From a gig for six friends in a Sheffield, England spoon factory in 1977 to creating one of the most intense stage production shows on the global stage, Def Leppard has met the challenges throughout the years to become one of the few iconic bands of the new wave of British heavy metal to have survived through the grunge era of American radio. Leppard’s style is so distinctive, melding the eighties hair band flash with a lushly seductive studio sound, creating a thoroughly layered harmony that has sold 65 million albums worldwide.

From their successes with “On Through The Night,” “Pyromania” and their signature album “Hysteria,” Def Leppard broke worldwide sales records and garnered Billboard certified hits one after another. The first widely publicized taste of tragedy came when, in 1984, Rick Allen, Lep’s drummer, lost his arm in an automobile accident. Through rehabilitation, massive amounts of practice and a specially designed drum kit, Allen was able to return to the stage and the studio. Guitarist Steve Clark did not fare as well, succumbing to an accidental overdose of prescription medication and alcohol in 1991. The band elected to go on, releasing “Adrenalize” in March of 1992 to critical acclaim.

I was able to speak with Vivian Campbell, the guitarist that replaced Steve Clark and also the eternal “new guy” in the band, as he was riding in a tour bus on his way to a gig at the Echo Arena in Liverpool. 

J.T.: While some artists receive accolades for their innovations and for breaking new ground with every single new release, Def Leppard has been vilified at times for changing their style, most specifically on their “X” and “Slang” albums. Why do you think that is?

Vivian: Well, we have done differently stylized records in the past. The “Slang” record in 1996 was a total departure from anything that Def Leppard had done before. But, you know, success is what people strive for and when you get it, you’re somewhat beholden to it, style wise. You’re forever associated with it. It’s kind of like that whole Coca-cola thing. When they tried to do the new Coca-Cola, nobody wanted it, you know? People know what they want. Within the realms of the music that we make, you have to be true to your style, you can’t go too far off the mark. While wanting to stretch artistically, you have to stay close to what it is you’re known for, although you do continually refine what it is that you’re known for.

J.T.: I was thinking in particular to the albums “X” and “Slang” with that last question. They were both really departure albums.

Vivian: It was a departure, but in that time period, it wouldn’t have mattered what kind of record Def Leppard would have made. The market just wasn’t accepting. It was in the middle of the grunge era, so it really didn’t matter what kind of record we put out there. I remember one program director down at a radio station in Florida, when he played our first single off that record (Slang), he said, ‘It’s a great record and I can play it. I just can’t have my DJ go on air and say that it was new from Def Leppard.’ It was just kind of a hostile environment for a band such as us. We essentially had to survive the name, you know? I must say that I hope that audiences will come out and see the art again in terms of the records we write and record and in terms of the live show and putting on a big production, because we’re going back to doing that again. In the nineties, that was kind of taboo. We’re a big production band and we’ve been building it up year after year and it’s great. It does the music more justice, playing it with all the bells and whistles.

J.T.: Has “Songs From The Sparkle Lounge” been accepted pretty well on this tour?

Vivian: Yeah, we’re playing at least two sometimes three new songs at the shows a night. It’s tough because radio is not as supportive as it was. The basic structure of radio doesn’t exist the way that it did a decade or two ago, so it’s difficult for your audience to, or at least a majority of your audience, to be familiar with new music before they come see you in concert, so for a great percentage of people, when we play a new song live, they’re hearing it for the first time. So a lot of times, you get more of a muted response to those songs then from the classics that we all know. Having said that, 30 or 40, or whatever percentage of the audience that is familiar with the new music and they are thrilled that you’re playing something new. We do want to keep moving forward and we’ve always had that ambition to keep making music and we will continue to do that and continue to play it live, but you can’t force feed your audience.

J.T.: With the success of the Tim McGraw collaboration “Nine Lives,” are there any other artists that Def Leppard would like to work with in the future?

Vivian: Well, with Tim, it was certainly a pleasure to work with him. He’s a very easygoing guy and he’s got great energy. I’m sure that we’d be up for doing something with somebody else again in the future, but I don’t think there’s any real plan there. However, we are working with a different country artist in October when we record a VH1 Crossroads show with Taylor Swift. That’ll be a treasure. It’s seems that there’s a lot of crossover nowadays with acts like us, rock acts, and country music. So, both audiences seem to be melding together.

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