http://www.delcotimes.com/WebApp/appmanager/JRC/Daily?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pg_article&r21.pgpath=%2FDCT%2FEntertainment&r21.content=%2FDCT%2FEntertainment%2FHeadlineList_Story_507728 Posted on Fri, Jul 13, 2007 Rock Music Menu: Def Leppard comes to Tweeter By Michael Christopher, Special to the Times Any rock band striving for longevity faces the prospect of going through some difficult years, stylistically speaking, in an effort to keep up with the times. Take for example Def Leppard, headlining the Tweeter Center Saturday night nearly 30 years after getting its start. Throughout the band's storied history ("storied" an apt descriptive considering the tribulations they've collectively gone through), trends have come and gone, perhaps most awkwardly during the height of the glam metal movement in the late '80s. There was the requisite stone-washed jeans, cowboy boots, leather jackets, sleeveless flannels and yes, the hair. And while not near as serious as the overdose death of guitarist Steve Clark in 1991 or the car accident that claimed drummer Rick Allen's arm a few years prior, frontman Joe Elliott has battled valiantly to keep his coif in shape throughout the decades. In the early years of Def Lep, Elliott seemed to take his cue from the famed Greg Brady perm, but quickly adapted to various lengths and shapes of the hair band staple: the highlighted mullet. Name a take on the business in the front, party in the back cut, and the singer sported it at one time or another, from feathered and poofy to tight and crisp. But the constant primping and teasing took its toll, and by the time of its debut on the group's 1998 VH1 "Behind the Music," his hair was brittle and washed out, making Joe look like the equivalent to a rock 'n' roll scarecrow. Recently, like the band itself, Elliott's hair has been on the rebound, and it just might be because of Vivian Campbell, who took over Clark's duties some 15 years ago. The guitarist once did time in an Aqua Net heavy line-up of Whitesnake, becoming known for his wild and tightly wound curly locks almost as much as his bluesy guitar leads. Looking at his healthy hairstyle, one can't discount the influence he might've had on the recuperation of Elliott's tresses. "Being a bunch of guys - men, we can't really talk to each other about hair," Campbell told Rock Music Menu. "We can talk about beer and (flatulence) and football - but not about hair care." But when pressed, Campbell admitted, "I might secretly leave something out for him to use, maybe put some product in his bag or something when he isn't looking, you know? Just to give him a hint." It's that type of humor that has kept Def Leppard ahead of the curve through both personal adversity and a fickle music industry. Consistent road dogs, the band has spent the past few summers linking up with acts that wouldn't necessarily seem like a perfect match. Bryan Adams in 2005, Journey last year and the double dose of '70s radio dinosaurs Styx and Foreigner this summer (Only Styx will be on board at the Tweeter). Campbell acknowledged that on paper, the pairings don't make much sense, but somehow they work. "With this summer, there was some hesitation, management put it together, and we've learned to trust them," he said. "The way to figure it is, with Journey, 30 percent of the audience was there to see them, 40 percent was there to see us, and the rest of the audience was people who aren't big fans of either band, but it's going to be a good show. That's why we played a lot of our radio hits last summer, which we'll do this time around too, but also going deeper for the hardcore fans." Part of the reason that some of the artists opening for Def Leppard are lacking when it comes to a stable fan base is that their line-ups have shifted so much. In fact, both Styx and Foreigner are performing without their original lead singers, something Campbell could never see happening to his band. "I can't picture Def Leppard having a singer other than Joe - never," he said. "For that matter, I can't imagine playing with a drummer who has two arms." That sort of dedication to a unit has left no shortage of diehards, and aside from a few dated clunkers in its catalog like, say "Let's Get Rocked," most of the band's music still sounds fresh. Songs like "Rock of Ages" and "Bringin' on the Heartbreak" sound as current today as they did in the first half of the '80s. To avoid sounding dated, and in preparation for next year's new release (tentatively titled "Songs from the Sparkle Lounge"), the guys looked toward their recent covers release "Yeah!" as inspiration. The disc paid tribute to the group's musical heroes, and with unique takes on tracks by Thin Lizzy and Free, didn't exactly cater to the mainstream, but rather to the heart of glam rock which Def Leppard so embraced. Campbell's own roots go back quite a ways, his first band, Sweet Savage, might've been just another footnote in the 1979 New Wave of British Heavy Metal had Metallica not decided to cover its song "Killing Time," immediately generating interest from the metal community. "I couldn't believe it when I heard they covered it," Campbell says now. "It says something about the song too that they played it pretty straightforward as opposed to 'Metallicizing' it. I thought it was great." Stints in Dio and the aforementioned Whitesnake followed for the guitarist, as did, coincidentally enough, an ill-fated project with former Foreigner lead singer Lou Gramm called Shadow King. But in all of Campbell's journeyman-like beginnings, it was after he found a permanent home in Def Leppard that an incident occurred that has become the stuff of urban legend. It revolves around a heated exchange with rocker Glenn Danzig and a spilled bowl of soup. Many different versions of the tale have been told through the years, rumors had a fight breaking out between the Def Leppard and Danzig camps at a European festival back in 1993, with Campbell laying the stout lord of the dark out. At Live 8 two summers ago, Campbell laughed when I asked him about the incident, and likened it to "Two old ladies going at each other with their handbags." A few months back, Danzig told Rock Music Menu, "The Vivian thing was nothing. It was basically like lots of words, we said "OK, let's (fight)" and they were like "No," and we said, "OK." "Well … that's not exactly how it happened," said Campbell. "He made a rude comment to my wife, and somebody, not me, gave him a bit of a kick from behind, and I guess he was mad about his soup getting spilt. It must've been really good soup for him to get that upset, but it was Germany, so the soup probably couldn't have been that good; it was probably really, really dark, with all sorts of nasty stuff in it. Anyway, Phil Collen (Vivian's fellow Def Lep guitarist) was ready to go - he's a black belt in karate, but Danzig backed down. It really was over nothing, other than that bowl of soup." To contact Michael Christopher, send an e-mail to rockmusicmenu@hotmail.com © 2007 Journal Register Company. All Rights Reserved.