Phil Collen – ‘Def Leppard Is Better Than It’s Ever Been’

On Tuesday evening’s Loudwire Nights (May 23), Def Leppard’s Phil Collen joined host Chuck Armstrong to debate the band’s newest album, the huge Drastic Symphonies.

Drastic Symphonies finds Def Leppard re-imagining the work of their profession with the assistance and steerage of the Royal Philharmonic, with most of the songs present process, effectively, drastic adjustments.

When the thought of working intently with the Philharmonic was introduced as much as the band, Collen defined to Chuck that they had been rapidly , however with one essential caveat: “We want to be totally involved. We don’t want someone else doing their version or their intention of our music. We’ve been so guarded over our career. We said we’d do it if we can re-do things.”

With that mentality, Collen mentioned that issues fell into place fairly rapidly and the entire expertise was seamless.

“Everything from the first moment we started getting the ideas together, everybody was on board and got the briefing, got the vibe. It was such a fun thing to do.”

While the Royal Philharmonic helped re-think about the songs, Def Leppard additionally contributed their very own updates, too, all of the whereas utilizing a few of their authentic tapes, which meant there are moments on Drastic Symphonies the place followers may hear Joe Elliott harmonizing with himself from a number of a long time in the past.

“We are so much better than we were before,” Collen admitted with an apparent smile on his face. “Literally, I practice every day. I sing every day. The band is better than it’s ever been. I can’t believe this is actually our singing—Joe is singing way better than he was in his 20s. We’ve kind of kept elevating it. We’ve raised the bar.”

Collen wasn’t simply saying that to puff himself up; he has acknowledged that followers’ reactions have modified and elevated through the years, too.

“We just did South America with Motley Crue. It was insane. Just nuts. The reaction—people crying and us, the best we’ve ever been. I keep saying probably the best five shows we’ve ever done in our career happened in the last nine months.”

When Def Leppard and Metallica Crossed Paths within the ’80s

As Collen talked concerning the evolution—and development—of the band’s sound over the a long time, it led Chuck to serious about the earliest days of Def Leppard once they had been picked up as the primary and for a second, solely, consumer of Q Prime Management, the identical group that will finally begin to handle Metallica within the ’80s.

“Peter Mensch, who was one of our managers, lived in London,” Collen informed Chuck. “Lars [Ulrich] would come by and see him. I loved what they were doing. I loved their approach to it. It was new. It was refreshing—and they still sound like that. They’re an awesome band.”

As Collen mirrored on his admiration for Metallica, he stored his concentrate on Ulrich.

“I loved the way Lars approached it,” he defined. “He was so passionate, I think he’s one of the reasons they became that big. He would push them. He was really focused. Apart from being the drummer and a part of the band, he was the spearhead. James [Hetfield] writes the song, the band had the sound—and it was a monster sound—but he was the spokesman, if you’d like. I should tell Lars, I saw him recently, I haven’t seen him in 20 years. I was very impressed with how he pushed the band forward like that. He had all this passion and enthusiasm, it was great. They are such a great band, this sound that is totally unique and everybody copied them and still does.”

READ MORE: Joe Elliott on Problem With Making ‘Proper’ Def Leppard Biopic

Surprisingly, Collen’s appreciation for Ulrich and Metallica did not have a lot to do with the thrash legends’ love of British heavy steel.

“We are kind of huge fans of American music,” he admitted. “We sing with American accents because we learned how to sing like that. That only dawned on me a few years ago—’How come I sing American?’ It’s because I learned everything from the Beach Boys, Stevie Wonder, Van Halen—everything was Americanized. Even the Stones, they learned from listening to Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, James Brown and stuff. So I can totally see why Metallica would kind of have that reciprocal thing, because all of a sudden, there are these British bands doing something.”

What Else Did Def Leppard’s Phil Collen Discuss on Loudwire Nights?

• The greatest shock on Drastic Symphonies got here with their greatest track, “Pour Some Sugar on Me”
• What it was like dropping a number of the highlight on his guitar work due to the involvement of the Royal Philharmonic
• How producer Mutt Lange continues to form the band: “There’s talent. There’s hard work. And then there’s Mutt.”

Listen to the Full Interview within the Podcast Player Below

Phil Collen joined Loudwire Nights on Tuesday, May 23; the present replays on-line right here, and you may tune in reside each weeknight at 7PM ET or on the Loudwire app; you may as well see if the present is out there in your native radio station and hearken to interviews on-demand. Stream Drastic Symponies at this location after which take a look at Def Leppard’s full tour schedule.