http://www.journalstar.com/articles/2005/07/29/gz/doc42e94113d49d0796770918.txt

Def Leppard continues to ride success of the '80s
By JOEL GEHRINGER / Lincoln Journal Star

Nothing's going to stop Def Leppard. Not age, not critics and certainly not
tornadoes. Just one day before the band was to play Live 8 in Philadelphia, it
was preparing for a show in Camden, N.J., when a storm brandishing 75 mph winds
ripped through the area and soaked all of the group's electronics.

"Our whole A-rig was gone," guitarist Vivian Campbell said, telling the story in
a phone interview. "Luckily, we sent our B-rig to Live 8. If (the tornado) would
have gone through Philly, that Live 8 show wouldn't have gone. It was an intense
couple of days."

Def Leppard hardly worries about ruined equipment. They've been through much
worse — tanking record sales, an injury to drummer Rick Allen and the death of
guitarist Steve Clark — and every time they've come back stronger than ever.

With that tenacity, the band hit the road this summer on the "Rock 'n' Roll
Double Header Tour" with Bryan Adams. The tour of minor league baseball stadiums
across the country will bring the musicians to Lincoln on Tuesday for a concert
at Haymarket Park.

"Some people think it's a little strange putting Def Leppard and Bryan Adams on
the same bill," Campbell said. "Bryan's definitely the king of the ballads, and
we definitely rock more. But we both do 85 minutes, and between (the two bands)
playing that long, there's a lot of hits."

The hard rockers, known for their '80s heavy metal hits "Pour Some Sugar on Me,"
"Love Bites" and "Rock of Ages," won't be trying anything new this time around.
It's the first time they've toured without having new material to play, but
Campbell said he and the band are content to ride their '80s fame as far as it
will take them.

"This is very much a hits tour," he said. "We're touring on the back of ‘Rock of
Ages.' People want to hear what they want to hear."

Of course, Campbell's not admitting the band is getting old or stale. In fact,
he said, Def Leppard is still "head and shoulders above" other metal bands.

"We sound fresher every tour," he said. "We're sort of working backwards in a
way."

Even after 28 years of playing together, the band recently discovered they can
still hit milestones. On July 2 they hit two when they played at Live 8 and
performed in front of their largest crowd ever.

"It was a bit of a blur," Campbell said, "but it was thrilling when we were on
stage."

For Def Leppard, performing in the activist concert series fulfilled a 20-year
wish. The band wanted to play in Live Aid in 1985 but had to pull out after
Allen lost his left arm in a car accident just months before the show.

"(Lead singer Joe Elliot) has always had a personal vendetta," Campbell said
jokingly. "So he called Bob Geldof and asked to do Live 8."

The group originally wanted to play in their native England, but they decided
the Philadelphia show was more convenient since they were already touring the
United States.

"It worked out really well that we were in the vicinity," Campbell said.

While the band was playing in Philadelphia, organizers announced the crowd had
reached one million people — a big crowd even for the self-proclaimed world's
best metal band.

"I know there were a lot of people, but to say there was a million people out
there, it was big," Campbell said. "It's the biggest gig we'll ever do, in terms
of numbers."

Even though they're playing for relatively smaller crowds in the "Double Header"
shows, the members of the band still look forward to each stadium they hit.

"It's always a big deal," Campbell said. "Big shows are really, really enormous.
You don't make eye contact with people. They're 100 feet from the front row.
Smaller shows, those are nerve-wracking when you're a couple feet away from your
audience and you can see the whites of their eyes.

"I've always found it intimidating, playing live, whatever the number of people.
But you don't join a band to spend a year in the studio with dust gathering on
the machinery and a fat engineer."

In fact, the tour has given the band members a break from studio work.

Guitarist Phil Collen, Allen and Campbell all took time last year to work on
solo projects.

Each tried something new with the time off. Allen volunteered with the Raven
Drum Foundation, his organization for disabled children, and Collen collaborated
with Sex Pistols' drummer Paul Cook for an experimental rock album.

Campbell took the biggest jump, laying down the metal sound to record a blues
album of Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson covers. He didn't get much help from
his busy bandmates, so he recruited Joan Osbourne and ZZ Top's Billy Givens to
help.

"It's the total opposite of a Def Leppard record," Campbell said.

Many musicians would have relaxed in their time off, but Campbell said the
various members of Def Leppard have been making music so long that no one could
stay away from the studio.

The band has always had that attitude, Campbell said, and it's evident in their
history. When the world turned its back on Def Leppard and metal after the
grunge explosion, they refused to quit.

"We sort of went off the radar in the '90s, but we didn't break up or stop
making records," he said. "It's not that the band has changed, it's that the
industry has changed. Genres come and go, and we can only change so far. You are
what you are.

"But as long as you represent well, musically and physically, you've got to keep
pushing forward."

Still, Campbell admitted, a day will come when he and Def Leppard put down their
instruments and stop playing the classic songs their fans have come to love.

"But it's not going to be for a long, long time," he said.

Reach Joel Gehringer at 473-7254 or jgehringer@journalstar.com.

If you go
What: Rock 'n' Roll Double Header Tour with Def Leppard and Bryan Adams
Where: Haymarket Park
When: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday
Admission: $45 

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