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Published 14:34 PM PST Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2002

Def Leppard survive through adversity
By CHRIS MACIAS, Sacramento Bee

(SMW) - "Rock Rock (Till You Drop)" isn't just one of Def Leppard's biggest
hits. It's practically a credo for the long-running hard rockband.

Def Leppard was one of commercial rock's most successful acts during the
1980s, through such monster-sized hit albums as"Pyromania" and "Hysteria."
Yet the group also endured some mighty tragedies, including the loss of
drummer Rick Allen's left arm following a car accident and the
alcohol-related death of guitaristSteve Clark.

Still, Def Leppard has soldiered on. Though the band didn't match its
super-duper album sales from the 1980s, in the succeeding decade a greatest
hits collection ("Vault") and 1992's "Adrenalize" bothwent multi-platinum,
while 1999's "Euphoria" went gold.

Currently, Def Leppard is touring behind its new album, "X. "While "X"
hones Def Leppard's signature melodic-rock bite, the album also treks into
adult-contemporary territory with ballads and popsongs.

In a recent phone call, here's what singer Joe Elliot had to say:

Pop Life: There's been a lot of noise that Def Leppard worked with boy-band
producers on "X."

Elliott: I find it kind of humorous that people say we're working with
boy-band people. I say, "What, you mean like Mutt Lange (Def Leppard's
longtime producer)?" Since the "Euphoria" album, when we worked with Mutt,
he's worked with Britney Spears, 'N Sync, BackstreetBoys and Shania
(Twain). What that is, you've got a rock producer that's slipped slyly into
pop and country.

With ("X" producer Andreas Carlsson), you've got a pop producer that's
slipping slyly into rock. He's a massive rock fan. He just got his break in
pop. We wanted someone to come in with something that was different than
what we do. Same thing with (fellow "X" producer) Marty Frederiksen. He did
Aerosmith, Ozzy (Osbourne), Mick Jagger. But he's worked with Pink and
Backstreet Boys. Producers just work with popular artists. That's their
ambition.

Pop Life: "X" has bits of rock, pop and some power ballads, too. Was the
goal to reach as wide an audience as possible?

Elliott: We're not trying to reach anybody. We're trying to satisfy five
people. All we're trying to put across is, "This is Def Leppard and this is
what we do." We know that by doing ballads like "Long Long Way to Go," we
are alienating fans of hard rock. We like to have the variety. What we like
to get across is that if you try and pigeonhole us, we will fight tooth and
nail to not be in that particular pigeonhole. That's the only criteria
there is with us.

Pop Life: Are there ever any feelings of pressure to change with the times?

Elliott: It depends on what you call "changing with the times." In 1996, we
did an album called "Slang" which for us was a radical departure. And as
soon as we made it, people said, "Why didn't you just do another
'Adrenalize?'" Artists that throw a 360 at you are 99 percent of the time
solo artists - Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie. But it's very
hard for the Who not to sound like the Who. Same thing with us. You don't
want to re-write "Pour Some Sugar On Me," but you want to write something
of that style that got people going.

You write what you write: three- or four-minute pop songs based on the
minimum amount of chords. It's not rocket science. It's the lowest common
denominator from a musical point of view. But it's about what comes from
your heart and soul. Keeping it simple is what rock 'n'roll is.

Pop Life: Whether Def Leppard is doing a rock, pop or ballad track, there
are always strong vocal harmonies in the song. Is that what puts a stamp on
a Def Leppard tune?

Elliott: It certainly is. We were probably the first rock band to put big
harmonies on pure hard rock in a way that didn't sound twee. I know Styx
did it and REO Speedwagon did it. But we shouted our backingvocals, we
didn't sing them. We approached them like Slade used to do it in the 1970s.
They were very shouty, but "song shouty."

But the vocals were always the thing. We did them on the ballads, we did
them on the rockers. That's why I think "Pyromania" is a big album with a
lot of new bands coming up. The choruses on things like "Rock Rock (Till
You Drop)" and "Rock of Ages" were enormous, but they were melodic.

Pop Life: After all that Def Leppard has been through, are you surprised
that the band is still going strong today? Or, did you have confidence all
along that everything would be all right?

Elliott: Once we got over the humps, I'm not surprised at all.
We've survived what better bands than us have split over. Divorces,
women problems, alcohol problems, death, arms - you name it, we've had
it. It makes you stronger. And we do enjoy each other's company. After
22 years we travel together, we still stay in the same hotel. The fact
is that we're better together than we are apart.

Contact Chris Macias of the Sacramento Bee in California
atcmacias@sacbee.com