was a highlight in this Indian Summer of our career. We’re always working on our performance; we take pride in the fact that we really sing and play, which a lot of bands don’t really do these days. Things are changing.”
Collen knows whereof he speaks. The 61-year-old held a position as a dispatch driver for a typeset company as his last day job, and watched as it became irrelevant. Now he’s keeping an eye on the ever-shifting music industry.
“It’s in a very different phase,” he sighs. “Now we’re always touring because it’s more important than recording. Nobody buys music anymore, and it’s hard to get people to listen to anything new. It’s very celebrity based, isn’t it?”
This isn’t something that Def Leppard needs to worry about. Even without a hit to propel it, their most recent, self-titled release debuted at number 10 on the Billboard charts in 2015. New albums will likely come in longer intervals, but with a backlog of timeless radio bangers like Pour Some Sugar on Me, Love Bites, Armageddon It, and Hysteria, the band will always fill a venue, no matter what size.
“We just headlined Download (Festival, in Leicestershire, England) and it was amazing. All of these kids make a trip every year to what is essentially a mud fest, because it pours rain in England for a week and then it gets so hot. There’s a whole culture to it, and you can’t help but be impressed. It was cool to be back in England for that one; we did the Hysteria album in full.”
After Def Leppard hits Canada the band will camp out in Vegas for 12 shows, allowing the members to cool their jets in one place for three weeks.
They’ll indulge themselves by revising the set list, bringing in deep cuts that normally don’t get much live play. As for recording, Collen allows that the band does have plans to get into the studio.
“We actually started last year,” he says. “These days you can do some of it while on the road, if you have the gear.
“It’s a much faster process with the new technology. Like everything else, it’s not like the old days, when you’d march into a studio and stay there for months.”