Rock till you drop
No spring chicken, they, but the Lep can still get reasonably Def
At a time when critics are fawning over cutting-edge acts like Arctic Monkeys and Tapes 'N Tapes, one refugee from the golden age of '80s pop metal (whose name is not Bon Jovi) has been selling out venues around the country. And while Def Leppard always managed to pull in big numbers on the touring circuit throughout its career, record sales were not as kind during the lean '90s, when music trends veered toward grunge, bubblegum pop, and agro-rock, and acts like the Leps, Warrant, and Poison fell out of favor. But unlike the latter groups, the UK quintet continued releasing albums - like 1996's experimental Slang and 1999's return-to-form Euphoria - albeit it to an indifferent fan base more inclined to hear Def Leppard dip into fare from its '80s heyday.
With the release of Yeah!, an all-covers album of material by artists (mostly from the UK) who influenced the band, Def Leppard is enjoying a critical and commercial renaissance. The mix of songs by artists like T. Rex, Mott the Hoople, Badfinger, and Roxy Music are a reflection of the band's hard-rock-and-glitter roots that brings back lots of good memories for guitarist Phil Collen.