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Def Leppard Tour History Fan Archive.

Media Review - From Animal Instinct

Mother Nature had big plans for Leppard's August 31 Monsters of Rock finale in Mannheim. When the band arrived at the Maimarktgelaende stadium, the sky was a bright iridescent blue and the sun smiled down on the thousands of boozed-up metalheads below. When Leppard took the stage at 4.30, however, the skies turned pitch-black and, as if triggered by Phil Collen's first opening kerrang! in Stagefright, a rain of hurricane intensity exploded over Mannheim. Panicked roadies scurried across the stage trying to cover the electrical equipment with plastic sheets. Even Rick, who was 22 feet back from the front of the stage, got drenched in the storm. Soaking wet even before they'd finished Stagefright, the band decided to play out the set in defiance of the weather.

"With all the speakers covered up with plastic, the guitars sounded like banjos," Joe cracks up. "The rain was coming down so hard it was bouncing off the carpet on the stage. And all you could see for miles were umbrellas." Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson, who was watching the show at the side of the stage, ran out in the middle of Love and Affection and opened up a giant umbrella over Elliott's head. Joe introduced him at the end of the song as "Bruce Dickinson on lead umbrella".

The rain stopped just as Leppard finished the last song of their set. Not about to be upstaged by the weather, Phil and Steve had something extra-special planned for the encore. Unbeknown to the rest of the band, the two guitarists had hatched a plot with Peter Mensch to go on for the encore wearing Scottish kilts - with nothing underneath, of course. Joe recalls hearing Mensch say to Steve before the Mannheim show, "Are you going to do it? Remember, this is your last chance to do it this year."

"I couldn't figure it out," Joe continues. "I knew they were going to do something daft, but I had no idea it would be that."

Well, out they went looking like the Brothers MacLeppard, cutting their heavy guitar hero poses in two traditional plaid Scottish kilts. Joe literally almost died laughing. He couldn't even finish singing the song. He just got down on his hands and knees, banging on the floor in hysterics. Even funnier was the Scottish kid who managed to scam his way backstage. Joe asked him what he thought of the kilts and the kid replied "What kilts? I couldn't even see the stage from where I was standing.

"Forty thousand Germans think Phil and Steve are up there wearing dresses and the one Scottish kid in the entire crowd couldn't even see the kilts."

By Zomba Books 1987.