Def Leppard Atomic Mess News

On March 21, Joe Elliott was interviewed by 93.3 WMMR in Philadelphia.

On March 31, Phil Collen was interviewed by 95.1 WZZO in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Recordings of both interviews are available from the Audio section of the Def Leppard Archive.

MSNBC interviewed Joe Elliott about live while touring. Here are some of the questions asked:

• Have you managed to spend enough time in cities to actually figure out which ones you like the best?
• When the band isn’t touring, do you ever get away for vacation or do you just stay home and relax?
• Do you seek out musical attractions in cities?

Full text of interview…

While Joe Elliott is happy to endlessly discuss the differences between Def Leppard and Guns N' Roses, he's got no problem discussing embarrassing videos and why his band will never be Radiohead. Before Def Leppard's headlining gig Saturday at the Tweeter Center, the frontman waxed poetic about his past and present.

Herald: So what specifically makes you so different from Guns N' Roses?

Elliott: OK, I'll tell you this. For a long time the Rolling Stones had the tag of the most dangerous band in the world, but I've never heard of them going on at midnight. If they were due on at nine, they came on at nine. If you're going to be a dangerous band you don't have to do it like Axl did where you piss off as many people as you pleasure. With us it's all about the pleasure. We don't have an agenda and we don't try and court the press to make us look better than we are or worse then we are. We get on with it.

Full text of article…

The associated news article can be found here.

Currently on tour with no new album to promote, Def Leppard is facing the challenge of giving fans a show that isn't a carbon copy of its production during last year's "Yeah!" tour.

"We've really got to juggle things around, so we've dug deep into our back catalog and we've pulled out songs that we've never played on stage [and] songs that we haven't played on stage in maybe 10 years," lead singer Joe Elliott told LiveDaily.

"'Pour Some Sugar on Me,' 'Hysteria,' 'Animal' and 'Armageddon' are apparently obvious, but sometimes we have to go a little further than that. That's where we're going with most of our back catalog," he added.

Elliott, who hails from Sheffield, England, and lives in Dublin, Ireland, said he doesn't think too many fans will be disappointed by the shows, which feature openers Foreigner and Styx.

Full text of article…

I've added audio from an interview Joe Elliott did on Jim Kerr's Rock and Roll Morning Show on May 19, 2006. The interivew is posted in the Audio section of the Def Leppard Archive.

Def Leppard: Rock legends who sold more than 65 million records and — apparently — nerds. We took some time with the British band to get an idea of what they have in their back pockets, and it's not always picks drumsticks: These guys love iPhones, Macs, and even super high-speed Internet.

Def Leppard hits US shores this summer with a huge tour, by the way. They even play with Styx and Foreigner on a couple dates. To see when they'll be playing near you, visit www.defleppard.com.

What gadgets do you always bring with you to the set (for down-time)?

Joe Elliott (vocals): iPod, what else?!
Phil Collen (guitar): I bring my Mac, iPod, and cell phone and my workout bar.
Vivian Campbell (guitar): I'm never without my cell phone and laptop!

Full text of article…

I've added the recording of the June 20, 2007 Rock Line interview to the Audio section.

Part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5.

Q: Why should anyone bother to catch Def Leppard this time around?

A: We changed the set around. We're playing songs we haven't played in years. We're playing some acoustic songs. We don't want to repeat ourselves. We owe it to our fans to present something different since they're so good to us.

Q: Particularly in the Philly area, which is one of your hottest markets.

A: We know it. The Tweeter Center is a fabulous place to play because we get such a great reaction. The shows sell well there. It's easily one of the best places for us to play.

Full text of article…

Campbell talked about what it was like replacing Steve Clark following his drug overdose, along with Def Leppard’s current tour with Styx and Foreigner, which stops at First Midwest Bank Amphitheater on June 30.

Last year, you released “Yeah!,” which was a tribute album to the band’s musical heroes. Are you working on anything new?

We just finished a new album. That will be mixed while we are on the tour. We’re also waiting for one, maybe two songs from Mutt Lange, our longtime producer and collaborator. We’re holding off on the release of the record until we get that done.

Full text of article…

I've added audio captures of Def Leppard's past two appearances on Jonesy's Jukebox to the Audio section.

From January 4, 2005: 1.

From October 19, 2006: Part 1, Part 2.

Below are some questions asked to Joe Elliott for an interview with the Akron Beacon Journal Newspaper. Read the full article for all the questions and answers.

• How did you get your slashed-up jeans to look so good? When I tried to make my own they looked horrible — and landed me in trouble with my mother.
• I saw the band once in Dayton with the round stage. How did that work out? Did it make performing difficult?
• How did the idea for your latest album of cover tunes from the '60s and '70s develop?
• Does the band have plans for another album and, if so, when and what will the theme be?

Full text of article…

From pioneering British metal band Sweet Savage to Dio and Whitesnake to Def Leppard today, Vivian Campbell rode rock 'n' roll from the violent streets of Belfast to L.A.'s Sunset Strip. Now, with YEAH!, Def Leppard's joyful tribute to their early influences, he comes full circle back to the golden age of the glam rock that first inspired him. The album is a rollicking collection that includes songs by T. Rex, Sweet, and the Faces, but according to Campbell, the band had another reason for putting it out. "We wanted to address the misconception that Def Leppard are a metal band," he says. "We certainly have a lot of bombast—big crunchy guitars and big drums, everything louder than everything else. But if you strip that all away, there's pop songs under it."

"I was just really into music"

Growing up, music was very much a solace. Belfast wasn't a great place to grow up at that time. That was the height of the Troubles. But I was just really into music. Once I got into guitar playing, I was just totally focused on it and I gravitated toward anything that had a guitar solo in it or a guitar riff. I just loved the sound of a crunchy, hairy guitar. I was never a great record collector. But fortunately, I had friends who were. I remember skipping off school so many days and going to friends' houses to listen to different albums and different players. But I was always more of a player. I was just more interested in playing the instrument.

"We were very nervous and drank lots of coffee"

Full text of article…

Def Leppard, the British pop-rock-metal band whose songs ruled the radio in the mid-'80s, have had enough ups and downs in their 27-year history to fill three episodes of VH1's "Behind the Music."

So where was Campbell on this Thursday afternoon? A rowdy bar? A thrashed hotel room filled with hungover groupies? No. He's calling from Sea World near San Diego, where he's with his two daughters, ages 7 and 5. (The girlish shrieking in the background was definitely not for him.)

• So why an album of covers?
• How did you choose the songs that would be on the record?
• Are you doing many of these songs on the tour?

Full text of article…

Def Leppard is enjoying a rebirth of sorts in 2006. The album Yeah! debuted at #16 on the charts and the single "Rock On" is the bands first big hit in years. They are in middle of a tour featuring Journey as the opening act. The concert has been drawing huge numbers and many of the venues have sold out.

We caught up with Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen to find out how life in Lep is going and what to expect from the future. Collen could not hide his elation at seeing the band’s hard work paying off again in terms of album sales and attendance at concerts.

During our chat we discussed the aggressive marketing campaign with retail giants Wal-mart and others who wanted exclusive versions of Yeah! and if Phil considered that selling out. Collen also related that Leppard is heading for the studio in January and that the next album will be harder rocking than some of the band’s more recent releases. In the end, it appears Def Leppard is truly back in our face and will continue to rock on for years to come.

Full text of article…

Just about every major rock act eventually goes the covers album route-so the only surprising thing about Yeah!, Def Leppard's just-released tribute to the 1970s pop and glam-rock artists they grew up on, should be that it took them 26 years to get around to it. But it turns out that Yeah! is full of surprises, featuring creative song selections from formative influences like David Bowie, Thin Lizzy, Mott the Hoople and T. Rex, including a few tunes that will be new to most American ears.

Have you spent much time in Nashville?

On and off I have. I’ve had three different friends move there in the last year or so, so I'm really looking forward to that gig.

How did you guys pick which songs you'd cover on the new album?

Full text of article…