Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen isn't sure who the band will pass the torch to once they're retired. Collen said in an interview with Listen Next! that he's still waiting to see who that'll be, and that he feels TikTok and YouTube aren't exactly helping things in terms of drive. Maybe Collen should talk to vocalist Joe Elliott about Ghost? "I don't know. I'm still waiting, actually. You hear a lot of stuff out there, but it's few and far between. There's a problem, I think, and I think it's the TikTok and YouTube crowd.
"When bands or artists would write before, it would be because they wanted to an artist and wanted to express themselves and write songs and share them and go, 'Wow. Check this out,' as opposed to, 'Wow. Look at me. Please love me.' I don't wanna sound like an old dude, but that's what I noticed. And I'm still waiting for someone like Prince or Zepplin or something that has a bit more something to it. There's very little stuff.
"Metallica's great; when you see 'em, there's a big difference. Guns N' Roses are awesome. I don't see that anymore; I don't see that star power. I don't see that kind of thing. So that's what I'm waiting for. There hasn't been any of that. Nirvana was… Obviously, Foo Fighters is an offshoot of Nirvana. And I love the Foo Fighters; I think they're great. But when Nirvana came out, I was, like, 'Woah, this is amazing.' The Sex Pistols — amazing. But I'm just waiting — still waiting."
It's an interesting take to take because TikTok and YouTube are certainly cranking out big names, but I alos get what Collen is saying – you're not seeing a TikTok star headlining a stadium. At least in rock you're not.
Catch Def Leppard on tour with Mötley Crüe, Poison, and Joan Jett & The Blackhearts at one of the remaining below dates.
8/5 Boston, MA @ Fenway Park [Tickets]
8/6 Boston, MA @ Fenway Park [Tickets]
8/8 Toronto, ON @ Rogers Centre [Tickets]
8/10 Orchard Park, NY @ Highmark Stadium [Tickets]
8/12 Pittsburgh, PA @ PNC Park [Tickets]
8/14 Minneapolis, MN @ U.S. Bank Stadium [Tickets]
8/16 Indianapolis, IN @ Lucas Oil Stadium [Tickets]
8/19 Houston, TX @ Minute Maid Park [Tickets]
8/21 San Antonio, TX @ Alamodome [Tickets]
8/22 Arlington, TX @ Globe Life Field [Tickets]
8/25 Glendale, AZ @ State Farm Stadium [Tickets]
8/27 Inglewood, CA @ SoFi Stadium [Tickets]
8/28 San Diego, CA @ Petco Park [Tickets]
8/31 Seattle, WA @ T-Mobile Park [Tickets]
9/2 Vancouver, BC @ BC Place [Tickets]
9/4 Edmonton, AB @ Commonwealth Stadium [Tickets]
9/7 San Francisco, CA @ Oracle Park [Tickets]
9/9 Las Vegas, NV @ Allegiant Stadium [Tickets]
