DEF LEPPARD vocalist Joe Elliott and guitarist Phil Collen recently spoke to Fuse about some of their craziest tour stories, including an encounter with a Polish witch and performing in a Moroccan cave; their history with the musical “Rock Of Ages”, including visiting Tom Cruiseon the film set; and their decision tore-recorded two of their biggest hits. Check out the footage below.
In a recent interview with MusicRadar.com, Collen spoke about recording “Hysteria”, the multi-platinum album his band released 25 years ago. “I can remember being in the studio, what guitars we used … I think I remember what we ordered for lunch on some days,” he said.
Collen said the band’s goal in the studio was to fulfill producer Robert John “Mutt” Lange‘s vision of making a hard rock version of Michael Jackson‘s “Thriller”. “Mutt wanted to open us up to any kind of sound, make us like a hybrid in a way, and we thought that was really exciting,” he explained. “A lot of rock albums can sound thin and reedy. But listen to hip-hop albums and RB records — they sound huge! We found that we could get a lot of crossover appeal by making the songs big and open.”
Attempting to follow-up the seven-times-platinum “Pyromania”, DEF LEPPARD were hard at work recording their next album by Christmas of 1984 when a tragic car accident would leave drummer Rick Allen without his left arm. It would be another two and a half years of intense work in the studio before “Hysteria” would finally be released to a long-awaiting fanbase.
“[When I heard the finished product for the first time], I thought, ‘If it sells one copy and my mom’s the only one that buys it, I’ll be happy,’” Collen said. “It was the best thing I’d ever heard. I was completely satisfied. I was so proud and pleased. I can still listen to it and feel the same way.”
