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Def Leppard Rock's On
An Interview with Def Leppard Guitarist Phil Collen

by Jeb Wright

Def Leppard is enjoying a rebirth of sorts in 2006. The album Yeah! debuted at 
#16 on the charts and the single "Rock On" is the bands first big hit in years. 
They are in middle of a tour featuring Journey as the opening act. The concert 
has been drawing huge numbers and many of the venues have sold out.

We caught up with Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen to find out how life in Lep 
is going and what to expect from the future. Collen could not hide his elation 
at seeing the band’s hard work paying off again in terms of album sales and 
attendance at concerts.

During our chat we discussed the aggressive marketing campaign with retail 
giants Wal-mart and others who wanted exclusive versions of Yeah! and if Phil 
considered that selling out. Collen also related that Leppard is heading for 
the studio in January and that the next album will be harder rocking than some 
of the band’s more recent releases. In the end, it appears Def Leppard is truly 
back in our face and will continue to rock on for years to come.

Jeb: How is the new album doing? Are the cover songs going over well live?

Phil: We have a genuine hit with "Rock On" so it is really amazing to see the 
difference between last year and this year. Everything has really fallen into 
place. We are selling out all these venues that have twenty thousand people in 
them. A hit record really makes the difference.

Jeb: How did you even remember the song "Rock On?"

Phil: Joe [Elliott] thought of that one. We got together and decided that we 
wanted to do an album of covers but we didn’t want to just choose hit songs. 
"Rock On" was a massive hit but it had never been done like this before. When 
we were kids we liked that song. Back then there was no real distinction 
between rock music and pop music – it was either great or it was crap. It was 
fun to dust that one off and do a rock version of the song.

Jeb: Are you surprised that this is the album and single that has brought you 
back to the charts?

Phil: Not really. We have been trying since our last big hit. In America, "Two 
Steps Behind" was our last proper hit. "Promises" was a minor hit. We have been 
trying and we always think the next song we release will be a hit but you never 
really know. You just have to have the attitude that if it is a hit then that 
is great but if it is not then maybe the next one will be.

Jeb: You have to admit that Yeah! was a bit self-indulgent.

Phil: It was totally self-indulgent. Just the fact that we chose the songs we 
did shows that. We didn’t remake the Beatles, the Stones, Zeppelin or Queen. We 
did this purely for us and it was very selfish. They are songs that meant 
something to us, personally.

Jeb: I have to ask about the marketing of the album. Wal-mart got one version, 
Best Buy got one version – some say it was a little over the top to do that.

Phil: I think it is great. One retail chain would say, "We want an exclusive" 
and we had extra tracks so we agreed. We each had done some songs in our home 
studios while the mood was going on and we decided we could use these songs in 
that way. I think it is really great to do it in that format – we think it is 
really cool.

Jeb: But one could say that Def Lep is just using that to sell more records.

Phil: Selling more records is a great thing. It has been a long time since we 
sold a lot of records. We had the songs, so why not? When you release an album 
in Japan, they ask for bonus tracks. The band doesn’t get anything extra out of 
it. The same deal is starting to happen here. The company wants something 
exclusive so they can sell more records.

Jeb: Some people tend to think moves like this are all about money.

Phil: It is not like we get any extra money out of it. It really is just to get 
the record into the store and out to people. It gets the record in the rack and 
that would really suck to do this album and not to get it in the rack. 
Actually, it has really sucked the past few years when we have put albums out 
and no one even knows they exist. The stores said that they would advertise the 
crap out of the record but they wanted an extra incentive to do so; that is 
fine by me.

Jeb: You just related one of the biggest problems classic rock bands have and 
that is getting the mainstream to promote the new releases. This did work as 
the album was featured heavily in the retail chains that carried it. In that 
way it is a pretty savvy marketing approach.

Phil: Everyone does these things. It is really funny that the people who get 
the least amount of money out of the whole thing – the band – get the hardest 
time about doing it. It really makes me laugh. The band really does get the 
least cut of the pie out of anyone. I could go on for ages about this. We are 
not making a penny out of any of the publishing of this album as we didn’t 
write any of the songs.

Jeb: Let’s talk about the tour. Journey and Def Leppard was an odd pairing to 
hit the road.

Phil: At first people thought that but then they realized they are getting 
three hours of nonstop hits. Yesterday, I was jamming on stage with Journey and 
we were doing a slow blues version of "Crossroads." It was fucking great. 
Everyone is having the best time.

Jeb: How is it with Jeff Scott Soto on vocals for Journey?

Phil: The big difference is that he doesn’t sound a lot like Steve Perry where 
the other singer did. It is just another version of Journey but with Jeff in 
there it gives it a bit more of a hard rock edge. It still sounds like Journey 
as he is singing the same notes but it is different. Whoever is singing in that 
band has a hard job as they are hard songs to sing.

Jeb: Def Leppard is well known for their live shows. You have a sustained 
energy on stage. How do you all keep from falling into the trap of just going 
through the motions?

Phil: This tour features songs that are very demanding. If you don’t do the 
songs in the spirit that they were recorded then it would really suck. We have 
a bit of a new lease on life. We have been trying for many years to have 
success. Most of our big success was in the 8o’s and early 90's. We are very 
genuine about our beliefs in this band. When we see our beliefs condoned by the 
audience then I think you go that extra mile and give it all you’ve got. I am 
doing something that I dreamed about doing when I was a kid. To be 48 years old 
and still doing it is just fucking great.  

Jeb: What is the biggest difference between this tour and past tours?

Phil: The biggest difference is the amount of younger people coming to the 
shows. We are also not apologizing for who we are. There was this big stigma 
about 80's bands – and quite rightly as there were some awful bands who came 
after Def Leppard. They kind of changed things and a lot of people thought that 
the music of the era sucked. We have stayed true to what we do and now it has 
come full circle. Now, you have sixteen year old kids coming to the show and 
seeing that our songs are actually really good. There is no longer that 80's 
stigma attached to it. We play our big hits but we play new songs as well. If 
you keep putting records out then it means that you are still trying and there 
is a certain integrity to that.

Jeb: You also have the side project, Man-Raze, with Steve Jones of the Sex 
Pistols. What is up with that?

Phil: I am getting ready to go over to Dublin to finish that record up. We 
should have something in the can within two weeks. When we started playing the 
songs live it sounded totally different from when we recorded them so we went 
in and redid the stuff. We also have written some new songs. It is sounding 
awesome and I am totally digging it.

Jeb: When are you going to find time for yourself?

Phil: It would be nice to do that but I have this thing that when people are 
knocking at your door and they are interested then you have to go with it. I 
have a lot of energy and I am really digging all that is going on.

Jeb: Def Leppard has had a history of inner band turmoil. Is that a problem now 
or is that something that is in the past?

Phil: The testosterone in the band just got boosted with the recent hit and 
there is now a certain type of swagger – a cock strut – within the group. We 
want everyone to hear our new stuff and we are telling everyone to listen to it 
and check us out. After a while, it wears you down. The minute people start 
telling you how great it is, you start strutting your stuff but it is all good. 
In fact, it is really exciting.

Jeb: The new album is all cover songs. What about new material?

Phil: We have about eight songs on the go but we have two that are demoed. We 
are trying the new songs out backstage. We have this thing we call The Sparkle 
Lounge, which is three little tiny Fender amps and a little bass amp. Rick 
Allen has this tiny little Roland drum kit. You can fit this stuff in the back 
of a trailer. We are doing some pre-production and we think we will have at 
least five or six songs totally produced and ready to go by the time we come 
off the road. We are going to start recording in January.

Jeb: Can you give us a hint at the sound of the new material?

Phil: It is very rock. In fact, it is more rock that it has been in a few 
years. What we have tried to do in the recent past is to make great songs and 
in doing that we kind of left the edge off and let things get rounded off a 
little bit. We want the next album to have a rough edge. I think the new album 
will be a lot more raw.

Jeb: Is Def Leppard becoming the poster band of the 80's rock scene?

Phil: Some people don’t like the idea of nostalgia and I can understand why. I 
would not want us to be a Karaoke version of ourselves. But the fact that we 
have been recording and releasing new stuff makes us real. The Rolling Stones 
are still out there. I think we will still be out there when we are their age. 
In the past, I would not have thought that but I also didn’t think I would be 
doing it at age 48. Our new manager said to us, "Some bands just want to stay 
out there doing it. You are one of those bands. You are going to want to do it 
when you are 50 and when you are 60. Just accept it." I thought that was a cool 
thing to say as a lot of people discourage you. They say, "Oh you are getting 
older." Fuck that. If you have something to offer and you still have the hunger 
and the energy to do it then why not do it? Look at Aerosmith.

Jeb: Some of the fans have emailed Classic Rock Revisited and complained that 
Def Leppard’s set lists in the United States are more hit oriented while the 
set lists overseas were more liberal. Why is that?

Phil: We try to put new songs in the set. We were opening with "Hell Raiser" 
and we were trying different things. If you are going to follow Journey and 
they are doing one of the top downloaded songs off all time, "Don’t Stop 
Believing" – they are one of the premier rock bands of all time in America. If 
you are going to follow them and follow that song then you had better be 
fucking good and you better open with a huge hit. I love the fact that Journey 
are great as they keep us on our toes. They are amazing every night. We are 
playing two songs off of our new album and I think at the moment that is 
enough. When we get a three-hour set then we will put more new stuff in. We are 
promoting the new album and one of the highlights of set, production -wise, is 
"Rock On." Actually, this is a great problem to have. We did more stuff in 
Europe but I don’t think that would work in America.

Jeb: Will the American fans ever hear "Wasted" or "Hello America" performed 
live by Def Leppard?

Phil: We have played "Wasted" and it just died. Ten people in the audience go 
really nuts and nine thousand and ninety go, "What the fuck is this? Play ‘Pour 
Some Sugar on Me.’" You want to give the majority of the audience what they 
want to hear. One day we will go out and play theaters. Cheap Trick went out 
and played entire albums. One night they would go out and play Dream Police and 
the next night they would play Budokan. We want to do that one day. We would 
play a primary set and then do an entire album. The problem comes in when you 
have so many songs to choose from. We played a heavy metal festival in Sweden 
and we played "Wasted" and it was really anti-climatic. It pops up in our 
discussions all the time among the band members. Someone will go, "Let’s do 
‘Wasted’ or "High ‘N’ Dry (Saturday Night).’" Every now and again we dust them 
off and do them. The only place it really works is in Japan. We did "Ring of 
Fire" and they loved it. We tried it over here and it died on its ass.

Jeb: Before you have to go I wanted to see what you thought about being 
selected to be one of the featured bands at the VH1 Rock Honors.

Phil: We thought it was great. We were being paid homage to but we felt like we 
were there to pay homage to Queen. All the bands were there and played on the 
same night and it was fucking awesome. We had not seen the guys from Judas 
Priest for a long time and they are all just lovely guys. It was a really good 
night. Brian May is the sixth member of Def Leppard as he has played with us 
many times. We had some backing singers and we made things a bit different. I 
love VH1 and I love what they do for rock music.