http://www.mcall.com/entertainment/music/all-defleppardjun17,0,1782577.story

Leapin' Leppard

Brit band says yeah to 1970s glam-rock roots on tour and disc
By Gary R. Blockus Of The Morning Call

It's hardly unusual that Def Leppard would hit the road in support of a new 
disc.

But the latest release by the British band that spent the 1980s as king of the 
hard-rock hill is an extraordinary 14-track '70s glam-rock tribute titled 
''Yeah.''

On it, Def Leppard covers songs from Bowie to Blondie, stopping along the way 
to take in T. Rex, Badfinger, Sweet, Mott the Hoople, the Kinks and Roxy Music.

''We're showing our roots,'' says guitarist Vivian Campbell, who cut his teeth 
with metal acts Ronnie James Dio and Rainbow in the 1970s before joining Def 
Leppard in 1992 after the death of Steve Clark.

Unfortunately Def Leppard won't be showing those roots in Allentown, where the 
band had kicked off previous tours and delighted area fans by participating in 
pre-concert charity soccer games.

''I don't know why we're not playing Allentown,'' Campbell said during a 
telephone interview. ''And with each successive tour, we play less and less 
soccer. In fact, last year on our Rock of Ages tour, we didn't play soccer 
once. It was pathetic!''

Def Leppard will kick off its new tour, which pairs the band with veteran 
rockers Journey, on Friday at the Tweeter Center in Camden, N.J. It will be the 
first of four regional dates, the others being June 30 at Montage Mountain in 
Scranton, July 1 at the Borgata Event Center in Atlantic City, N.J., and July 3 
at Hersheypark Stadium.

Campbell is especially stoked to perform because of ''Yeah's'' emphasis on the 
music of his life. ''These songs bring back memories,'' admits Campbell, who 
skipped down Memory Lane last year with a solo disc of blues standards on which 
he honored fellow Irishman and guitar sensation Rory Gallagher. ''You always 
remember where you were when you heard a certain song, like T. Rex's '20th 
Century Boy.'

''Before I discovered Rory Gallagher and blues, the first musician that turned 
me on was [T. Rex frontman] Marc Bolan. It was a Tuesday evening in 1971 when I 
saw him on TV, and I knew I wanted to play guitar at that moment, and it's been 
downhill every since.

''Basically what we wanted to do with this record was to pay homage to the 
music and musicians that turned us on.''

Def Leppard, which helped define the 1980s with such hits as ''Bringin' on the 
Heartbreak,'' ''Photograph,'' ''Rock of Ages'' ''Animal'' and ''Pour Some Sugar 
on Me,'' is sure to prod the memories of today's 40- and 50-somethings with 
covers of Sweet's ''Hell Raiser,'' The Faces' ''Stay With Me,'' Mott the 
Hoople's ''The Golden Age of Rock and Roll,'' the Kinks' ''Waterloo Sunset'' 
and Badfinger's ''No Matter What,'' ''Yeah's'' first radio-played song.

Def Leppard actually set up guidelines in choosing which artists and songs 
would be included: Nothing by iconic acts such as The Beatles, the Rolling 
Stones and Queen, even though Queen provided a huge influence for every member 
of the band, and nothing past 1979, when glam succumbed to new wave.

''It is a mix of our musical awakenings and the glam-rock era, an era that 
really resonates with us, the first spouting of pubic hair and noticing 
girls,'' says Campbell, explaining the intentions of the band.

''For [lead singer] Joe [Elliott], it was like Bowie had a huge influence on 
him, but for me, before Bowie wore the makeup, there was Marc Bolan and 
gender-bending and Eastern tradition and blues.

''This [album] is a whole mish-mash of music. It's the most fun anyone in Def 
Leppard has had making an album, and it is the quickest record made, and had 
the highest energy. ''Whether or not this album is successful [commercially], 
it sort of reminded us why we do this in the first place.''

Now if only Campbell can get his band mates to recall why they liked soccer, 
which he still plays, honing his skills almost every afternoon.

''The soccer thing, I'm afraid is done,'' he says. ''Now they watch golf. How 
pathetic is that? We used to have so much fun at those soccer games, but I fear 
the last of the soccer games has been played.''

With the World Cup of Soccer going on, Campbell is trying to catch as much of 
his favorite sport on TV as possible, but don't expect him to root for England 
or Wayne Rooney.

''Personally, being from Belfast, I can't wait to see England get beat,'' he 
says. ''As an Irishman, I get great satisfaction out of England and [its 40 
years of frustration in trying to win] World Cups. It would be very unfair of 
me to watch the games in the same room with the other members of the band.''

THE DETAILS: DEF LEPPARD and Journey
When: 8 p.m. Friday
Where: Tweeter Center At the Waterfront, Mickle Boulevard and Riverside Drive, 
Camden, N.J.
Tickets: $20, $27.50, $55 and $85.
Info: 856-365-1300, www.electricfactory.com
gary.blockus@mcall.com
610-820-6782

Copyright © 2006, The Morning Call