http://www.hdonline.com/2005/August/05/LFlist1.htm

Def Leppard, Bryan Adams rock the Power in Charleston

By CHRISTOPHER MITCHELL - The Herald-Dispatch

On Sunday evening, pop/metal veterans Def Leppard will play 1980s arena rock
staples "Photograph" and "Pour Some Sugar On Me" for what must seem like the
gazillionth time in their 25-year music career.

Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen lost actual count many years ago, but he says he
never tires of playing these songs - and many other hits from the band's catalog
- each sweltering night on the band's summer-long "Rock 'n' Roll Doubleheader
Tour" with co-headlining Canadian rocker Bryan Adams.

"The key is that we're music fans, too," Allen says of himself and bandmates Joe
Elliott (vocals), Phil Collen (guitar), Vivian Campbell (guitar) and Rick Savage
(bass).

"No matter how many times we play these songs live, we don't tire of them. We
love that some of them have become a soundtrack to people's lives - that people
remember where they were when that song became important to them. Hey, that's
the way we feel when we hear an old David Bowie or T.Rex song."

There will be plenty of nostalgia to go around this weekend as Sheffield,
England's biggest-selling musical act teams with Adams to deliver an evening's
worth of high-volume classic rock at Charleston's Appalachian Power Park, home
of the single-A baseball team West Virginia Power.

This will be the 24th night of the 26-date joint tour performed before crowds at
minor league ballparks this summer.

And why did they pick minor league ballparks, you ask?

"We knew that Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan did it last summer with great
success," Allen says, "and in terms of it being a summer tour, we thought it
would be fun to take it outdoors.

"We and Bryan aren't a perfect fit as far as musical genres go, but we couldn't
have found a nicer guy to tour with. As far as hearing hit songs all night, we
thought it would be a great treat for everyone who comes out to see all of us."

Though it's been difficult to adjust to the sweltering heat, bugs the size of
quarters and the rich scent of sunblock and sweat filtering throughout the early
evening summer air, Def Leppard has plenty more than the hefty box office
reports to celebrate on this tour. "Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection,"
the band's recent double-CD greatest hits collection, was RIAA-certified Gold
for selling 500,000 albums in America on June 22.

"We do appreciate this kind of success, and it means more to us than a Grammy or
an MTV Award," Allen says. "It means the people who buy your records have given
(the award) to you. Though it's nice to be recognized with industry awards, the
fact that people are buying the albums still means so much."

This is a band, after all, that has sold more than 65 million albums worldwide,
bolstered by the successes of 1983's "Pyromania" and 1987's "Hysteria." These
two albums were RIAA-certified Diamond for sales of 10 million and 13 million,
respectively, in the U.S. alone.

Twenty-five years after washing upon American shores with the rough-hued "On
Through the Night" album, Def Leppard has plans to stick around for prolonged
career success like fellow rockers Aerosmith and AC/DC.

"We've proven that we can go out on tour and play a hits package for years to
come," Allen says. "But we don't want to become an oldies act, not that there's
anything wrong with it. We've still got the desire to write and record new
music, too."

For the first time in the band's career, Def Leppard plans to release a covers
album featuring their interpretations of classic 70s British rock songs, titled
"Yeah!," in late 2005/early 2006. The band will then commence work on a new
album - their 10th album of original material - in 2006.

If you go
WHAT: "The Rock 'n' Roll Doubleheader Tour" featuring classic rock acts Def
Leppard and Bryan Adams
WHEN: 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 7
WHERE: Appalachian Power Park, 601 Morris St., Charleston.
TICKETS: $45 and may be purchased through all Ticketmaster outlets and at the
Power Park Box Office. Kids 12 and under receive free admission.
QUESTIONS? (304) 344-2287 

Copyright © 2005 The Herald-Dispatch