![]() ![]() We’re gelling as a band maybe because we feel we belong again. A good thing about learning from the past is that a lot of bands we grew up with had a five-to-10-year shelf life and they visibly and sonically didn’t get better. We’ll egotistically allow ourselves to acknowledge it. I saw the Stadium Tour last summer and thought the band sounded stronger than ever. The mystique is kind of a thing of the past that bands of our generation refuse to let die. You tried to hide all of this stuff to show your best side now you just show every side. It’s OK if there is a picture of you with a zit or with a black eye because you were in a fight. Things have changed now that we are in this mad world. With all of the old photos of things like Phil Collen’s calendar and your tour itineraries and backstage laminates, the book also reiterates how cool it was to NOT know everything about the band in real time. In a perfect world, Steve might not be in the band anymore, but he’d be alive. ![]() ![]() We’re for sure a better band musically and vocally since Viv joined and that’s no slight on Steve. I don’t like dwelling on it too long because in my mind, I find it disrespectful to Viv (Campbell). I think about Steve a lot, but it doesn’t pain me. My dad died in 2012 and he’s always there too. Hardly a day goes by when his name doesn’t come up or you see him in a photo to approve legacy artwork. Does it pain you to relive the loss of Steve Clark? Looking through all of the photos and memorabilia and old tour posters in the "DEFinitely" book is a reminder that the band has weathered so much tragedy. (Laughs) They’re of a certain age these days where they’re happy to just sort of wonder. You’re going to disappoint a lot of strip club fans with this version. It was Sav who said, why don’t we just do Emm’s version? And you got that stunned silence when you can hear the cogs going around and about six seconds later it was, yeah, that’s a good idea. She did a covers album in 2001 with “Crazy Train” from Ozzy (Osbourne) and “Song 2” from Blur and she had her version of “Sugar” on there. Who is singing with you?Įmm Gryner, a Canadian solo artist I met in 1999 who backed up (David) Bowie and has about 28 albums out. There is a very different version of “Pour Some Sugar on Me” on the album. We weren’t going to just do the hits to the detriment of the song because it looks good on the (album) sleeve. The reason “Rock of Ages,” “Let’s Get Rocked” and “Photograph” aren’t on this record is because they sounded hideous. We’d get early arrangements from (string arranger) Eric Gorfain, who was scoring them on a keyboard that sounded like an orchestra and he’d send us MP3s for a yay or nay. Some of the songs – “Hysteria” and “Bringin’ on the Heartbreak,” in particular – seem like obvious choices to get the orchestral treatment. It was like watching David Attenborough filming the penguins! But it was his song and he probably thought he’d never see the Royal Philharmonic in Abbey Road doing his song. When they did “Kings of the World,” I’ve never seen (Rick) Sav (age) get his phone out for anything other than answering a call and he filmed the whole thing. But these musicians were wearing Def Leppard T-shirts, sweatpants and runners. Whenever you see an orchestra, they’re usually wearing tuxes. We spent two days on a balcony overlooking these guys. Were you there for any of the Philharmonic’s recordings? We wanted to strip these songs down and bring the base of them back up. We’re by far not the first band to do (an orchestral album), but we didn’t want to just be buttering a piece of toast and slapping the orchestra on top of a record. ![]() But we’re well aware of walking a well-trodden path. Question: Even with all that Def Leppard has accomplished in 40-plus years, how surreal was it to have the Royal Philharmonic playing your songs?Īnswer: It was very surreal. 5 in Syracuse, New York.Īmiable frontman Elliott chatted with USA TODAY from his home in Dublin about which Def Leppard hits sounded “hideous” with an orchestra, why the band is compelled to still be better and how he's still holding on to rock star mystique. for six stadium dates with Motley Crue and Alice Cooper, commencing Aug. If that isn’t enough Lep in your life, after an early summer gallop through Europe, Def Leppard returns to the U.S. Part memoir, part photo essay, the hardcover is a treasure of 1,500 elements of band history, including recollections from singer Joe Elliott, guitarists Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell, bassist Rick Savage, drummer Rick Allen and archival interviews with original guitarists Steve Clark and Pete Willis. Then, on June 13, “DEFinitely: The Official Story of Def Leppard” lands. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |