Stereogum's "We’ve Got A File On You" features interviews in which artists share the stories behind the extracurricular activities that dot their careers: acting gigs, guest appearances, random internet ephemera, etc.
Stereogum talked with Def Leppard ead singer Joe Elliott, bassist Rick “Sav” Savage, and co-lead guitarist Phil Collen (who joined mid-Pyromania recording, replacing founding member Pete Willis) about four decades of Pyromania, sharing a stage with Taylor Swift, and why they never, ever, ever sing to backing tracks. An excerpt follows...
Stereogum's Rachel Brodsky: "I had a chance to catch Def Leppard on tour two years ago and was blown away by the high quality of your live set - it was so polished, and at the same time, loose and fun. How important is it to you, all these years into your careers, that you give your audience the best possible Def Leppard experience?"
Joe Elliott: "A lot. The truth of the matter is, when you’ve been around as long as we have, 90% of the audience are coming to hear stuff that they know rather than to be educated with, say, the new album that you or the Rolling Stones or Paul McCartney have just released. As much as we’re glad that Hackney Diamonds is out there, at the end of the day, most people buying a ticket for the Rolling Stones, they’re going to gladly hear 'Angry' and 'Sweet Sounds Of Heaven' because they’re great songs, but they also want 'Start Me Up', 'Satisfaction',' 'You Can’t Always Get What You Want'. They’re coming - I don’t want to say for the nostalgia - but they’re coming for the entertainment rather than the education of it. It’s the same with us.
"We know that we can’t get out the building alive if we don’t play 'Sugar'. The truth is that we want to play it because we’ve never been one of those kinds of bands that’s… 'Oh, I’m sick of playing the hits.' Hello. Be grateful you’ve had a hit. Some people have only ever had one. We’ve had quite a few.
"So, it’s incredibly important for us to put on a great show. Because when you first start out as a band, you’re playing live shows craving to get a record deal. And then you get a record deal, and you make albums, and you crave to make new music. There comes a point where it becomes a different universe, where you don’t make records as often as you did in your 20s because life takes over. People have families, and they want to spend more time at home. You spend less time doing all that creative stuff, or you learn a way around it like we did in COVID by recording remotely. But then you still have to take it out on the road.
"When we do take it out on the road, it becomes the most important factor because we are now one of those bands that could literally tour forever without putting any new music out. But creatively, that would kill us. There has to be a fine balance. When we do concentrate on the live [show] and we get ready for rehearsals, we put a lot of work in. We spend a long time rehearsing the vocals. We spend a long time playing the backing tracks, learning the parts. Everybody does their homework before they turn up so we’re not wasting time learning a song in a room. Everybody learns it at home and then brings the knowledge into the rehearsal room, and those five people can fire up and play a new song [on] day one. But the sixth, seventh time we play it, it’s as tight as 'Photograph' or 'Rock Of Ages' is, which we’ve been playing for 40-odd years. That’s because we’re a good band and we think the right way. We put the effort in, and it’s very important.
"I liked your analogy of [our live show being] polished but loose. That’s the perfect blend, really. You want people to hear it and go, 'My God, they’re tight,' but you can tell there’s a difference between the live and the record. I don’t normally comment on this kind of stuff, but a friend of mine just sent me some link to something on YouTube, a recent posting by, forgive me, I don’t know his name, Chuck something from Testament, I think it is, and Chris Holmes accusing us of using backing tracks. I don’t get angry at this. I’m flattered because their standards must be very different to ours. For anybody that thinks we use backing tracks, it must mean that when they hear us, they can’t believe how good it is for real.
"The fact is that if you rehearse the way we do and you’re as talented as the band are as musicians, then maybe you would believe it. I’d be happy to invite any of those guys to come stand side stage with a pair of headphones on so they could actually hear what’s coming out of the stage.
"We don’t use backing tracks. We use effects. God, who wouldn’t? When there’s four people singing, we use effects. There’s no tapes of backing vocals. We use keyboards. We use a few drum loops because, in fairness, two-armed drummers use drum loops, but Rick Allen, to play a song like 'Rocket', it’s a cacophony of toms that one arm couldn’t play. So, yeah, we use a triggered loop, which is part of his drum kit, but [U2 drummer] Larry Mullen’s been doing that for years. So have thousands of other drummers to enhance a sound. But backing tracks or playing along to a backing track — we’ve never done that, never. We’ve never mimed to the vocals, or we’ve never had multiples of stuff on tape. It’s literally live.
"If we’re running at about 90%, it’s more than most people’s 100%. Because we do play and sing, it does take a toll. You can, say, play Denver, where it’s a mile above sea level, and if you’ve got a gig the next day, your voice is going to be pretty shot. We have to get to a level where if it’s a little under last night, it’s still acceptable to the audience because of the adrenaline and the fact that it is live and you can hear maybe a bit of hoarseness or somebody’s fingers slip because it’s so cold, they can’t keep their fingers on the strings. Things like that happens to every single band, and that’s what brings the humanity to it. But we’re very proud of the fact that we play live, and we sing live, and we don’t use tapes.
"So, sorry Chuck and Chris Holmes, but you’ve got that one completely wrong. But thanks for thinking that we need them. We don’t. We’re that good."
Read more at Stereogum.
Pyromania 40, the 40th anniversary edition of Def Leppard’s iconic album Pyromania, is out April 26 including a brand new official merchandise range and expanded music products.
Featuring global hits such as "Photograph", "Rock Of Ages", and "Foolin'", Def Leppard’s diamond-certified 1983 album is being released as a series of new expanded and limited-edition formats, produced by Joe Elliott and Ronan McHugh with mastering by Andy Pearce. Featuring unheard demos and live material.
Check out this new video:
Available on black 2LP, coloured 2LP, half-speed Mastered 1LP, 2CD, and a deluxe 4CD package featuring Blu-Ray Atmos Mix of the album and a book of rare photos by Ross Halfin with new quotes from the band. Also available for streaming and download.
Pre-order here, and pre-save here.
Super Deluxe 4CD/Blu-Ray tracklisting:
Disc One: Album Re-Mastered
"Rock Rock (Til You Drop)"
"Photograph"
"Stagefright"
"Too Late for Love"
"Die Hard the Hunter"
"Foolin'"
"Rock Of Ages"
"Comin' Under Fire"
"Action! Not Words"
"Billy's Got a Gun"
Disc Two: Rarities
"No You Can't Do That" - Out-Take
"Untitled 1" - Demo
"Untitled 2" - Demo
"Untitled 3" - Demo
"Untitled 4" - Demo
"Untitled 5" - Demo
"Untitled 6" - Demo
"Rock Rock Till You Drop - Demo
"Too Late for Love" - Demo
"Comin' Under Fire" - Demo
"Billy's Got a Gun" - Demo
"No You Can't Do That" - Demo
"Rock Rock (Til You Drop)" - Rough Mix Version
"Photograph" - Rough Mix Version (Unfinished Vocal)
"Stagefright" - Rough Mix Version
"Too Late for Love" - Rough Mix Version
"Die Hard the Hunter" - Rough Mix Version
"Foolin'" - Rough Mix Version
"Rock Of Ages" - Rough Mix Version
"Comin' Under Fire" - Rough Mix Version
"Action! Not Words" - Rough Mix Version (Chorus Only)
"Billy's Got a Gun" - Rough Mix Version
Disc Three: Live Westfalen Halle, Dortmund, Germany
"Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)"
"Billy's Got a Gun"
"Foolin'"
"Rock of Ages"
"Let It Go"
"Wasted"
Disc Four: Live at the LA Forum
"Rock! Rock!! (Til You Drop)"
"Rock Brigade"
"High And Dry (Saturday Night)"
"Another Hit and Run"
"Billy's Got a Gun"
"Mirror Mirror (Look into My Eyes)"
"Foolin'"
"Photograph"
"Rock Of Ages"
"Bringing Back the Heartache"
"Switch 625"
"Let It Go"
"Wasted"
"Stage Fright"
"Travellin' Band"
Blu Ray: Atmos / 5.1 / New
"Pyromania" - Atmos Mix
"Rock Rock (Til You Drop)"
"Photograph"
"Stagefright"
"Too Late for Love"
"Die Hard the Hunter"
"Foolin'"
"Rock Of Ages"
"Comin' Under Fire"
"Action! Not Words"
"Billy's Got a Gun"
Pyromania - 5.1 Mix
"Rock Rock (Til You Drop)"
"Photograph"
"Stagefright"
"Too Late for Love"
"Die Hard the Hunter"
"Foolin'"
"Rock Of Ages"
"Comin' Under Fire"
"Action! Not Words"
"Billy's Got a Gun"
Pyromania - New Stereo Mix
"Rock Rock (Til You Drop)"
"Photograph"
"Stagefright"
"Too Late for Love"
"Die Hard the Hunter"
"Foolin'"
"Rock Of Ages"
"Comin' Under Fire"
"Action! Not Words"
"Billy's Got a Gun"
Pyromania - Instrumental
"Rock Rock (Til You Drop)"
"Photograph"
"Stagefright"
"Too Late for Love"
"Die Hard the Hunter"
"Foolin'"
"Rock Of Ages"
"Comin' Under Fire"
"Action! Not Words"
"Billy's Got a Gun"
Videos
"Photograph" - Official Video
"Rock Of Ages" - Official Video
"Foolin'" - Official Video
"Too Late for Love" - Official Video / Supersonic (Historia)
"Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)" - Official Video / Japanese Show (Historia)
"Photograph" (Rough Mix Version):
Explore an expansive collection of new Pyromania merchandise, product bundles and music formats at the official store, here.
Celebrating Record Store Day at participating stores starting April 20, Mercury Studios will exclusively release the Double Silver Vinyl LP, Def Leppard One Night Only Live at The Leadmill Sheffield May 19, 2023.
On the eve of the band’s largest UK / European run ever (including a sold out night at Wembley Stadium), and on the heels of launching their critically acclaimed and chart-topping new album, Drastic Symphonies (recorded at the renowned Abbey Road), Def Leppard streamed a one-off live performance from the historic Sheffield venue, The Leadmill. This unique set was from one of the most intimate shows the band has played in the UK or Europe in over 35 years, giving their fans the chance to hear and see the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inducted band up close performing an extraordinary stadium style set in a club setting.
Find stores and more information at recordstoreday.com.
Tracklist
Side A:
"Action"
"Fire It Up"
"Let It Go"
Side B:
"Too Late For Love"
"Excitable"
"Mirror Mirror"
Side C:
"Slang"
"Kick"
"Bringin’ On The Heartbreak"
"Switch 625"
Side D:
"Hysteria"
"Pour Some Sugar On Me"
"Wasted"
