Def Leppard Atomic Mess News

Veteran British rock outfit Def Leppard will begin recording its next studio album in January at frontman Joe Elliott's house in Dublin. Basic ideas were hashed out on the road during the band's extensive tour in support of this year's covers album "Yeah!," a first for Def Leppard.

"We've got about five or six songs on the go, and there'll be 11 or 12 on the final version," guitarist Phil Collen tells Billboard.com. "We're trying to get it out for next summer, which for us would be amazing. But we've never been this far along. We come off tour, wait six months, then we start writing. We've already got that sorted out.

Collen says the songs thus far have "absolutely" been influenced by the process of making "Yeah!," which featured Def Leppard's spin on songs popularized by Thin Lizzy, the Faces and Mott The Hoople. "We did that so quick," he says. "It was raw, and it didn't demand we sit around for months or years. That really inspired us."

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Let us state, for the record, that rock bands from the 1980s have a right to exist.

Even when principal players are missing, hits sound dusty with age, trends have passed them by and new songs just don't cut it anymore - well, who would be arrogant enough to proclaim that nostalgia acts need to call it quits?

And why would musicians want to shut down such lucrative time machines?

Hardcore fans still come out to their concerts by the thousands, even if shows are held outdoors on chill, rainy weeknights in November.

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It's no secret the Top 40 chart heydays of Journey and Def Leppard are long in the rear-view mirror. While both bands have had brushes with invading the zeitgeist again recently — Journey with its associations with the 2005 White Sox and the Fox TV show "The OC"; Def Leppard with a successful Greatest Hits CD last year — neither is making MTV's flavor of the month sweat the Sunday song countdowns.

However, in the concert arena, it's quite another matter.

Both bands proved they've still got the goods during a high-energy, three-hour plus show Friday night at The Mark of the Quad Cities. Girded by a bevy of familiar smashes from Reagan era, still performed with the vitality of yesteryear, the groups thrilled a crowd of roughly 8,000.

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Joe Elliott is a gambling man, but not with the slots.

The Def Leppard frontman is calling from Atlantic City, N.J., one of the cities on the band's tour. The group plays the Hollywood Bowl tonight and the Hyundai Pavilion in Devore on Saturday. He says he's not tempted by the one-armed bandits.

"I like the idea of winning. I like the idea of putting 25 cents in a slot (machine) and 2 million bucks coming out and then walking away with it," Elliott says. "But the chances of that happening are pretty slim. What's the point?

"This job in itself is a big enough gamble."

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If you've been dying to hear the phrase "gunter glieben glauten globen" again, Tuesday night has been a long time coming for you.

Crank your hearing aids to 11 for Def Leppard along with fellow "dinoroars" Journey. The '80s rock bands are taking over the Budweiser Events Center.

Fans are guaranteed to hear classics including "Rock of Ages" (the start of which has long been debated but is actually just a gibberish countdown from producer Mutt Lange during the recording of the song).

The arena rockers just completed their summer, co-headlining tour but are back for Round 2. But don't call it a comeback - these guys are cashing in on your requests for retro.

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In some ways, it's as if the '80s never ended for Def Leppard.

The pop-metal band's blockbuster albums — 1983's "Pyromania" and 1987's "Hysteria" — still sell. The band's many loyal fans still flock to Def Leppard concerts.

The British band, on tour with Journey, continues to churn out albums. Its latest offering, "Yeah," is Def Leppard's first all-covers album.

Vocalist Joe Elliott called from his Dublin home to talk about the disc, how it feels to be cool again, and why Def Leppard is rock's ultimate survivor.

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