http://entertainment.mainetoday.com/news/050626defleppard.shtml Sunday, June 26, 2005 Rockers on a never-ending tour By Aimsel Ponti, Naysayers who are not tuned in to Def Leppard may dismiss this veteran rock group as a has-been '80s group. Reality is, Def Leppard still has plenty of gas in the tank. These middle-aged hard-rockers are still a formidable recording and touring act. "You have to hang in there, and our whole thing has been like, this is what we do, we're not going anywhere," lead singer Joe Elliott said in a recent interview. "We love what we do. We're philosophical enough to realize that having said that we could split up tomorrow, but it's unlikely." This well-oiled machine lived life in the fast lane but came out on the other side as friends who love to play music together. Def Leppard has sold more than 65 million records in 25 years and has become an icon of rock. "Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection" (Mercury) was just released, to be followed up with a covers record in September. The covers record will include songs by Blondie, the Kinks, Roxy Music, David Bowie and others. The group comes to Portland Tuesday, performing at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland with Tesla, another hard-rock act from the 1980s. Def Leppard also has played a number of dates this summer with Canadian hit machine Bryan Adams, calling it the Rock 'n Roll Double Header Tour, with concerts across the United States in minor league ballparks. Def Leppard has plenty to be proud of. Only five bands can claim two original albums with sales of more than 10 million in the United States, and Def Leppard is among them. The others are the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Van Halen. Def Leppard's catalog is 15 records strong and includes 16 Top 40 songs. Who can forget such classics as "Rock of Ages," "Hysteria," "Photograph" and, of course, "Pour Some Sugar on Me," not to mention some of the accompanying videos, especially during the golden age of MTV? The band from Sheffield, England, has endured its share of tragedy and hardship. Drummer Rick Allen lost his left arm in a car accident on New Year's Eve 1984. Guitarist Steve Clark died of a drug overdose in 1992. Vivian Campbell came on board to replace Clark and has been in the band ever since. As for Allen, he beat the odds, adapted a drum kit and in 1986 was back on the road with the band. He's never looked back. Here we are in 2005, and Def Leppard is still playing to huge crowds and has no plans to slow down. From a hotel in Florida, Elliott talked about his music and the music business after all these years. Elliott is no stranger to being interviewed, and the conversation went off without a hitch. He covered the current tour, the past and present state of the band and the double-edged sword of eBay, among other topics. When Def Leppard goes out on the road, the band is all business. They have been known for extensive touring. "When we go out, we go out, there's not much point in messing about, and we've always been that kind of band," Elliott said. "As hectic as it is, it's probably the shortest tour that we'll have done . . . since the High and Dry tour in '81." Elliott also shared that there is always much work to be done before even setting foot on the stage. "The thing that I do the least of in this band is sing. It is a business, and you run it like a business if you're around it as long as we are." There is also something to be said for staying current with the state of musical affairs. "We listen to a lot of music. People give us CDs, we buy CDs, we check out what's going on. Otherwise, if you live in your own little bubble and you don't know who Fifty Cent is, even if you don't like him, you can't really talk about him if he comes up in conversation." There are some less savory sides to the business. Elliott is outspoken about one issue, in particular. That is the business of selling autographs on eBay. "It pisses me off beyond belief because this is the way I look at it. If a fan goes on eBay and buys my autograph for $30, I would give that fan my autograph, given the chance. I don't mind signing autographs. I hate creating an industry that gets somebody else rich who's just hanging around hotels," he said. "I'm actually even thinking about trying to set something up on our Web site where we sell our own autographs for literally the cost of printing up the photos and postage, and the money that comes in just helps run the Web site." He also noted that a lot of fake autographs are exchanged over the Web. "The thing that pissed me off more than anything is that half the photographs out there aren't even signed by us. It's just somebody that's tried to copy them and they're doing a really bad job." But, musically, Elliott shared his enthusiasm for touring and performing with other groups that he respects and has befriended over the years. As for choosing Tesla to open for several dates this summer, Elliott dispensed a little history. "In '86 when we were doing the Donnington Monsters of Rock show, which was during a break during the 'Hysteria' recording, our manager brought out this demo tape of this new band that they had just signed. "I remember playing it in the van as we traveled to sound check in Donnington and listening to it, going 'This is great,' " says Elliott. That band was, of course, Tesla, and they have remained friends over the past 15 years. It made perfect sense to bring them on board. As for the dates with Bryan Adams, that relationship was also forged many years back when both worked with legendary producer Mutt Lange. Elliott told me the shows were going great, and they were flipflopping each night who plays first. He also said Adams and his crew are great to play with. "He's easy to get on with, his guys are really nice and you know there's no ego. He's got his dressing room next to ours, and it's all kind of very good humor; adults really." For fans in their 30s who got to know Def Leppard from their videos on MTV, it's hard to believe so much time has passed since the heyday of songs like "Foolin" and "Photograph." "It kind of doesn't make sense," said Elliott of the passage of time. "There's a time-warp factor, but some time warps are ugly and some time warps are great and I find that music normally comes in the category of the latter." He added, "I'm glad I wasn't in Flock of Seagulls," a band relegated to one- (or two-) hit wonderland. The fact remains everyone in the band is well into middle age, which begs the question of how they stay energized while on the road. "What you do is take advantage of where you are, not bunk up in your hotel room with the curtains closed," he said. "I used to do that years ago, and you're missing out on so much." This doesn't mean you'll see Def Leppard at the Lobster Shack, but you never know. Aimsel Ponti is a Portland free-lance writer who covers the club scene for the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram. She can be contacted at: aimselponti@yahoo.com Copyright © 2005 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.