Phil Collen takes five
For rock fans of a certain age, Def Leppard needs no introduction. Mere mention of one of music's most famously misspelled bands brings a flood of memories from yesteryear: singer Joe Elliott's Union Jack tank top on MTV, the innovative pairing of manly guitars with choirboy harmonies, pop-metal anthems such as "Rock of Ages," "Pour Some Sugar on Me" and "Bringin' on the Heartbreak." The lads from Sheffield, England, made it big in the early '80s, only to nearly lose their drummer, Rick Allen, in a car accident that left him with one arm. The band reached new heights with 1987's "Hysteria," which sold more than 10 million copies; then, in 1991, guitarist Steve Clark died of a drug and alcohol overdose. Elliott, Allen, guitarist PHIL COLLEN and bassist Rick Savage stuck together, later adding guitarist Vivian Campbell to the lineup. With a string of albums, including 1996's underrated "Slang," Def Leppard keeps a-rollin'. Collen was rollin' through Ohio on the band's tour bus when he chatted by phone with Journal Sentinel pop music critic Gemma Tarlach.
Q. Are you sick to death of playing "Rock of Ages" or what?
Q. If you had to sum up Def Leppard with one song, which one would it be?