Greg Prato of Heavy Consequence spoke with Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott and guitarist Phil Collen, excerpts from the column appear below.
Oh the band recording their new album Diamond Star Halos, due may 27th, Elliott said, “We rapidly came up with this whole new plan of recording remotely. Because in the 40 minutes that me and Phil spoke [in March of 2020], we figured out that he’d written two, he’d co-written two that weren’t even planned for a Def Leppard record but he’d just written them anyway. I’d written three, and there was an old song of Phil’s that I’d been dying for us to do, so I threw that into the pile. And I think because it was so uniquely different, like, ‘OK, this is kind of exciting, really – that we’ve opened up all our avenues of exploration…’”
…According to Collen, the album’s first single — the anthemic Kick [Dana’s note: the official video can be seen below] — was a last-minute addition. “Sav [bassist Rick Savage] got back immediately [after hearing an early working of the song], and said, ‘Sugar, anyone?’ Because Pour Some Sugar on Me was the last track we did for Hysteria. We essentially had finished the album, and Joe had come up with Pour Some Sugar on Me, and that got recorded in 10 days. So, we’d done this one fairly quick, as well. Everyone started putting their parts on Kick, and it absolutely was — and is — a Def Leppard song.”
Collen continues, “I based it on kind of a Slade / Gary Glitter / T. Rex / Mott the Hoople type thing…[and] Queen have been an aspiration for us. We’ve always used them as a blueprint…”
As for the much anticipated The Stadium Tour, which also includes co-headliners Mötley Crüe along with Poison and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Elliott says, “We find ourselves now in this fantastic position where, literally, the world is our oyster. It’s totally up to us not to screw it up. We’ve got all the tools in place — we know each other so well, we’ve got a great legacy and collection of songs, we’ve got a brilliant new album, and we know how to entertain a stadium audience because we’ve done it before. It’s just a joy to be in that situation and it’s something we’re really, really looking forward to.”
Read more at Heavy Consequence.
To read more about details about Def Leppard’s forthcoming album, Diamond Star Halos, please click here and to purchase tickets to the The Stadium Tour, go to Ticketmaster.
14 Responses
I wrote on the last Def Leppard article with regards to the song Kick.
In it I spoke about this guy from Scotland called Ben (YouTube handle – BWM5150) and how he had been uploading Def Leppard guitar covers for over ten years (and some from the likes of Whitesnake, Van Halen & Foreigner to name a few) and I left some links for some of the Leppard stuff.
I was wondering if any of the regular contributors to this site had the chance to have a look at his playing? I did comment on it quite late; so I don’t know whether or any of you guys got to see any of them? (I did ask Dana if she could pass this on to Eddie to see if he could show any of the band members as well as this guy is really good!)
Again, like I said in the Kick article, I do not know this guy personally.
Here’s the links again should any of you have not seen it last time
Kick – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohZd4kwRfqA (Learnt and uploaded within five hours of release!)
Run Riot – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjFHiKgcCA8
Gods of War – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwGpyf3xzII
Rock! Rock! (Till you drop) Live version – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHUcn4RjEOU
Rock of Ages – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l-D5mcE-yg
Thanks!!
(I do like the song Kick and look forward to hearing some more; however if I was Phil I wouldn’t be quoting Gary Glitter as an influence)
Hi, my sweet friend,
I am so sorry, I never responded to your last post. My mother had a brain bleed on the 23rd, and I have been dealing with A LOT, and this is going to be a tough journey, so please forgive me. I will send your message to Eddie now, as I am leaving soon to visit Mom.
If I get a chance, I will listen to these clip later.
Thank you.
Dana
I’m deeply sorry to hear about your dear mother. The fact that you didn’t respond to the last article wasn’t a problem.
May a lot of love and strength be blessed upon you and your mother at this time; here’s hoping that she will be back to full health again soon.
Take care for now; I’m sure the whole of the Eddie Trunk community is behind you 1000% and take comfort in knowing that we’re all here.
Thank you
Thank you, sending a virtual kiss your way.
Dana,
Sorry I don’t know where else to post, but prayers for your mom. God bless and be safe!
Thank you, E. ❤️
Sorry Dana, thought, and prayers, for your Mom.
Thank you, C, ❤️