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THE BEAT: Rockin' for ages
Egos firmly in check, Def Leppard's still touring after 25 years

MELISSA RUGGIERI
MUSIC CRITIC
    
May 19, 2005

Most people don't stay in a job for 25 years. Or stay married to the same
person. Or, in many cases, maintain friendships that long.

Musicians, especially, are a notoriously fickle group -- look at the backbiting
that continues to this day in the Van Halen camp or the coy comments made by any
lead singer who pursues a solo project but still "will never leave the band."
Yeah, Justin. How's that next'N Sync album coming?

Few bands stick together in their original incarnation without the inevitable
"we hate each other" break (U2 being an exception). Even this year's
successful'80s reunions -- Duran Duran and Motley Crue topping the list are the
result of spending years deflating bank accounts dwindle.

That makes Def Leppard a bit of an anomaly. Yes, the band had an early lineup
change when guitarist Pete Willis was fired because of his alcoholism and Phil
Collen took his place. And, in a sad twist, guitarist Steve Clark died in 1991
at the age of 30 from alcohol abuse and was replaced by Vivian Campbell.

But those changes were unavoidable, not the result of the usual pettiness. Now,
25 years after the heavy rock of "On Through the Night" signaled the arrival of
the quintet from Sheffield, England, and a host of other odd tragedies struck,
including drummer Rick Allen losing an arm in a car crash, Def Leppard is
celebrating its survival with "Rock Of Ages: The Definitive Collection."

Released Tuesday, the two-CD set contains all of the expected smashes
"Photograph," "Rock of Ages," "Love Bites," "Foolin'," "Hysteria" and the
overplayed "Pour Some Sugar On Me" (more on that in a moment). But the treat for
dedicated fans is the inclusion of recent cuts that didn't commandeer the
airwaves but are no less potent "Slang" and "Promises" among them and a teaser
for the band's long-discussed covers album, a sublime rendition of Badfinger's
"No Matter What."

That covers album, said guitarist Collen in a recent interview, should hit store
shelves by September.

"We recorded it at the beginning of last year and it was lots of fun. [Singer]
Joe [Elliott] has wanted to do this since I met him and there were some very
specific songs we looked at," Collen said. "We tried to avoid doing Queen or The
Stones or The Beatles. When we were 14, we'd see T. Rex on TV and say, 'I want
to do this!' But the process of choosing what to record was mind-numbingly
democratic."

The track list for that album hasn't been finalized, but among the tunes the
band recorded are The Kinks' "Waterloo Sunset" (currently on the foreign version
of "The Definitive Collection"), T. Rex's "20th Century Boy," Mott the Hoople's
"Golden Age of Rock & Roll" and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' "American
Girl."

But before the band concentrates on the past, it and fellow'80s pop-rocker Bryan
Adams took a page from the Willie Nelson-Bob Dylan playbook and, starting June
1, are hitting minor-league baseball parks for a doubleheader concert (Ripken
Stadium in Maryland is the closest they'll come to Richmond).

The connection between the acts is Mutt Lange, the champion producer behind the
Leps' biggest albums ("Pyromania," "Hysteria") and some of Adams' biggest hits
("Can't Stop This Thing We Started," "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You"). The
logistics of the tour are uncomplicated the bands will share production and
truck space for stage equipment. And, said Collen, both artists consider
themselves support acts, with neither one jockeying for headliner status.

"The glass is half-empty for both of us is how we look at it," Collen said with
a laugh.

It's possible Def Leppard will throw some covers into its performances, but with
only 90 minutes onstage, there is original material to cram in, especially for
fans of the radio hits. When it is suggested that "Pour Some Sugar On Me" be
axed from the playlist because of immense saturation in its 18 years of
existence, Collen chuckles in agreement.

"What's cool about that song is that when we go rehearse it, it's like watching
paint dry. But when you play it in front of a crowd, it becomes a whole other
thing," he said.

Collen is also vigorously preparing for the tour physically, keeping his already
taut body in tight condition with daily tai boxing rounds.

"I stopped drinking 17 years ago, I never smoked a cigarette in my life. My body
is my temple," Collen said. "It's funny, at 26 or 27, I thought, 'Oh God, I'm
gonna still be doing this at 30?' Now I'm 47. With us, the things that have
happened to us are what keeps us close. There's like a magical ESP thing. We're
a real band and we're quite proud that we didn't re-form for 'the big summer
tour.' At the end of the day, we've always been real and stuck to our guns."

Write to Melissa Ruggieri at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, 300 E. Franklin St.,
Richmond, VA 23293, call (804) 649-6120 or e-mail or mruggieri@timesdispatch.com

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