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Def concert jam: '80s rockers hit road |
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Written by Knight Ridder
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Wednesday, 28 June 2006 |
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It’s hardly unusual that Def Leppard would hit the road in support of a new disc.
But the latest release by the British band that spent the ’80s as king of the hard-rock hill is an extraordinary 14-track ’70s glam-rock tribute titled “Yeah.”
On it, Def Leppard covers songs from Bowie to Blondie, stopping along the way to take in T. Rex, Badfinger, Sweet, Mott the Hoople, the Kinks and Roxy Music.
“We’re showing our roots,” says guitarist Vivian Campbell, who cut his teeth with metal acts Ronnie James Dio and Rainbow in the ’70s before joining Def Leppard in 1992 after the death of Steve Clark.
Def Leppard kicked off its new tour, which pairs the band with veteran rockers Journey, last week in Camden, N.J.
Campbell is especially stoked to perform because of “Yeah’s” emphasis on the music of his life.
“These songs bring back memories,” admits Campbell, who skipped down memory lane last year with a solo disc of blues standards on which he honored fellow Irishman and guitar sensation Rory Gallagher. “You always remember where you were when you heard a certain song, like T. Rex’s ‘20th Century Boy.’
“Basically what we wanted to do with this record was to pay homage to the music and musicians that turned us on.”
Def Leppard, which helped define the ’80s with such hits as “Bringin’ on the Heartbreak,” “Photograph,” “Rock of Ages,” “Animal” and “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” is sure to prod the memories of today’s 40- and 50-somethings with covers of Sweet’s “Hell Raiser,” The Faces’ “Stay With Me,” Mott the Hoople’s “The Golden Age of Rock and Roll,” the Kinks’ “Waterloo Sunset” and Badfinger’s “No Matter What,” “Yeah’s” first radio-played song.
Def Leppard actually set up guidelines in choosing which artists and songs would be included: Nothing by iconic acts such as The Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Queen, even though Queen provided a huge influence for every member of the band, and nothing past 1979, when glam succumbed to new wave.
“It is a mix of our musical awakenings and the glam-rock era, an era that really resonates with us, the first spouting of pubic hair and noticing girls,” says Campbell, explaining the intentions of the band.
“For (lead singer) Joe (Elliott), it was like Bowie had a huge influence on him, but for me, before Bowie wore the makeup, there was Marc Bolan and gender-bending and Eastern tradition and blues.
“This (album) is a whole mish-mash of music. It’s the most fun anyone in Def Leppard has had making an album, and it is the quickest record made, and had the highest energy. Whether or not this album is successful (commercially), it sort of reminded us why we do this in the first place.”
Now if only Campbell can get his band mates to recall why they liked soccer, which he still plays, honing his skills almost every afternoon.
“The soccer thing, I’m afraid is done,” he says. “Now they watch golf. How pathetic is that? We used to have so much fun at those soccer games, but I fear the last of the soccer games has been played.”
With the World Cup of Soccer going on, Campbell is trying to catch as much of his favorite sport on TV as possible, but don’t expect him to root for England or Wayne Rooney.
“Personally, being from Belfast, I can’t wait to see England get beat,” he says. “As an Irishman, I get great satisfaction out of England and (its 40 years of frustration in trying to win) World Cups. It would be very unfair of me to watch the games in the same room with the other members of the band.”
THE DENVER SHOW
Def Leppard plays at Red Rocks Aug. 15 with Journey. Tickets are available through TicketMaster, 303.830.TIXS. | Only registered users can write comments.
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