May 19th - Sheffield - Leadmill

[CindyJ]

[CindyJ]

[CindyJ]

[CindyJ]

[CindyJ]

[TurnToDust86]

[edwardcreighton]

Wasted is immense, Viv nails solo.

[smez]

Fantastic setlist! Love it when they don't play the hits and pull out some gems. Awesome!

[CindyJ]

[andylgr]

A few pics from last night.

[andylgr]

A few more from last night.

[andylgr]

Last nights gig tee. I didn’t get one, the queue was too big.

[rbtyrone]

Fantastic setlist and show. Band was on fire. Best I have ever saw them. It was nice to see a few forum members and have a few beers afterwards. That's what it's all about.Roll on Monday

[CindyJ]

https://www.instagram.com/p/Csdz5KeN0EH

[CindyJ]

https://www.instagram.com/p/Csd0Kx6NXsZ

[CindyJ]

https://www.instagram.com/p/Csd1E0AIsOd

[CindyJ]

https://www.instagram.com/p/Csdxf3KtEg7

[CindyJ]

[CindyJ]

[CindyJ]

[Dan]

One definite benefit of having an online ticket is getting to watch the show again today. It would be great to be able to purchase the show. Have a portion of the proceeds continue to go to the charity.

[CindyJ]

Def Leppard – ‘For One night Only’. Rocking The Leadmill Sheffield. Gig review

“Good evening, Sheffield! Good evening the world!! Welcome to The Leadmill!!” are the first words shouted out by Def Leppard’s front man Joe Elliott to the packed crowd in the smallest venue the band have played in 15 years. Launching into the first song with their rendition of Sweet’s “Action” sets the scene for the rest of the night as the band raced through a range of songs old and new.

During the gig Joe Elliott commented that when they first started their musical career in ‘77, the Sheffield rockers could only have dreamed of playing in a venue such as The Leadmill. Since then, with their talent and good fortunes they have made it to play in some of the biggest stadiums in the world whilst collecting many awards and accolades on the way. Monday will see Def Leppard play again in Sheffield at Bramwell Lane before they play a series of gigs in Europe. The band will return to the UK in July to play London’s Wembley Stadium.

To get a ticket for tonight’s intimate and one off show you would have needed a fast finger to dial the ticket line number. You’d expect every Def Leppard gig in their hometown of Sheffield to sell out in minuets but with the maximum capacity of 850 The Leadmill allocation were gone in seconds. Tonight’s show is not only a warmup for the band, but it has also been an opportunity for them to show some support to local music venues as many are struggling, including The Leadmill, with the threat of closure. Def Leppard are generously donating the proceeds from the ticket sales from this special “One Night Only” gig to the charity Music Venue Trust who work hard helping to keep the doors open to the UK music venues. Check out their website and support them here (https://www.musicvenuetrust.com/)

The setlist chosen for the “One Night Only Gig” is a mixture of songs from many of their albums new and old. The first half of the set made up of songs the band don’t often play live. The second half having a few of the bands iconic songs to wet the crowd’s appetite for the big show in a few days’ time at the stadium down the road. Phil Collen played many a perfect solo during the songs the best of which was during “Bringin’ On The Heartbreak” which was followed up by Rick Allen’s drum solo in the same song.

Both got a round of rapturous applause from the crowd. Playing “Hysteria” brought the Def Leppard stadium feeling into the small venue. Encouraging the 850 strong crowd to raise their hands and clap along to the beat, Joe shouted out the “Whoa’s“ which the audience enthusiastically returned. With the gig coming to an end Leppard’s signature tune “Pour Some Sugar On Me” was played with the crowd raising the roof of The Leadmill as they sang along.

Having followed Def Leppard throughout their career and attended many of their concerts reminds me just how special it is to see Def Leppard in a venue as small as The Leadmill. It is one of those rear occasions that most fans can only dream of seeing. Witnessing tonight’s show it looked to me that Def Leppard had as much fun performing in the iconic venue as much as the fans who were watching them. Whilst the rest of the tour will be a spectacle worth seeing, particularly the Wembley Show, non will have the same feeling as tonight up close and personal gig.

Good luck on the tour guys can’t wait to see you again!!

Visit the link for photos: www.rocknews.co.uk/blog/2023/05/20/def-leppard-homecoming-rocking-the-leadmill-sheffield-gig-review/

[CindyJ]

Def Leppard – Live at The Leadmill, Sheffield, UK

BY JAMES DAYKIN
MAY 20, 2023

A hometown gig in a small club on a Friday night from one of the best British Rock bands of all time? Sign me up. Once I’d got past the shock off actually managing to get a pre-sale ticket for this triumphant return to Sheffield from Def Leppard my thoughts turned to a multitude of things. Will we get some deeper cuts or little aired songs? What will the sound system be liked in such a small venue and how would Def Leppard cope being back on the sort of stage they left behind somewhere around 1983? Thankfully, the band and the venue lived up to the anticipation and then some!

There has been a glut of Def Leppard content this week. They released their first ever official book on Thursday. Part memoir, part scrapbook, ‘Definitely: The Official Story of Def Leppard’ is an engrossing read. You can read my review of it right here. Today, (Friday May 19th) the band also released their new album, ‘Drastic Symphonies’, recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. You can read my review of the album right here. And now the completion of the trilogy is upon us in the form of a live gig review from The Leadmill in Sheffield as Def Leppard roll into town with Motley Crue to play a huge stadium gig at Bramall Lane football ground on Monday 22nd May.

Raising money for this iconic and endangered venue, Leppard not only played the show to a lucky 850 people but it was livestreamed online too. Elliot had previously promised to play a few deeper cuts and more obscure songs as compared to what the setlist will be in 48 hours time on the stadium show with Motley Crue in the same town and he lived up to being a man of his word.

The band hit the stage to a thunderous reception from the lucky ‘golden ticket winners’ (unnecessary Charlie and the Chocolate (or should that be ‘Steel’?) Factory reference but I still don’t know how I managed to get my ticket in the onsale and thousands of others didn’t) in the crowd with the bombastic ‘Action’ and the tone was set.

Sounding better than at anytime I’ve heard them since about 1993, ‘Action’ segued into the first of two songs from new album, ‘Diamond Star Halos’, ‘Fire It Up’ but it was on third song, ‘Let it Go’ that everything began to fall into place. A much loved song from the 1981 ‘High ‘n’ Dry’ album, ‘Let It Go’ was a ferocious, intense four minutes of Leppard at their best, invoking those heady club and theatre nights of the early 80s. Stripped of arena sheen and stadium razzmatazz the band were forced to fall back on muscle memory and it felt like we were watching a young, hungry band ripping through debut album songs with all the verve and cock-sure confidence of youth.

‘Let it Go’ gave way to one of my favourite ever Leppard songs, ‘Too Late for Love’. The reworked version of this song that appears on new album, ‘Drastic Symphonies’ is one of the best songs on that project and it was an absolute pleasure to hear it live with the traditional ‘Rick Savage peers out into the crowd’ hand gesture heralding its entrance before guitarists Phil Collen and Viv Campbell took over.

If ‘Too Late for Love’ could be considered a relative deep cut then the band went even deeper for ‘Mirror Mirror’, ‘Excitable’ and the title track of the much misunderstood 1996 album, ‘Slang’. ‘Mirror Mirror’, alongside ‘Lady Strange’ is probably my favourite song from the ‘High ‘n’ Dry’ album it was was a real thrill to turn back the clocks 40 years and be able to scream ‘Take a look into my eyes’ alongside the rest of the fervent and noisy crowd. The band delivered the song with an intensity and guile and you could visibly see the years gradually falling away from the faces of these seasoned road warriors as they found their inner sophomore album selves too. ‘Excitable’, a deep cut from the ‘Hysteria’ album was, obviously, less produced than its Mutt Lange-esque studio self and stripped of everything but the music and vocals it took on a much more urgent, intense persona which really worked in this small club setting whilst ‘Slang’ just did what it does in terms of it being a simple, three minute chant.

New song, ‘Kick’ served to cleanse the palate before the final run in of ‘Bringing on the Heartbreak’, ‘Switch 625’, ‘Hysteria’ and ‘Pour Some Sugar On Me’. Outstanding guitar work from Collen and Campbell on fan-favourite ‘Switch 625’ gave Joe Elliot a breather whilst the rest of us gradually lost our breath but it was set-closer ‘Pour Some Sugar On Me’ that really stole the show in this small, sweaty, sold out club. When you see films and musicals like ‘Rock of Ages’ and you tell your kids that all gigs were like that back in the 80s there’s a certain level of embellishment going on in order to try and make yourself look cooler in their eyes but ‘Pour Some Sugar On Me’ was pure, hedonistic 80s pomp at its best. Augmented by the rapacious crowd and elevated by the low ceilings and a ferocious performance seeping off the stage this was Rock history in the making right here.

The band said their goodbyes but returned post-haste to play debut album banger ‘Wasted’. Joe Elliot gave a nice tribute to fallen guitarist Steve Clark without once mentioning his name although there wasn’t a single person in the crowd who didn’t know before Phil Collen took up the mantle of the riff that Elliot was referring to and we had one final, sweaty, three minute romp before the band, clearly moved and inspired by the set, the crowd and the whole experience, left for what would have been a well deserved beer, smoothie, mocktail or very necessary gallon of water!

To see a band of Def Leppard’s arena stature in a tiny club environment was an absolute privilege. Stripped of their stadium bells and whistles there was nowhere to go but into the past and they did it with ease and a kind of ‘punk’ ferocity that makes you realise that this is a band that could have survived in some shape or form without the excesses of ‘Hysteria’ and the years that followed. There’s a whole different band lurking beneath the glitz and showmanship that is necessary to pull off a stadium gig and it was that one we saw tonight. A band that sort of stopped at ‘Pyromania’ in 1983, a band willing to leave it all out on those smaller stages, playing with a fire and intensity because they know that is all that is going to carry them through each show and it is how you have to be to connect with crowds in small clubs and theatre venues. It was a privilege to witness them turn back the clock and I get the feeling they enjoyed it too. Normal service will be resumed at Bramall Lane on Monday with the stadium show with Motley Crue but I’d love to see them do this again, a little longer and a whole lot sweatier for one more time before age and creaking bones catch up with them for good as it seems to be doing to so many bands of their ilk and generation.

Set list: 1. Action 2. Fire it Up 3. Let it Go 4. Too Late for Love 5. Excitable 6. Mirror Mirror 7. Slang 8. Kick 9. Bringing on the Heartbreak 10. Switch 625 11. Hysteria 12. Pour Some Sugar on Me 13. Wasted Venue: The Leadmill, Sheffield Date: Friday 19th May 2023

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Source

[CindyJ]

Gig review: Def Leppard at The Leadmill, Sheffield

Legendary Sheffield rockers Def Leppard stun a sold out crowd at the iconic Leadmill in Sheffield on Friday evening.

By Scott Antcliffe

The David Bowie hit ‘Heroes’ was the song of choice from the DJ, who had been spinning tracks for two hours by the time legendary rockers Def Leppard made their way onto the Leadmill stage.

An apt choice for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees who are back in the UK kicking off their European leg of their World Stadium tour by playing in front of 44,000 at Sheffield United’s Bramall Lane ground on May 22.

The band had kindly offered to play at The Leadmill in a bid to raise some much-needed funds for the under-threat club with proceeds going to Music Venue Trust – a charity which protects grassroot music venues.

The atmosphere inside the Sheffield institution was electric – a mixture of excited chatter and cheerful laughter coming from those who were lucky enough to snap up one of the 850 tickets for the one night only show.

The band kicked things off with 1993 hit Action and swiftly followed this up with recent hit Fire It Up. Too Late For Love was next up before frontman Joe Elliott pointed the mic stand into the crowd for Excitable and got the crowd to participate with a few lines.

The band rolled back the years with 1981 hit Mirror, Mirror from the High ‘N’ Dry album before giving Slang an airing.

Elliott thanked the bumper Sheffield crowd for coming and supporting The Leadmill and reiterated the importance of grassroot venues for musicians.

Kick, released in 2022, was warmly received and treated by the fans as if it was an old, familiar classic.

The five-piece have such a genuine, heartfelt connection with their fans and they make you feel like they are singing to each and everyone in attendance personally.

Bringin’ On the Heartbreak and Switch 625 were both well-received before mass hysteria in the crowd erupted with the playing of the first few chords of the apt Hysteria song. The mega-hit gave Elliott the opportunity to have a well-earned breather towards the end and leave the stage for Viv Campbell, Rick Savage and Phil Collen to shred their guitars for an extra few minutes and play some exhilarating riffs. Drummer Rick Allen also had a solo in this song, which garnered one of the biggest cheers of the evening.

The final song of the main set was the anthemic Pour Some Sugar On Me – a song traditionally suited to the stadiums that Def Leppard are accustomed to playing in. The smash sounded sublime in a small, intimate venue with a vociferous crowd echoing every word back.

The band came back on for an encore to play one of their earliest songs Wasted, before offering their heartfelt thanks and making their way off the stage in their usual low-key, no-nonsense manner.

“We dreamt of playing here in 1978 living two miles down the road,” frontman Elliott proclaimed mid-set. I can wholeheartedly say, despite it taking you 45 years to do so, it was worth the wait! A truly unique and special evening.

Visit the link for photos: www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/gig-review-def-leppard-at-the-leadmill-sheffield-4150874

[diva]

May 20, 2023 7:33:55 GMT -8 CindyJ said:

Kudos to the guy in the Booty Ruben tshirt

[CindyJ]

https://www.instagram.com/p/CsealtJMqwp

[CindyJ]

Original tickets for The Leadmill livestream have now expired, but you can purchase the show "on demand" if you missed it or want to watch it again.

Purchase here: defleppard.veeps.com/events/ab067021-16ca-4843-a089-28fc3202f32d

[CindyJ]

Def Leppard sheffield The Leadmill, May 19 2023

Mirror Mirror (On The Wall), who’s the greatest of them all?

As if we didn’t already know, Def Leppard reminded a feverish hometown crowd that the old ones are always the best.

The old venues, the old songs and the five old blokes rolling back the years…

…all the way back to the old spoon factory up the road and Steve Clark’s swaggering entrance to his first rehearsal.

Just as he does in the magnificent Definitely: The Official Story Of Def Leppard, Joe Elliott recalled that defining moment in the band’s history with pride.

And he dedicated amped-up encore Wasted to a guitar god much missed but never forgotten.

That Clark should have been sharing in another triumphant return to the Steel City — perhaps the most celebrated of them all given the unique circumstances of this intimate gathering — wasn’t lost on a crowd keen to soak up a night of pure nostalgia.

Even 32 years after he passed away, it still feels as if the swaggering six-stringer is about to walk in with a trademark flick of that iconic blond mane.

And at The Leadmill, of all places, against the backdrop of a suitably retro set, Clark’s loss was felt so much more keenly.

Campbell’s super show
But as he has done throughout his tenure as Phil Collen’s fabulous foil, the classy Vivian Campbell paid his own peerless tribute to the treasured talent he replaced in 1992.

Whether swashbuckling his way through Switch 625 or reeling off the NWOBHM-fuelled riffs at the heart of Wasted, the Irishman never flickered. Never has done. Never will.

A decade into his battle with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Campbell remains critical to this band of brothers.

And, in the sharp glare of a tightly packed and partisan crowd, his was a performance of Clark-esque composure.

Not a minute Wasted
So there was Wasted (according to Setlist.fm, played just 21 times during the last 20 years), and Mirror Mirror (the same source confirms just 11 live outings since 2008) but what else did the Lepps unearth from the vault?

Slang has all but slipped into obscurity since 2006 but the title track of the band’s much-maligned response to grunge sounded fresher than ever in front of fans who lapped up every last note of this back catalogue rarity.

And was it too late for Too Late For Love? Not at all. Another of the deepest cuts here evoked spine-tingling memories of Leppard’s glorious transition from spotty NWOBHM-styled youths to global hard rock superstars.

Unsurprisingly, the hometown heroes left nothing to chance as their smallest Sheffield show for 40 years was streamed live to a worldwide audience of millions.

An astonishing sound, given the most modest of surroundings, fuelled a faultless set with Collen and Campbell benefiting from the very best of a truly masterful mix.

Savage amusement
But who enjoyed it most?

It was a toss-up between the 850 paying customers and a beaming Rick Savage.

Just 24 hours after his beloved Owls completed the greatest comeback in Playoff history, the ageless bass player simply couldn’t stop smiling.

Hours later, chatting to friends at the hotel bar, Savage still looked like the proverbial (big) cat who got the cream.

Rick Allen looked similarly satisfied as he followed his band mate into the unofficial ‘after-show’ party — happily posing for pics and swapping fabled tales of the past.

The rock through Leppard’s ages almost beat his way through the Leadmill floor during the furious finale to Switch 625.

But Allen will no doubt look forward to Monday’s Bramall Lane bash and the chance to treat Sheffield to the full force of his dynamic stadium kit.

Collen’s cover-up
The biggest surprises on a night of many?

The consummate Collen kept his shirt on (it’s cold up north).

Animal was omitted from the set.

And a few people actually chucked away their empty cans of special edition Leppard At The Leadmill One Night Only Pale Ale.

Unbelievable behaviour.

One Ell of a night for gentleman Joe
So to Joe.

Looking like Gandalf’s great grandson with his meticulously straightened silver locks, one of this famous city’s most famous sons lapped up every last minute of a truly memorable moment in time.

Elliott actually joked that baby Leppard would have killed to get a Leadmill-sized show 45 years ago.

And that overriding sense of the band’s colossal present colliding with its modest past was a common thread running through the night.

As well as the deep cuts there were reminders that the last few years have been a fertile period for a band that’s not always been considered prolific.

Fire It Up and Kick sat neatly alongside Let It Go and Bringin’ On The Heartbreak — a steepling version of the latter doing due justice to this special evening.

Drastic fantastic on day of fundraising fun
Elliott happily reminded the masses that this was also album release day: in lieu of The Leadmill lacking the space to swing a cat — let alone host a full orchestra — Too Late For Love was given a token tweak to give a flavour of Drastic Symphonies’ dramatic reimagining of Leppard’s back catalogue.

On a night when vital funds were raised to help save The Leadmill and venues just like it, this felt like so much more than a bunch of working-class millionaires flexing their philanthropic muscles.

Of course, Def Leppard were dutifully generous to the city that spawned a worldwide success story.

But it felt as if the decision to play this tiny club classic came from a place of pure pleasure and a sense of boyish fun. Like it used to be in the spoon factory with Steve all those years ago.

Visit link for photos: rushonrock.com/2023/05/20/def-leppard-month-the-leadmill-review/

[andylgr]

What a weekend it’s been so far. Probably the best part about it is being able be a total Leps geek with like minded people, talking about anything and everything with loads of people from the (good) Facebook groups and also people who come on here like churchy pooley rbtyrone and even Ryan. There was so many people that I met and not just people I know from here and social media, but also strangers who quickly became friends, we were just chatting in the queue, meeting up in the venue and also after the show and going for a beer. It was great to get to know so many people and everyone got on like a house on fire. Forgive me for a bit of self indulgence, but what surprised me was that some people brought gifts with them for me. It’s truly touching that people would do that. Amazing. I have never gone into what I do online with the Leps over the years looking for any kind of glory or praise, but to have people come up to me and thank me for it, when I thought many people don’t tie up my real name with my YouTube/forum name, let alone even recognise me with mind blowing, it was something I didn’t even expect, neither is it something that I sought out. It was very touching.

For the gig itself it was a bit of a rush to get up there, but around the venue were documentary makers as well as local media too. funnily enough I was interviewed after the show with a couple of others, I felt awkward tbh, being put on the spot like that is something that I don’t really enjoy, but Churchy happily did most of the talking. Some friends had managed to secure a good spot in the queue so we managed to get in reasonably early and get a good view in the venue. The atmosphere was palpable in there, it’s such a small venue and I know that not everyone has been lucky to see Leps in a venue of this size, but it a whole different kind of gig. The emphasis is more on them and the songs, there’s no big screens, lasers or massive production to enhance it. You get to see, up close, how damn good they are, how professional they are and it looks effortless, they are working the crowd and it looks so easy. I can’t put in to words what it means to see a band of this stature in a venue like this. We’re used to see these rock gods in big settings and there they are in a club and I can see the whites of their eyes. During one of the many chats I had, I said to someone that although the band may play other countries more than they do the U.K., I think we have had more of the “historic” gigs and this Leadmill show is right up there as one of them. A proper event in their history.

I know that some people may say that the setlist was just the Hits Vegas bonus tracks, but put this into perspective, we don’t see them as often in the U.K. and we don’t get much chance to be hearing tracks like this live. For example, if memory serves me correctly that was only the second time they’ve played Mirror mirror here in 40 years. TLFL has been played here a similar amount of times in 20 years, throw in the rarely played Excitable, the power of Let it Go and Slang (which is now a deep cut it seems) and already the gigs a winner to me. You get the U.K. live premieres of Fire it Up and Kick and then the icing on the cake is Wasted that tips the show over the edge. Because of how the set was going I was actually slightly disappointed to get to the hits of BOTH, Hysteria and PSSOM and I was glad that we got no Animal, Photograph or ROA. Sounds strange I know, but that’s how special this gig was in terms of its choices. Let’s go back to the start, I never rated Action as an opener but it was amazing here, when they came on stage the roof came off and everyone was singing along to every song (except switch obviously), the atmosphere was electric in there and I hope it came across like that on the broadcast. I need to mention the sound quality too, Ronan has nailed it consistently for a number of years now and they sounded fantastic in this venue.

I also have to mention Joes vocal on TLFL, one of the things I’ve never understood is why he doesn’t adapt songs to suit his voice as it is now, he doesn’t have to scream like he’s 23 again. When listening to Drastic Symphonies on the way to the show, it’s evident that he’s changed how he sings TLFL to be more comfortable. I think it works, he did it exactly the same in this show and it’s all the better for it I think. Arguably this and Wasted were the highlights of the show for me. Speaking of which I got the chance to speak to Tony Kenning and I asked him about Joes story about Steve bursting in to the rehearsal room and playing the Wasted riff, he confirmed every word of it and to hear him speak about it was fantastic. He even came out afterwards for a beer with us.

I mentioned beforehand about being in an environment like this where it’s like minded people all there for the same thing. When Mirror Mirror kicked in me and the guy I was standing with (who i know from chatting online and doing a podcast with him) hugged and mouthed Mirror Mirror to each other, 2 fully grown men acting like that. At another point, I forget which song it was, but I turned to my side and made eye contact with the guy next to me, a stranger, and we just exchanged knowing nods about how good the song was that they had just started playing. This show brought the band and audience together as one and you don’t attend many gigs like this as a Leppard fan. What a show.

I forgot to mention, before the show some fans at the front had photographed the setlist that was taped to the floor and it started to circulate around the crowd. I avoided it and just kept looking down so that I didn't see peoples phones near me, the guy I was with says I won't spoil it for you but I will say that Joe Elliott's a liar! But within minutes of the band coming on stage, the crew came out and took up the setlists and put the real one down. A clever trick that.

[dflp83]

Highlights for me:

Let it Go, Mirror Mirror, BOTHB/Switch, Too Late n Wasted.

Too Late needs to be IN the setlist immediately and really loved Joe's tone for 85-90% of the song then back to end the song on his highs.


And I thought I saw Rick behind something..but why a plastic wall?..and those drums sounded nasty!!! 😁.




Rob