Nottingham, England - Media Reviews

DEF LEPPARD/WHITESNAKE, ARENA By Martin Cooper

CAST your mind back to the swinging 60s and imagine watching the Animals and the Rolling Stones on the same bill. Or drift back to the scintillating 70s and dream of being privileged to watch a concert where Black Sabbath and Deep Purple prowled the same stage.

Or imagine listening to a gig featuring make-up boy Adam Ant and Duran Duran in some strange musical era.

No, no erase the last image from your thoughts. Get back to reality, RIGHT NOW!

Last night's Def Leppard and Whitesnake concert was the real thing and not just fantasy. Two for the price of one or one for the price of two, depending on your philosophy, this was a great show.

Seeing these two bands at the Arena on the same night was like watching Pele and Maradona on the same pitch with a dash of Claudio Gentile cocktailed in just for devilish kicks.

It was where Sheffield steel merged with the tungsten tonsils of David Coverdale.

Whitesnake were on first with evergreen Coverdale prancing about, a rock ringmaster under a golden mane. The hair's still there and, more importantly, so is the voice which rattled off Ain't Gonna Cry No More, Give Me All Your Love Tonight, Ain't No Love In The Heart of The City and Still of The Night, backed by a mean trio of guitarists.

Coverdale, magnificently over the top, referred to the crowd as "boys and girls" and his presidential addresses were liberally sprinkled with the F word (no, not Franz Ferdinand).

His voice still has raw power and a bluesy brilliance as he burst into Here I Go Again, a theatrical masterpiece which is one of the national anthems of rock music.

Def Leppard were quick to emphasise that it was the last night of the tour and they were here to party. Animal and the excellent Nine Lives from the new album Songs From The Sparkle Lounge quickly set the mood.

When Love and Hate Collide proved that stadium rock is flourishing more than ever.

Lead singer Joe Elliott's chat about the noise levels of crowds in London, Belfast and Sheffield was mildly interesting but dragged on for a little too long. The band soon excelled again, pumping out Hysteria, the outrageous sentiments of Pour Some Sugar On Me and Rock of Ages.

Let's Get Rocked proved a powerful finale as Elliott told the masses that it had been the group's best summer tour.

But there was only one winner on the night ... the crowd who were blasted into submission by a double barrage of never-say-die rock by two thoroughbred bands who know how to please.

By Thisisnottingham 2008.

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Def Leppard / Whitesnake / Thunder By Luke Seagrave

Def Leppard got their set underway with 'Rocket' and treated us lucky fans to nearly two hours worth of pure stadium rock anthems. The loyal fans had their senses assaulted with a barrage of sing-a-long anthems, such as 'When Love And Hate Collide', 'Pour Some Sugar On Me', 'Make Love Like A Man'.

Joe Elliott was making full use of the oversized stage and its gigantic runway, he bounced and pounced from one side to the other to ensure all of the fans got a good view of the band, even it was for a few short seconds at a time.

There is no denying that their music is still some of the best British rock music ever, songs like 'Hysteria' will always have a special place in rock music history.

As well as treating us to the classic tracks, they shared with us their new single 'Nine Lives' taken from the new album 'The Sparkle Lounge', which was well received by the vast sea of people.

The only downside to Def Leppard's set was that Joe kept telling us that it was the last night of the tour and how he wanted the audience to be the loudest on the tour, which he mentioned way too many times.

All three of the bands that were on this bill were childhood heroes of mine, and to see them nearly 25 years later still being able to belt out the tunes as well as they did when I first started to listen to them is an incredible feat.

This is really one of those shows that will remain etched into my memory forever for all the right reasons, great songs, great bands, and best of all it was British rock music!

By eGigs 2008.

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