DEF LEPPARD frontman Joe Elliott has spoken candidly about the band’s enduring passion for live performance in an in-depth feature for Rock Candy Magazine Issue 56. With nearly 50 years of gigging behind them and a new album in the works, DEF LEPPARD show no signs of slowing down. Every member of the classic line-up contributed to what amounts to a forensic look at one of rock’s most celebrated live acts.Rock Candy Magazine Issue 56 puts DEF LEPPARD under the microscope, dedicating 26 pages to a sweeping examination of the band’s remarkable live career — from early New Wave Of British Heavy Metal club shows to globe-spanning stadium tours performed in the round. Editor Howard Johnson spoke with every member of the current line-up, drawing out candid reflections on what keeps the Sheffield legends hungry after nearly five decades.
Vocalist Joe Elliott pointed to camaraderie and consistency as the pillars of their longevity. „The fact that we’ve had the same line-up for 34 years now is insane,“ he noted, adding that a new album is currently in production with a release planned for next year. „We’re not done yet,“ Elliott stated plainly.
Bassist Rick Savage echoed that sentiment, insisting the fire that drives them on stage has never dimmed. „I’ve never got the impression from any of the other four that they’ve ever been going through the motions,“ he said. „We genuinely love playing live.“
Drummer Rick Allen reflected on his earliest connections with fellow band members, recalling that he and guitarist Steve Clark had attended many of the same gigs — sharing a love of Thin Lizzy, Slade and Sweet — before he had even auditioned.
Guitarist Phil Collen spoke candidly about the physical demands of performing in the round, while Vivian Campbell, who joined DEF LEPPARD in 1992 following the death of Steve Clark, offered a blunt summary of the band’s ethos: „We don’t take ourselves seriously, but we take the work very seriously.“
The issue also features Joe Bonamassa on Rory Gallagher, Charlie Benante on ANTHRAX, a Q&A with Billy Sheehan, Richie Faulkner of JUDAS PRIEST, and a reappraisal of POISON’s debut album.
Photo: DEF LEPPARD / Rock Candy Magazine