There have been few bands that have weathered as many storms as Def Leppard and managed to survive. Even by the time guitarist Phil Collen joined the young band that helped launch the new wave of British heavy metal as they were about to blow up in America, even the Rolling Stones had only been together 20 years. “I talked with Mick Jagger, I think, at last year’s Grammy Awards, and he got up to sing,” says Collen. “Amazing. Seventy years old and he stole the show. He was very inspiring to watch. He’s still got that ‘thing.’ … If he can do it at 70, I can at least do it at 55.”
Def Leppard has been together for more than three decades, and the idea of carrying on for several more is starting to become realistic. Collen, who adopted a healthy lifestyle early in the band’s career, works out frequently at his Southern California home and channels his enthusiasm into side projects such as Manraze with Sex Pistols drummer Paul Cook (Collen sings). His bandmates keep themselves similarly busy—Vivian Campbell rehearsed in December with former members of Dio for a future tour, and Rick Allen’s drum-pattern-based art is being featured at the Martin Lawrence Galleries at The Forum Shops at Caesars during the current Hard Rock Hotel residency.
Now, realistically, Collen—including founding members Joe Elliott on vocals and bassist Rick Savage—can look forward to always coming home to Def Leppard. The residency is one more sign of the band’s resurgence after a period of highs and lows, milestones and misfires. Mötley Crüe and Guns N’ Roses preceded them with residencies, but Def Leppard is also spending five days as counselors at the first Rock ’N’ Roll Fantasy Camp dedicated to a single band. They also hope to take advantage of the time together to record, as it is a rare time for them to all be in one place for an extended time.
The Las Vegas residency, meanwhile, is dedicated to the 1987 album Hysteria, although Def Leppard plans to deliver much more. “We’re going to do a deep cuts set,” says Collen. “We’re actually going to play songs we’ve never played before, stuff like demos that never made it onto an album, and material from the first and second albums. We’re going to do 45 minutes like that, go off, come back on and do Hysteria in its entirety, and then an encore. It’s going to be a long, big night. We’re basically our own support band.”
With all the covers the band has recorded, there’s no telling what could come up in the sets. Collen is equally at home singing Iggy and the Stooges’ “Search and Destroy” or paying homage to Jeff Beck with a faithful instrumental rendition of “’Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers.” Meanwhile, songs from Pyromania and High ’n’ Dry will be played for the first time in years. “We’ve got a pool of songs—30, maybe 40 songs—we’re actually going to try and rehearse,” says Collen. “Every night is going to be a different set list.”
The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel, March 27 and 29-30, April 3, 5-6, 10 and 12-13
