In a recent interview on “dopeYEAH Talk,” guitarist Vivian Campbell talked about Dio, Whitesnake, Riverdogs, Shadow King and Def Leppard. You can watch the entire interview via the embedded YouTube clip below (a clip from a full in bloom interview with Adrian Vandenberg has been provided as well).
Def Leppard: On newsstands now, new interview w/ Joe and Metro 📰 New album ‘Drastic Symphonies’ out May 19th via Mercury Records.
On Doing a Def Leppard Big Screen Biopic:
Joe Elliott:
There’s always something being discussed, but let’s not forget there was an MTV movie in 1999 that was f**king awful! It was low-budget, badly researched, and I had to intervene at one stage to say ‘you can’t put Phil in the band while we’re doing High ‘n’ Dry’. We’d get slaughtered by our fans. Anything that happens from here on will be a hell of a lot more accurate. There is a story to tell, but the only problem is from a media perspective it’s just about two big things: Rick’s arm and Steve’s death. After that, there isn’t much that would surprise anyone.
I can walk down the street in a Def Leppard shirt on show day and no one knows who I am! We’d have to pull out a lot of truths that were never told to make it interesting.
On the Future of Rock Music:
Rock was always dead until it came back. But bands like us, Bon Jovi, Mötley Crüe, we had MTV. Nowadays kids just shove their headphones on, not talking to their parents or their mates. It’s a very insular world. Which is why I think playing live has become very important because people have to rub shoulders.
These days you get a top 10 album and the next week it’s gone, there’s no build. Hysteria took 49 weeks to reach number 1 in America. That will never happen again because the industry has changed, but our streaming figures are up there with the Beatles and the Stones.
There’s something about familiarity or a respect for our generation. Some of these new bands write great songs and they’re going about it the right way, but they aren’t getting the chance. I don’t think it’s their fault, and that’s the scary bit. Even scarier is that Def Leppard started in ’77 and we’re still talking about us in 2023. Are we still gonna be talking about these newer bands in 2065?
On collaborating with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on the Upcoming Album, Drastic Symphonies:
It wasn’t ever on my bucket list, and I know we’re far from the first band to do it, but it was special. We’ve done so many things outside of the norm, like working with Taylor Swift, Tim McGraw, Alison Krauss. This felt like the logical next step, but we wanted to get involved. Not just hand over the tapes and say ‘go on, slap some strings on this’. We’d done a lot of work for this before the orchestra was done. I rerecorded some of the vocals and we changed things. We went down to Abbey Road to watch the orchestra recording from the balcony, and it felt really good seeing what they did to our art.
You can read more @ this location.
Def Leppard tour the UK and Europe with Mötley Crüe from May 22 – July 6.
The band’s new album Drastic Symphonies is released on May 19 via Mercury Records.
PRE-ORDER Drastic Symphonies ON VINYL
PRE-ORDER Drastic Symphonies ON CD
WSVN 7 News: Def Leppard’s drummer assaulted outside Fort Lauderdale hotel.
The drummer of legendary rock group Def Leppard was assaulted outside the hotel he was staying at after a show in South Florida.
Rick Allen, who sadly lost his arm in a car accident back in 1984, was outside the Four Seasons in the valet area for a smoke. That’s when a very strange and scary encounter happened.
Allen was in South Florida to perform a show at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino over the weekend.
Fort Lauderdale Police said Hartley was hiding behind a pillar outside the hotel while Allen was smoking his cigarette when Hartley, according to the report, ran at full speed at Allen, knocking him to the ground.
The report states Allen “hit his head on the ground causing injury.”
The report then says a woman ran out of the hotel to help Allen, and Hartley, police said, then attacked her.
“While she is on the ground, the defendant continues to batter her by striking her. [She] attempts to escape by running into the hotel. The defendant then grabs [her] by her hair and drags her out of the lobby and back onto the sidewalk before fleeing the area.”
Hartley was arrested after he was found at a nearby hotel breaking car windows.
The suspect said nothing to 7News cameras besides, “Stop,” as he held his arms up to shield his face, showing visible injuries on his elbows.
He has been charged with two counts of battery, four counts of criminal mischief, and abusing an elderly or disabled adult.
Allen provided a sworn statement to police and told them that he indeed wants to prosecute.
Def Leppard:
A special captain’s log from Joe – “I’m here and we are going on at 8pm!” 🤘
WATCH THE VIDEO CLIP BELOW
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Nikki Sixx:
The WORLD tour starts nöw.
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Def Leppard:
HELLO AMERICA! Just Announced – New USA dates for The World Tour 2023🤘
Fri, 12/9 10am local – Rock Brigade Presale
Tues, 12/13 10am local – Citi Presale
Thurs, 12/15 10am – LN/Local/Venue Presale
Fri, 12/16 10am local – OnsaleSee you on the road with Motley Crue and Alice Cooper 🔥
Hit DefLeppard.com for tix & info!
Sat Aug 05 Syracuse, NY
Tue Aug 08 Columbus, OH
Fri Aug 11 Fargo, ND
Sun Aug 13 Omaha, NE
Wed Aug 16 Tulsa, OK
Fri Aug 18 El Paso, TX
Def Leppard:
A very Leppard year on Spotify!🤘 Thank you all for listening to our music – we wouldn’t be here without your support! 🙏
Were YOU one of our top fans this year? #SPOTIFYWRAPPED
Streams: 282.8M Listeners: 27.4M Hours: 19.3M Countries: 182
Def Leppard:
We are still devastated to hear that Eric The Trainer has passed away. In 2018 he accompanied Def Leppard on tour as the band’s trainer. Our sincere condolences to Alysia, his son Henry and his family.
The family has welcomed the community to celebrate Eric’s life by sharing experiences, memories, and tributes to: Celebrate.Erics.Life@gmail.com.
Def Leppard:
Just announced: 2 special nights in Atlantic City! Hard Rock Live @ Etess Arena – we’ll see you on February 10th and 11th, 2023🤘
Citi Presale – Tues, 11/29 12pm
Rock Brigade Presale – Wed, 11/30 10am
Live Nation/Venue Presale – Thurs, 12/1 10am
General Onsale – Fri, 12/2 10am
Tickets:
February 10
February 11
Nikki Sixx:
Two intimate warm up shows.
Jorge Botas: Had a chat with Chad Kroeger of Nickelback, to talk all things “Get Rollin'” and why and how they became one of the most “hated” rock bands on the planet!
On why Nickelback became the world’s most hated band:
Chad Kroeger:
I’ve got a pretty good grasp of where things kind of went off the rails for us. So, I think that because we write so many different kinds of music; I think that if you were listening to a radio station any time between 2000 and 2010, ’11, ’12 even, we were kind of tough to get away from. Because if you didn’t want to hear it, and you changed to a different radio station, you’d probably hear it on that and then change to a different radio station, you’re probably going to hear it in so many different places. We were really tough to get away from. And that’s not my fault (laughs), we just write the songs. And so, with that comes backlash.
Then what happens is, then comedians start making jokes. Then it starts making it on to TV, and then it makes it into movies and stuff like that. And then it just turns into this wave of, like, “Oh, it’s fun to pick on them.” It’s an easy joke. And I get it, I understand. There are bands that when I hear them on the radio, and they’re very popular bands. I mean, we all have those. No one is exempt from that. There are certain bands where you just hear them, and you just don’t like them. Half the world may love them, and I’ll just be, like, “No, I just cannot hear this band one more time.” And just like everyone else does, I change the channel.
We kind of became the whipping boy of the music industry for a while there, but, you know, whatever. It’s just part of the history of the band.
It’s funny because we were at the American Music Awards, we were presenting, and we presented to Def Leppard. When we walked backstage afterwards, Joe Elliott and Phil Collen turned to me, and they were just, like, “Dude, thank you so much.” I’m, like, “For what?” They were, like, “For taking the trophy. We get to pass the baton to you for being the most hated band in the world now.” And I was just, like, “Oh, yeah, because I want that.”
We went for dinner with AC/DC in Chicago years and years and years ago, and this whole thing came up. Brian Johnson said when they released ‘Back In Black,’ they were the most hated band on the planet. So, I feel like we’re in good company.
Later in the interview, Chad talked about working with legendary producer Mutt Lange:
When we were working with Mutt, doing the ‘Dark Horse’ record, there was some stuff on there, where I was like, “How in the hell am I going to sing this live?” He said: “That’s not my job. My job is to make you guys sound awesome in here. You have to figure that out.”
Nickelback released their tenth studio album, Get Rollin, on November 18, 2022. The lead single, “San Quentin,” has been embedded below.
Def Leppard:
KICK – Live on The Stadium Tour – Full Video out MONDAY NOV 21 🤘
Def Leppard:
Take an inside look at The Stadium Tour with this blooper reel!
WATCH THE CLIP BELOW
Mötley Crüe:
First, U.S. Stadiums…now – THE WORLD 🤘 The World Tour with Def Leppard is hitting Latin America & Europe in 2023! 🔥
Head to Motley.com for all details and specific pre-sale, on-sale, and VIP package information.
VIP Packages Available:
EU: Tuesday, 25th October @ 10 AM
LATAM: Friday, 21st October @ 10 AM
On Sale:
EU: Friday, 28th October @ 10am (Select markets vary)
LATM: Thursday, 27th October @ 10am (Select markets vary)
“We had an incredible time playing The Stadium Tour in North America this summer and we truly can’t wait to take the show around the globe with The WORLD Tour in 2023. Crüeheads in Latin America and Europe: Get ready!!”
THE WORLD TOUR DATES:
Feb 18, 2023 Mexico City, Mexico
Feb 21, 2023 Monterrey, Mexico
Feb 25, 2023 Bogota, Colombia
Feb 28, 2023 Lima, Peru
Mar 03, 2023 Santiago, Chile
Mar 07, 2023 Sao Paulo, Brazil
Mar 09, 2023 Curitiba, Brazil
Mar 11, 2023 Porto Alegre, Brazil
May 22, 2023 Sheffield, UK
May 25, 2023 Mönchengladbach, Germany
May 27, 2023 Munich, Germany
May 29, 2023 Budapest, Hungary
May 31, 2023 Krakow, Poland
Jun 2, 2023 Prague, Czech Republic Prague Rocks
Jun 3, 2023 Hannover, Germany
Jun 7, 2023 Solvesborg, Sweden Sweden Rock Festival
Jun 9, 2023 Hyvinkää, Finland RockFest
Jun 11, 2023 Trondheim, Norway Trondheim Rocks
Jun 14, 2023 Copenhagen, Denmark COPENHELL
Jun 18, 2023 Dessel, Belgium Graspop Metal Meeting
Jun 20, 2023 Milan, Italy
Jun 23, 2023 Lisbon, Portugal
Jun 24, 2023 Rivas-Vaciamadrid, Spain
Jun 27, 2023 Thun, Switzerland
Jul 1, 2023 London, UK
Jul 2, 2023 Lytham, UK Lytham Festival
Jul 4, 2023 Dublin, Ireland
Jul 6, 2023 Glasgow, UK
Super fucking excited to get back on the road with @MotleyCrue and @DefLeppard next February in Mexico-SA and of course Europe in the summer. #TheWORLDTour #TheFutureIsOurs
— 📷 (@NikkiSixx) October 21, 2022
Def Leppard:
Introducing: ‘DEFINITELY: The Official Story of Def Leppard’ 🤘
Part memoir, part scrapbook, DEFINITELY is the ultimate record of Def Leppard’s legendary career. 🔥
Available now for pre-order – grab yours NOW 👉 @ THIS LOCATION
Def Leppard:
SILVER at the International Spirit Challenge!
The International Spirits Challenge is one of the most respected and influential spirits competitions in the world, rewarding quality and celebrating excellence.
We have been awarded with SILVER for ROCKET PREMIUM DISTILLED GIN.
Def Leppard:
Welcome aboard Joe’s tour bus! Check out Joe’s travel must haves, work station, and more while on the road 🤘