DEF LEPPPARD Play Rare Songs At THE LEADMILL In SHEFFIELD (Show Report/Setlist)
Def Leppard played an intimate club show at The Leadmill in Sheffield, England earlier tonight with 13 songs performed.
The show took place in front of just 850 fans at the 900 capacity The Leadmill club.
The first show since March in Hollywood, FL and last promo event before The World Tour 2023 resumes in Sheffield on the 22nd May.
The first time at this venue.
Outside of movie set performances and radio station promo shows the first full live set in England since 14th June 2019 at Donington.
One Night Only/Live Stream
"Aye up!. There's trouble at t'mill!".
Joe didn't say it, so I did...
The highly anticipated live stream in the band's home city of Sheffield began just after 9pm.
It was clear from the opening notes of 'Action' that the band were in top form and fully back to being ELECTRIC and LOUD after the Piano Room show for BBC Radio 2 a few days before.
No Emm Gryner this time (Sigh).
The band decided to keep this set short and concise with few words from Joe and a full on rocking set of songs.
Many fans tuned in Live to the Veeps website stream (including me - but most, unlike me, were not also making 200 plus screenshots...).
What rare songs would the band have in store after the great opening of Action?.
UK Live Debuts
The eventual 13 song setlist continued after 'Action' with a very welcome UK live debut of the much missed 'Fire It Up'.
A song played for only 11 or so shows at the start of the 2022 Stadium Tour in the USA.
Sounding just as great as it did but even more so in the tiny club environment of The Leadmill (re. There's trouble at t'mill!).
It would seem a shame to just play one song from 'Diamond Star Halos' and so the band also broke out 'Kick' later in the show for it's own UK live debut.
Outside of a film studio in Wakefield in March 2022 when filming for the Bank Of Dave movie of course.
Going Even Deeper/High 'n' Dry
The first of no less than four High 'n' Dry album songs followed with 'Let It Go' and Rick 'We Call Him The Thundergod!' Allen pounded away on his kit and showed he is fully back to where he belongs and in fine form after the incident in Florida in March.
A quick nod to the fact they have a new album out today followed in the intro to 'Too Late For Love' and Joe sang some of the verses in the style of the 'new' version, but without an orchestra.
A very bouncy 'Excitable' followed before the most rare song played.
Mirror Mirror/Slang
So sadly the long lost 'Turn To Dust' was not played in celebration of its position as the new album opener.
But 'Mirror, Mirror' was played and for the first time in the UK since myself (and 799 others) saw it at another club show in London in May 2008.
Making this only its second play in the UK since 1983 and first in Sheffield since way back in March 1983 at the Sheffield City Hall.
Up next?. A sensational playing of 'Work It Out' - to mark the recent Slang anniversary and bring joy to all?. Not quite - but a 'Slang' song was played in the form of the title track. Just as welcomed, but not quite as rare.
A Familiar End
A familiar end but not quite - 'Rock Of Ages' and 'Photograph' would have to wait until Bramall Lane.
'BOTH', 'Switch', 'Hysteria' and 'PSSOM' provided a fitting climax to a great night.
We Want More!
Show's over, go home....but wait, they come back on. After cheers from the crowd and chants of 'We want more!'.
Would they get more? - they were certainly loud enough.
It's only fair - they paid 65 pounds and those of us watching the live stream only paid 15.
But what would they play?.
Steve Clark Gets Wasted
Or rather Joe recounted a story of a young blonde and skinny guitar played entering a building not too far away to begin playing a now familiar guitar riff.
I knew where this was going having retraced those very steps myself in December 2018 and entering the doors of the same building.
Yes the Spoon Factory (aka Portland Works - just up Randall Street from Bramall Lane stadium).
And a story about Steve Clark in 1978 showing the band he had just written a song called...Wasted.
Having witnessed an encore of both 'Mirror Mirror' and 'Wasted' in a club at the aforementioned show in May 2008 I can tell you it's quite awesome to see and experience in person.
Not a bad one hour and a bit show.
Up next....DOWN the road in Bramall Lane on Monday 22nd.
Time to go rewatch and listen to some Drastic Symphonies this weekend before things get LIVE again in a few days (a return of LIVE Updates).
Back In Sheffield
The band's first show in Sheffield since 14th December 2018 on the Hysteria & More tour.
That show was the band's first after receiving the news of their Rock And Roll Hall of Fame induction the day before which then took place in March 2019.
The next show will be the first time two full shows have been played in the same year in Sheffield since 1992 when they did two In The Round shows at Sheffield Arena.
The next Def Leppard show takes place on 22nd May in Sheffield, England at Bramall Lane.
Sheffield, England 2023 Photos
Screenshots by dltourhistory.
Watch some Fan Videos from the show here.
Def Leppard - Sheffield, England 19th May 2023 Setlist
- 01 - Action
- 02 - Fire It Up - (UK Live Debut)
- 03 - Let It Go
- 04 - Too Late For Love (2023 Version)
- 05 - Excitable
- 06 - Mirror, Mirror (Look Into My Eyes)
- 07 - Slang
- 08 - Kick - (UK Live Debut)
- 09 - Bringin' On The Heartbreak
- 10 - Switch 625
- 11 - Hysteria
- 12 - Pour Some Sugar On Me
- 13 - Wasted
- Def Leppard - Sheffield 2023 Show Page
- Def Leppard - Def Leppard The World Tour 2023
- Related News - 13th March 2023 - Hollywood Show Report
- Back
Joe Elliott - Action Intro
"Good evening Sheffield. Good evening the world!."
"Welcome to The Leadmill!."
Joe Elliott - Intro
"Thank you. Good evening and welcome. Hope you've all got your Diamond Star Halos because this is for a good cause and we wanna thank you."
"So let's see those hands in the air come on. Everybody."
Joe Elliott - Intro
"Thank you. We're here fora good cause. We all know that, but we're also very blessed that on the same day as we're doing this gig we are releasing our new album Drastic Symphonies."
"As you can see we don't have an orchestra tonight."
"But in the spirit of that album we're gonna do this one kind of like the way that we've just done it. Not like the way that we originally did it in 1983."
Joe Elliott - Slang Intro
"1981. This place had only been open a year. Let's see which way the pendulum's gonna swing now. 1981. 1996!. Slang!."
Joe Elliott - Intro
"Thank you. Thank you very much. As I mentioned earlier on we have this new album out today. Drastic Symphonies."
"Which follows on very nicely from almost one year ago to the day almost from or last album Diamond Star Halos."
"It's great to be so fertile!."
"We'd like to play you the first track that we released from Diamond Star Halos. This one's called K.I.C.K. Kick!."
Joe Elliott - BOTH Intro
"Thank you. Thank you very much. OK so we wanted to front load the set with stuff we don't normally play 'cause four days time we're doing the big lane down the Lane."
"So we thought we'd change it up a bit."
"Here's a couple of songs, or a few songs you might be more familiar with."
Rick Savage- After Switch 625
"Rick Allen everybody!."
Joe Elliott - After PSSOM
"Goodnight!."
"Save The Leadmill. Save clubs up and down the country."
"Thank you for your patronage. Take Care. We'll see you again."
"Maybe in four days time. Good night!."
Joe Elliott - Wasted Intro
"Oh go on then."
"So here we are 2023 in the The Leadmill. We could only of dreamed of doing this in 1978 when we were just a couple of miles down the road at Portland Works, The Spoon Factory."
"Dreaming of being rock stars. And we were down there one night. In fact it was me, Sav, Pete and Tony."
"And of course this skinny blonde always late guy comes hobbling up the stairs in his white clogs."
"And he walked through the door, and he said. Actually he didn't say anything."
"He actually went like this. He went - so we knew that meant don't f**king speak because I think I've just thought of something."
"And he got out his guitar and he plugged it in and without saying a word he just took this stance the represented pretty much this phrase."
"Kop this!."
"Sheffield let's get Wasted!."
Joe Elliott - End Of Show Speech
"I wish we could stay all night bit we has got to go!."
"Thank you Sheffield. Thank you Leadmill."
"Be good. We love ya!."
"Amazing!. Let's do this again one day."
"Thank you. Be good. take care."
"See you soon. Maybe. Good night!."
Various Photos/Videos
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