Def Leppard sees induction as a triumph in tenacity for themselves and fans: R&RHOF Class of 2019
Mar 21, 2019 6:14:03 GMT -8
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Post by CindyJ on Mar 21, 2019 6:14:03 GMT -8
Def Leppard sees induction as a triumph in tenacity for themselves and fans: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2019
By Chuck Yarborough, The Plain Dealer
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Phil Collen knows the value of timing.
Oh, not just keeping up with the beat supplied by Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Def Leppard’s drummer, Rick Allen. It’s more being at the right place at the right time. As in 1982.
“I did a band called Girl,’’ said the British-born Collen in a call from his California home to talk about the band’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on Friday, March 29, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. “It was a postpunk glam rock band, but glam had kind of ended five or six years before.’’
The band was struggling in that environment, and his old friends Joe Elliott, Rick Savage and Steve Clark, stepped up.
“I knew Joe and Sav and Steve,’’ he said. “They used to come down and stay on me mum’s couch, so we had this friendship going, and it went from there.
“When Pete Willis [the original guitarist] was not doing great, Joe asked if I’d like to help out,’’ Collen said. “I came down literally to play the odd solo on ‘Pyromania.’ ’’ That album was released in 1983.
Willis was ousted over his drinking – he played in several other bands afterward, but now is out of music and runs a property management business in England – and Collen was in.
Of course, because he was there in the beginning, Willis will be among the inductees for Def Leppard in those ceremonies in Brooklyn.
From the get-go, it clicked between Collen and the band, he said.
“When I first joined the band, that’s what I wanted to do – take this further,’’ he said. His first full album with the group, 1987’s “Hysteria,’’ was an example of that.
“ ‘Hysteria’ had this rocket African drum vibe, all these new guitar textures from the Fixx, the Police, Billy Idol, the Prince stuff, Michael Jackson, Run-DMC – all of that,’’ he said. “ ‘Pour Some Sugar on Me’ was based on a hip-hop rap vocal meter.’’
The genius behind that was producer Robert John “Mutt” Lange, who later transformed his then-wife, Shania Twain, into a country star with his production skills.
“This was back in the ’80s, and he [Lange] would go out in his car and listen to a George Jones cassette,’’ Collen recalled.
“We sing with an American accent,’’ said Collen, and this resonated with Lange, who told the band, “ ‘You kind of sound like an American art form.’ ’’
“I kind of learned my vocal form from Mick Jagger, but I remember getting goose bumps listening to Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin,’’ he said in his thick English accent that hasn’t been tempered much at all by living for years in California.
“We wouldn’t sing it like we spoke it, but we didn’t realize we were learning [that Americanized sound],’’ he said.
“ ‘That’s your ground,’ ’’ Lange told the group. “ ‘That’s where you come from.’
“We listened to Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix and Thin Lizzy,’’ Collen said. But the Def Leppard way was to emphasize those lush vocals, a la bands like Journey, Styx and Foreigner, he said.
“They were beautifully sung lyrics, but we added a kind of pissed-off Sex Pistols thing to it,’’ he said. “It’s a very working-class kind of attitude that lets a lot of tension off.
“I never had teenaged angst as a kid, because I had this rock thing,’’ he said, only half-joking. “The violent tendencies escaped through that.’’
Americanized or not, Def Leppard had one thing at its roots, Collen said.
“We are first and foremost a rock band,’’ he said. “I think the real trick is to be open-minded.’’
That’s why whatever the band members’ political views are, Def Leppard works to keep to them in check and undercover.
“We let people come in and see a show,’’ Collen said. “We have strong political opinions, but we don’t air them. We’re all about letting people escape.’’
And they do that by keeping on keeping on in the face of both victory and defeat.
“We played [lousy] clubs,’’ he said. “Even in the ’90s, after massive success with ‘Pyromania’ and ‘Hysteria,’ we were out there playing to half- and third-empty buildings. We just stuck at it.’’
The band used those low points to rally their own spirits, which is why Def Leppard is still playing. A European tour this summer will be followed by a residency in Las Vegas.
“Can you deal with failure after you’ve had success?’’ Collen said. “We absolutely do.’’
Drummer Rick Allen lost his left arm in a car accident in 1984. Guitarist Steve Clark died of a mixture of prescription drugs and alcohol in 1991. And still the band persevered.
“Rick’s accident still affects him, but it’s amazing what he does,’’ Collen said. “Steve was my best friend, and he lost his life while we were writing songs for ‘Adrenalize.’
“We just keep going at it,’’ he said, perhaps drawing on family strength infused in his DNA.
“Nothing compares to what our families went through,’’ Collen said. “My mum and dad, with the Nazis coming in and blowing up London? I can’t even comprehend that kind of thing. Paying your dues is just something we do.’’
And like most musicians, it’s not really a choice.
“The first time I ever got drunk – I haven’t had a drink in 31 years – I was about 16 and went out to this really rough dancehall place, the Tottenham Royal,’’ he said.
“I remember seeing this guy, a couple of years older than me, and he was the resident guitar player,’’ Collen said. “I thought, ‘This guy does this for a living!’
“I left school, went to work in a factory and was making deliveries on a motorcycle,’’ he said. “I was waiting for any excuse [to quit work]. I really liked driving around London on a motorcycle or in a van, learning the whole place.’’
But that moment, that instant, it all changed.
“I was waiting for any excuse,’’ he said. “I remember the last week I was working. I’d done gigs the night before and I was driving the band and fell asleep at a stop light.’’
That awakening began the career that has seen him and the surviving members of the band, including guitarist Vivian Campbell and former member Willis, invited to the Barclays Center for the induction ceremony.
That’s much to the delight of the band’s devout fan base, which saw Def Leppard lead the Rock Hall’s fan voting in the group’s first year on the ballot, despite having been eligible since 2005.
“It’s the Oscars and Golden Globes,’’ said a resigned Collen. “It’s not about the band. It’s a political thing that goes on. . . . . That’s why it never really bothered me.
“But it IS a big deal, and it actually does make a difference, and not just because your fee goes up,’’ he said. “Especially it’s a big deal for our fans. They would tear up and get all road-ragey and stuff. It’s more for them.’’
For him, the induction is just one aspect of the band’s legacy.
“We’re just musicians,’’ Collen said. “Martin Luther King, Gandhi, THEY have a legacy. It’s not as important. We’re musicians.
“It’s something that Mutt Lange really pushed us to do,’’ he said. “He taught us the difference between ordinary and a level of excellence, and showed a good band how to be great.’’
And they did it together.
“It’s more than a team,’’ Collen said. “We’ve been there for each other through deaths, births, marriages and divorces. I’ve been with Joe Elliott more than with me mum.’’
You don’t need to pour any sugar on that to make it sweet.
Source
By Chuck Yarborough, The Plain Dealer
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Phil Collen knows the value of timing.
Oh, not just keeping up with the beat supplied by Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Def Leppard’s drummer, Rick Allen. It’s more being at the right place at the right time. As in 1982.
“I did a band called Girl,’’ said the British-born Collen in a call from his California home to talk about the band’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on Friday, March 29, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. “It was a postpunk glam rock band, but glam had kind of ended five or six years before.’’
The band was struggling in that environment, and his old friends Joe Elliott, Rick Savage and Steve Clark, stepped up.
“I knew Joe and Sav and Steve,’’ he said. “They used to come down and stay on me mum’s couch, so we had this friendship going, and it went from there.
“When Pete Willis [the original guitarist] was not doing great, Joe asked if I’d like to help out,’’ Collen said. “I came down literally to play the odd solo on ‘Pyromania.’ ’’ That album was released in 1983.
Willis was ousted over his drinking – he played in several other bands afterward, but now is out of music and runs a property management business in England – and Collen was in.
Of course, because he was there in the beginning, Willis will be among the inductees for Def Leppard in those ceremonies in Brooklyn.
From the get-go, it clicked between Collen and the band, he said.
“When I first joined the band, that’s what I wanted to do – take this further,’’ he said. His first full album with the group, 1987’s “Hysteria,’’ was an example of that.
“ ‘Hysteria’ had this rocket African drum vibe, all these new guitar textures from the Fixx, the Police, Billy Idol, the Prince stuff, Michael Jackson, Run-DMC – all of that,’’ he said. “ ‘Pour Some Sugar on Me’ was based on a hip-hop rap vocal meter.’’
The genius behind that was producer Robert John “Mutt” Lange, who later transformed his then-wife, Shania Twain, into a country star with his production skills.
“This was back in the ’80s, and he [Lange] would go out in his car and listen to a George Jones cassette,’’ Collen recalled.
“We sing with an American accent,’’ said Collen, and this resonated with Lange, who told the band, “ ‘You kind of sound like an American art form.’ ’’
“I kind of learned my vocal form from Mick Jagger, but I remember getting goose bumps listening to Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin,’’ he said in his thick English accent that hasn’t been tempered much at all by living for years in California.
“We wouldn’t sing it like we spoke it, but we didn’t realize we were learning [that Americanized sound],’’ he said.
“ ‘That’s your ground,’ ’’ Lange told the group. “ ‘That’s where you come from.’
“We listened to Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix and Thin Lizzy,’’ Collen said. But the Def Leppard way was to emphasize those lush vocals, a la bands like Journey, Styx and Foreigner, he said.
“They were beautifully sung lyrics, but we added a kind of pissed-off Sex Pistols thing to it,’’ he said. “It’s a very working-class kind of attitude that lets a lot of tension off.
“I never had teenaged angst as a kid, because I had this rock thing,’’ he said, only half-joking. “The violent tendencies escaped through that.’’
Americanized or not, Def Leppard had one thing at its roots, Collen said.
“We are first and foremost a rock band,’’ he said. “I think the real trick is to be open-minded.’’
That’s why whatever the band members’ political views are, Def Leppard works to keep to them in check and undercover.
“We let people come in and see a show,’’ Collen said. “We have strong political opinions, but we don’t air them. We’re all about letting people escape.’’
And they do that by keeping on keeping on in the face of both victory and defeat.
“We played [lousy] clubs,’’ he said. “Even in the ’90s, after massive success with ‘Pyromania’ and ‘Hysteria,’ we were out there playing to half- and third-empty buildings. We just stuck at it.’’
The band used those low points to rally their own spirits, which is why Def Leppard is still playing. A European tour this summer will be followed by a residency in Las Vegas.
“Can you deal with failure after you’ve had success?’’ Collen said. “We absolutely do.’’
Drummer Rick Allen lost his left arm in a car accident in 1984. Guitarist Steve Clark died of a mixture of prescription drugs and alcohol in 1991. And still the band persevered.
“Rick’s accident still affects him, but it’s amazing what he does,’’ Collen said. “Steve was my best friend, and he lost his life while we were writing songs for ‘Adrenalize.’
“We just keep going at it,’’ he said, perhaps drawing on family strength infused in his DNA.
“Nothing compares to what our families went through,’’ Collen said. “My mum and dad, with the Nazis coming in and blowing up London? I can’t even comprehend that kind of thing. Paying your dues is just something we do.’’
And like most musicians, it’s not really a choice.
“The first time I ever got drunk – I haven’t had a drink in 31 years – I was about 16 and went out to this really rough dancehall place, the Tottenham Royal,’’ he said.
“I remember seeing this guy, a couple of years older than me, and he was the resident guitar player,’’ Collen said. “I thought, ‘This guy does this for a living!’
“I left school, went to work in a factory and was making deliveries on a motorcycle,’’ he said. “I was waiting for any excuse [to quit work]. I really liked driving around London on a motorcycle or in a van, learning the whole place.’’
But that moment, that instant, it all changed.
“I was waiting for any excuse,’’ he said. “I remember the last week I was working. I’d done gigs the night before and I was driving the band and fell asleep at a stop light.’’
That awakening began the career that has seen him and the surviving members of the band, including guitarist Vivian Campbell and former member Willis, invited to the Barclays Center for the induction ceremony.
That’s much to the delight of the band’s devout fan base, which saw Def Leppard lead the Rock Hall’s fan voting in the group’s first year on the ballot, despite having been eligible since 2005.
“It’s the Oscars and Golden Globes,’’ said a resigned Collen. “It’s not about the band. It’s a political thing that goes on. . . . . That’s why it never really bothered me.
“But it IS a big deal, and it actually does make a difference, and not just because your fee goes up,’’ he said. “Especially it’s a big deal for our fans. They would tear up and get all road-ragey and stuff. It’s more for them.’’
For him, the induction is just one aspect of the band’s legacy.
“We’re just musicians,’’ Collen said. “Martin Luther King, Gandhi, THEY have a legacy. It’s not as important. We’re musicians.
“It’s something that Mutt Lange really pushed us to do,’’ he said. “He taught us the difference between ordinary and a level of excellence, and showed a good band how to be great.’’
And they did it together.
“It’s more than a team,’’ Collen said. “We’ve been there for each other through deaths, births, marriages and divorces. I’ve been with Joe Elliott more than with me mum.’’
You don’t need to pour any sugar on that to make it sweet.
Source