http://www.readingeagle.com/re/entertainment/1035679.asp Saturday September 21 2002 Def Leppard to rock Sovereign By Steven Henshaw Reading Eagle While the workday crowd begins to filter out of downtown Reading, the boys are just getting down to business on the stage of the Sovereign Performing Arts Center. A couple of helpers emerge from backstage at the former Rajah Theater with a half-dozen cups of fresh Starbucks coffee imported from the Barnes & Noble store in Spring Township. The five members of the rock band Def Leppard conclude a meeting backstage, where they had to discuss the band's upcoming European tour. It's approaching 4 p.m., roughly two hours after the scheduled rehearsal was to begin for tonight's sold-out show a few blocks away at the Sovereign Center, and the band has still not assembled on stage. Lead singer Joe Elliott still takes some time to talk with a reporter before joining his band mates to go over new material. Earlier in the day, he spent 2 1/2 hours on the phone talking to the band's management company about the European tour and to Boston newspapers and radio stations about Saturday's performance in that city. "Just the business side of things you try to get out of the way before we rehearse," Elliott explained. "You're constantly on the phone when you're on the road. Our office is our mouths and our brains." The band has been doing a lot of promotional work for its latest album, "X," but hasn't played together for about six weeks, Elliott said. Reading is the first of three shows the band will do over the next four days to promote its appropriately named 10th album. It has a show in Boston's Fleet Center on Saturday and a show at New York's China Club on Monday. The members arrived in Reading late Tuesday night and spent the last two days rehearsing. "We have to get a couple days' rehearsal to get rid of the rust and play some of our new songs," Elliott said. The downtown theater, part of the civic center project that includes the arena where they will perform tonight, was ideal for that purpose, Elliott said. Reading was added to the mini-tour because of its proximity to New York, the reputation of the Sovereign Center as an outstanding new venue and the band's long history of support by WRFY-FM, a Reading rock station, said Ron Kyle, event promoter. He said the deal came together rather quickly a few weeks ago when he called Def Leppard's manager after hearing about the New York show. "I said, 'Look, in order to get to New York you have to come to the East Coast,' " Kyle said. "I said they have this beautiful venue in Reading, and Reading is really turning around." The show was among the quickest to sell out of any Sovereign Center event, with 5,000 tickets sold the first day, spokeswoman Kim Bowers said. "We were very excited because we have wanted to bring classic rock to the Sovereign Center," Bowers said. The event has also been good for downtown businesses; the band and crew members dined at downtown restaurants while staying at the Lincoln Plaza Hotel. Tour manager Malvin Mortimer said the band has enjoyed its stay. "We've been treated like royalty since we got here," he said. Elliott said the band, as is usually the case, didn't have time for sightseeing. The members did, however, stop at the Ugly Oyster restaurant on South Fifth Street, where some of the crew gathered Wednesday night, for a pint of Guinness, he said. "We're here to work," he said. "We're not here to socialize. People will ask if you saw this site or that site. You don't want to be rude, but usually you tell them all you got to see was the hotel room." Contact reporter Steven Henshaw at 610-371-5028 or shenshaw@reading eagle.com. © 2002 Reading Eagle Company, All Rights Reserved Serving the Berks County community and surrounding areas for over 130 years!