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British rock band Def Leppard will play a mix of hits and songs from their |
By EMILY GILMORE
Def Leppard survived being lumped in with the hair-metal bands in the '80s. The popularity of grunge didn't stop them. And the rise of hip-hop hasn't kept fans away.
The British band may not sell as many albums as it once did--1983's "Pyromania" and 1987's "Hysteria" both achieved diamond status by selling more than 10,000,000 copies in the U.S., while the group's last studio album, "X," didn't even go gold--but they insist on rocking, and audiences are eating it up.
The band toured last year with Bryan Adams to promote its platinum-selling two-disc "Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection." Now Def Leppard is back on the road--this time with Journey--to promote its latest album, "Yeah," a collection of covers of songs the fortysomething band members loved growing up.
The tour, which will stop at Nissan Pavilion in Bristow tomorrow night, has been "unbelievable" so far, Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen said last week in a phone interview from the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Conn., where the band had played the night before. "It's like being out in the '80s again."
The crowds have been huge, with both the devoted and the curious filling the seats, Collen said.
The Def Leppard-Journey combo works, he said, because the fans know practically every song each band performs.
They both have been around for about 30 years, which means they each have an enormous number of hits with which to thrill audiences.
Collen attributes Def Leppard's longevity in part to that wealth of material that many bands these days have difficulty amassing.
Also, "in our case, it's certainly the integrity of us not going away," he added. " We've sort of been at it the whole time, and I think you get a sort of respect for that, as well."
So tomorrow's audience is sure to hear "Photograph" and "Pour Some Sugar on Me," but Def Leppard also will offer up some choice cuts from "Yeah," which some critics have called the band's best album in years.
"I don't know why that is," Collen said.
This was a "selfish" project for Def Leppard, he said--they made the album purely for themselves without thinking about how the fans might like it.
The idea for a covers album had been floating around for about 20 years, but it has only just come to fruition because "we had some time all of a sudden," Collen said.
The band took advantage of a six-month break between tours to complete the album, and they released it this spring so they could tour behind it properly.
Choosing the songs was "so easy," Collen said. "I mean, we didn't even have to think about it."
Collen and his bandmates--lead singer Joe Elliott, drummer Rick Allen, guitarist Vivian Campbell and bass player Rick "Sav" Savage--came up with a short list of 20 songs, recorded 15 and used 14, Collen explained.
The tracks that made it to the album include T. Rex's "Twentieth Century Boy," The Kinks' "Waterloo Sunset" and David Bowie's "Drive-In Saturday," as well as songs by Free, Mott the Hoople, Thin Lizzy, Blondie and others.
"We just tried to avoid the obvious," Collen said, so the band steered clear of music by The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and Queen.
But Def Leppard did pay tribute to Freddie Mercury and company with its Queen-like treatment of David Essex's "Rock On," the album's first single, Collen said.
Def Leppard put their glam and rock influences out on the table for everyone to see, which may help dispel the notion they're heavy-metal--a label the band has resisted.
As the public's taste in music has changed, Def Leppard's sound has endured, and the members have forged a bond that has lasted even as tragedy has befallen the band. Allen lost his left arm in a car accident in 1984--he learned to play with a modified kit and still drums for the band--and guitarist Steve Clark died in 1991.
The musicians weathered these events and other transitions in life together, Collen said, which made the band stronger. And the fact that they come from similar backgrounds and got into music for similar reasons has helped them carry on.
"As long as you're not egoed out or weird or something, it just makes you stronger the more you do it," Collen said. "We're all on the same team, so to speak."
To reach EMILY GILMORE:
Email: egilmore@freelancestar.com
WHAT: Def Leppard will perform with Journey WHERE: Nissan Pavilion, Bristow WHEN: Tomorrow, gates open at 5:30 p.m., music starts at 7 p.m. COST: $25, $35, $55, $85 PHONE: 703/754-6400 WEB: defleppard.com, nissanpavilion.com TICKETS: 800/551-SEAT or ticketmaster.com |
