Def & Glory - Behind the Comeback Album

Last year, Def Leppard, Whitesnake and Black Star Riders set out on an arena-filling joint tour. Guitarist joins Phil Collen and Viv Campbell backstage to hear about the band’s comeback album, the rules of Leppard riffing and the wild old days – followed by a round-table discussion with all three bands.

- Henry Yates

Def Leppard don’t do things by halves. It’s 16 December, and Guitarist is stood in the cavernous expanses of the Cardiff Motorpoint Arena, waiting for soundcheck, drinking in the scene. Speaker stacks dangle like forest fruits. An army of roadies scurry between the spotlights like escapees from Colditz. A mile-wide plasma screen beyond the stage plays a slideshow of the band at their all-conquering 80s peak: young, topless, straw-haired rockers who can’t quite believe their luck. Suddenly, the Leppard line-up is on stage,ripping into comeback single, Let’s Go, with a rabble-rousing abandon that belies the fact the venue is almost entirely empty. As Phil Collen and Viv Campbell strut out onto the stage’s ego-ramp to trade white-hot solos, it’s clear that almost four decades after their formation in Sheffield, they can still command a stadium like few others. An hour later, Guitarist waits for the headliners in their production office. Campbell is first to arrive, toting a cut-and-shut Custom and chuckling about that time he auditioned for Ronnie James Dio while stoned out of his box. Then comes Collen, cradling his Jackson X-Stroyer and ready to field our enquiries with trademark aitch-dropping humour. Enough rawk. Let’s talk.

Be honest. How wild did Leppard tours get back in the day?

Phil: “Me and [late guitarist] Steve Clark used to drink a lot. We’d get bollocks-drunk and do really stupid things. I remember, we were in Holland once and I had this Porsche. We flew over a bridge, slithered on some leaves and went into a shop – and I got arrested. Stupid shit like that, which I really don’t think is funny. But it’s been 28 years since I’ve had a drink.”

How loud has this tour got?