Def Leppard Atomic Mess News

When British rock legends Def Leppard take to the MTS Centre stage next Wednesday, they'll be less than two weeks away from the April 29 release of their ninth CD, Songs from the Sparkle Lounge.

Frontman Joe Elliott has described the disc as a return to form of earlier Def Leppard classics like High 'N Dry (1981) and Hysteria (1987).

But with the exception of lead single Nine Lives — a collaboration with country star Tim McGraw released to radio — the Sheffield sons have done a good job of keeping the album under wraps.

We realize you can't wait another six days for your Def Leppard fix, so we've scoured the web for every mention of the new disc we could find. Here's what we came up with:

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You would think a near-legendary band like Def Leppard would be certain of their rock-star status. After all, they're the ones behind such fist-pumping anthems as Rock of Ages, Photograph and Pour Some Sugar on Me, and have sold millions of albums around the world.

They've been at it for more than 30 years and have survived death (guitarist Steve Clark died in 1991) and dismemberment (drummer Rick Allen lost his arm in a car accident in 1984 and plays with a modified drum kit). And though their old songs endure on classic-rock radio stations, the band, which comprises singer Joe Elliott, guitarists Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell, bassist Rick Savage and drummer Allen, is still a creatively viable entity. In fact, a new disc is due for release later this month, and the first single, a collaboration with country superstar Tim McGraw, is already a hit.

Plus, the touring never stops. Def Leppard is headlining a major arena excursion with fellow 1980s survivors R.E.O. Speedwagon and Styx (featuring Canada's Lawrence Gowan) that's making its way across North America. Pulling into Ottawa on Saturday, it's the hottest ticket of the season — a sold-out show with more than 15,000 fans expected at Scotiabank Place. The buzz is deafening.

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The platinum-selling British pop-metal act Def Leppard is hitting the road for the fourth year in a row, and coming to Providence Wednesday with a new record and a new attitude. A couple of new attitudes, in fact.

Guitarist Viv Campbell says the new record, Songs From the Sparkle Lounge, is a return to the Def Leppard formula - "There's no mistaking any of the songs, because we have a very distinctive sound that's driven by our vocals," particularly lead singer Joe Elliott - but with a new method.

The new album was written largely in a backstage area (lit with little Christmas lights, hence the title) on the road, but Campbell says the most important new influence on the making of this record was Def Leppard's previous record, Yeah!, the 2006 collection of '60s and '70s rock covers that got the band members into playing music in the first place.

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Many might consider the '80s glam rock quintet Def Leppard as a subdued Van Halen minus the peacocking arrogance of David Lee Roth, roaring politely and ready to rock your face off, but only if you're all right with that kind of thing.

It's been 25 years since the album "Pyromania" first made the band into a particularly well-groomed pop-rock force to be reckoned with, yet Def Leppard continues to be a band for everyone. Even now, "Pour Some Sugar on Me" ranks right up there with AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long" on the list of most-played songs at a junior high school dance.

"Our audience is very diverse," says guitarist Vivian Campbell, speaking from Los Angeles days before setting out on Def Leppard's U.S. tour with fellow retro-rockers REO Speedwagon and Styx.

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Twenty years ago this month, British rock band Def Leppard created a little mass hysteria across the world, especially in the United States.

In August of 1987, the band released its fourth studio album, "Hysteria." Def Leppard hoped the new album would ride the success of 1983's multi-platinum-selling "Pyromania." It did that, and more.

"Hysteria" charted six hits — "Love Bites," "Pour Some Sugar On Me," "Armageddon It," "Rocket," "Animal" and the title track — and has gone on to sell more than 18 million albums worldwide. Its success, said guitarist Phil Collen, has been unbelievable.

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Rock fans get ready. Def Leppard, Styx and Foreigner are coming to the Ford Amphitheatre on Friday, Aug. 24, 7 p.m.

With more than 65 million albums sold worldwide, not to mention two prestigious Diamond Awards to their credit, Def Leppard - Joe Elliott (vocals), Vivian Campbell (guitar), Phil Collen (guitar), Rick "Sav" Savage (bass) and Rick Allen (drums)-continues to be one of the most important forces in rock music.

The group's spectacular live shows are filled with hit after hit from their groundbreaking discography that set the sound for generations of music fans and artists. Def Leppard's powerful rock anthems have become synonymous with their name and it' easy to see why rock fans keep gravitating toward their electrifying live performances.

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Def Leppard started out like any other band.

Each member had an interest in music; each wanted to form a band.

Lead vocalist Joe Elliott said the first time the guys got together, they didn't even pick up instruments. Actually, they didn't pick up them up for about six weeks.

"It was really just us sitting around listening to records," he said in a phone interview on the road near Cleveland.

"We talked about our future … and what we wanted to be. Did we contemplate world domination? Absolutely. Nobody wants to consider it a race, but we wanted to be the biggest rock band out there."

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Any rock band striving for longevity faces the prospect of going through some difficult years, stylistically speaking, in an effort to keep up with the times. Take for example Def Leppard, headlining the Tweeter Center Saturday night nearly 30 years after getting its start.

Throughout the band's storied history ("storied" an apt descriptive considering the tribulations they've collectively gone through), trends have come and gone, perhaps most awkwardly during the height of the glam metal movement in the late '80s.

There was the requisite stone-washed jeans, cowboy boots, leather jackets, sleeveless flannels and yes, the hair. And while not near as serious as the overdose death of guitarist Steve Clark in 1991 or the car accident that claimed drummer Rick Allen's arm a few years prior, frontman Joe Elliott has battled valiantly to keep his coif in shape throughout the decades.

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For 30 years, Def Leppard has rocked venues around the world. Germain Amphitheater looks to be no different as it hosts the legendary band Sunday night.

Alongside REO Speedwagon and Styx, Def Leppard hopes to pack in fans both old and new.

"The crowds get bigger (each year)," said guitarist Phil Collen. It's been getting better I think."

The tour kicked off June 27 in Cincinnati and looks to be in full swing as it arrives in Ohio's capital this weekend.

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Sweat dripped off my brow as I waited for Def Leppard to arrive for the sound check at Cincinnati's Riverbend Music Center, a venue nearly identical to the Post-Gazette Pavilion, where the band will play on July 7. I had watched the stage crew build the custom-designed drum set for one-armed drummer Rick Allen.

"Bring 'em out?" a worker asked before he got the OK from the technician.

The worker left and retrieved the band.

The band dressed and behaved casually for this round of songs. Joe Elliott had a baseball cap on. Vivian Campbell went shirtless. Rick Savage smoked a cigarette in between guitar riffs of "Photograph."

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This is an old article from earlier this year regarding the upcoming summer tour:

The summer concert season just got a little more hot and sticky sweet.

Def Leppard, which sold more albums in the 1980s than any other rock group, is the latest blockbuster name added to the lineup for Rogers Sarnia Bayfest. The English pop-metal band will headline the concert July 21 in Sarnia's Centennial Park.

Tickets for Def Leppard - along with the previously announced Aerosmith show on July 19 and three-day passes to the festival - go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday.

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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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The little pop-metal outfit he started with his Sheffield, Britain buddies back in 1977, Def Leppard, went on to sell more than 65 million records, and land coveted RIAA Diamond Awards - certifying 10 million units sold - for its'80s classics "Hysteria" and "Pyromania."

But that doesn't mean it's been a cakewalk career for the 6-foot, 2-inch singer, who's finally trimmed down to his fighting stage weight of 180 pounds for the group's current VH1 Classic tour with Journey. The show hits Concord's Sleep Train Pavilion tonight and Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View Saturday.

Elliott swears he's suffered for his fans, for 29 years. Few high-profile rockers are willing to talk about the health regimens that keep them spry in concert. But Elliott, 46, could write a book.

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