Def Leppard Atomic Mess News

Turns out staging a successful rock concert is a lot like making a killer mix-tape: It's all about the songs you choose and the order in which you choose to play 'em.

At least, so says arena-show veteran Vivian Campbell, who should know — after all, he's been slinging an axe for Def Leppard for the last 16 years.

But while you'd assume the hard rockers would have little trouble keeping their fans entertained — given the scores of album and radio hits they've racked up since the late '70s — Campbell says sequencing is still a tricky business.

"It's a tough thing for us, and we're kind of between a rock and a hard place," says Campbell, who also logged time with Dio and Whitesnake before signing on with Def Leppard. "As artists, you keep wanting to move forward and play your new material, but you're kind of beholden to your success of the past. We're fortunate, in that we have a truckload of bona fide Top 20 hits, but the other side of the equation is that's all our audience wants to hear."

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Local Def Leppard fans were crestfallen when lead singer Joe Elliot's illness caused the rockers to cancel their April 18 show in Van Andel Arena. Guitarist Vivian Campbell was among those who were disappointed.

"Joe got a sniffle," he quipped in a phone interview from Nashville, Tenn., as he dressed for the band's show there. "Bloody singers."

Seriously, though, Campbell said the British band doesn't pull this kind of seemingly capricious, rock-star behavior.

"We've had to reschedule a few shows for the weather and things, but we've never had anything like this happen."

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It wasn't quite mass hysteria that greeted hard rock legends Def Leppard last night, but it still came pretty close.

Actually, it came even closer to Hysteria — the landmark 1987 album that spawned seven consecutive hits for the Brit-rockers, six of which were scheduled to be squeezed into last night's set list.

The sequencing strategy was shrewd, given the quintet is already on record as confirming they sometimes have trouble with live shows, since fans — particularly the casual ones — don't always go crazy for their lesser-known tracks.

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This is an old article from April 2008.

Def Leppard will bring more than 30 years in the music industry and material from their new album to Soboba Casino on April 27.

The legendary rock group's new album, "Songs From the Sparkle Lounge," will be released Tuesday.

The album was put together in a different manner than Def Leppard had done in the past - and what resulted was a more personal album than band members (Joe Elliot, Phil Collen, Vivian Campbell, Rick "Sav" Savage, and Rick Allen) are used to.

"It's not that we really intended the album to be so personal," said guitarist Vivian Campbell. "We didn't collaborate so much on these songs. We just realized that we had an album's worth of songs already written."

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This is an old article from April 2008.

Def Leppard may be writing a new formula for rock bands trying to reach an elusive fan base.

Unlike in decades past, when all a successful band had to do was release an album and watch it grow, it takes more than a catchy single to sell CDs these days. You need an aggressive marketing strategy, said Vivian Campbell, the band's guitar player for the past 16 years.

"The audience is fractured. It's very difficult to market your record," he said Wednesday in a phone interview. "Bands are always trying to find new ways to reach their audience and to grow their audience. It's one thing to reach your core audience, but you always want to be moving forward and trying to reach new people."

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This is an old article from April 2008.

On Tuesday night, just under 10,000 fans will storm through the Idaho Center doors for a concert headlined by a hair band that hasn't put out a song anyone remembers since 1992.

Def Leppard - accompanied by county fair staples Styx and REO Speedwagon - is going to sell out. There are, like, 200 tickets left.

No f-f-f-foolin'.

So why the hysteria surrounding a middle-aged British pop-metal act rocking Nampa?

It's a shocking, if not fascinating, question.

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Say his name quickly and you understand how Def Leppard's Phil Collen is constantly being mistaken for that other Phil Collins who sings for Genesis.

The bigger mystery is how the individual members of one of Britain's biggest selling rock bands have managed to remain virtually invisible despite selling more than 65 million records over their 30-year career.

"It's strange," the 50-year-old guitarist admits, "We're stars when we play. But then we can be completely anonymous when we're on the street.

"But I think this is one of the reasons why the band has stayed together as long as we have. No one really feels like a star, so no one plays the rock star. We all want to work hard and have a good time. We have a real working class ethic. That's what keeps us together, and keeps our heads on our shoulders."

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Turns out staging a successful rock concert is a lot like making a killer mix-tape: It's all about the songs you choose and the order in which you choose to play 'em.

At least, so says arena-show veteran Vivian Campbell, who should know — after all, he's been slinging an axe for Def Leppard for the last 16 years.

But while you'd assume the hard rockers would have little trouble keeping their fans entertained — given the scores of album and radio hits they've racked up since the late '70s — Campbell says sequencing is still a tricky business.

"It's a tough thing for us, and we're kind of between a rock and a hard place," says Campbell, who also logged time with Dio and Whitesnake before signing on with Def Leppard.

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Don't put Def Leppard on the endangered species list just yet.

They haven't had a major hit in more than a decade and their relevancy in today's musical climate is practically nil, but the hard-working quintet from Sheffield, England refuse to be put down.

They have never stopped releasing albums and still remain a strong concert draw, as witnessed by the 8,000 fans that turned out at the MTS Centre last night for a healthy helping of hits from days gone by.

And on that front the band — playing a make-up date for a cancelled April show — didn't disappoint, offering the nostalgic audience almost everything they could want to hear from throughout Def Leppard's 31-year career.

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So, what's got nine arms and rocks?

That's right. Def Leppard.

The classic 80s rockers played to a nearly-full house at the John Labatt Centre last night, proving that even if their newer stuff isn't their best, they still know how to plan an excellent set.

Fresh off this year's release of Songs From the Sparkle Lounge, the band, featuring singer John Elliott, bassist Rick Savage, guitarists Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell and famed drummer Rick Allen (who lost his left arm in a car crash decades ago) had something to prove this time around.

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Who: Def Leppard, the latest in a series of (yawn) nostalgia rock acts booked at the Verizon Wireless Music Center. It's a predictable season at the 10,500-seat amphitheater in Pelham, marked by veteran rockers (think 1970s-80s) and sure-shot country stars.

When: 9 p.m. Saturday, after opener Joan Jett & the Blackhearts. The steamy weather resulted in rivulets of sweat, glistening from the bodies on stage. It also prompted Def Leppard's guitarists, Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell, to perform shirtless. This was NOT a good night for one constant in the heavy-metal repertoire: black leather pants.

Crowd: Nearly a full house, with a few empty rows throughout the third tier. As usual, Def Leppard's fans were loud and lusty, dancing at their seats, pumping their fists or shouting wild approval.

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It was a memorable night, one that many of us have waited for-for decades.

The British rock band that kept us company throughout High 'N Dry, Hysteria and Pyromania had finally decided to pay a visit to the good 'ol Rio Grande Valley. Where rock runs deep within our tortilla fueled souls.

As the digital red curtain glittered in the background the familiar sound of AC/DC's "For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)" brought the nearly sold out crowd to their feet.

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That 'ol rock cliché, 'No rest for the wicked' could most definitely apply to rock legends Def Leppard.

While so many of their counterparts during the 80s rock movement are considered either washed up, planning reunion shows or six-feet under this British quintet is still going strong.

They join the ranks of a select bunch of rock royalty who have maintained three decades worth of life on stage and have managed to pull through the backlash of an ever-changing music scene.

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Joe Elliott was recently interviewed by Tangra Rock Radio from Bulgaria for their first show ever in that country. Amongst the questions asked during the interview are:

• Is there anything else you do in terms of producing?
• We know you're big soccer fan, but as you mentioned Mutt Lange - were you happy for him when South Africa won the Rugby World Cup?
• Do you still live in Dublin?
• At the time you met U2 and Simple Minds, were you thinking anything in the vein of, we're the rock guys, they're the softies…?

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