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Def Leppard Tour History Fan Archive.
Vivian Campbell Responds To "Untrue" Heart Tour Stories

Wednesday, 10th October 2012





Heart 2012.

Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell has responded to stories published by Heart singer Ann Wilson in their new book "Kicking And Dreaming".

The book includes many on the road stories as told by sisters Ann and Nancy. Ann's story about the 2011 Mirrorball tour with Def Leppard seems to be at odds with what we know of their on the road activities these days. No mention is made of the words Vegan, Vegetarians or the bands on the road trainer Jean Carillio.

A few quotes from the book are shown below with Vivian's response posted earlier today on facebook.

Ann Wilson "Kicking And Dreaming A Story of Heart, Soul, And Rock & Roll" - Book Quotes

"In the summer of 2011, we accepted an offer to open up for Def Leppard on their world tour. I had totally missed Def Leppard in the eighties, and I only knew them as a big metal band. My initial thought was that by touring with them, we'd have something to aspire to. They seemed to represent the empire we had raged against. The tour would also take us to Australia for the first time, and that was a place Nancy and I had always wanted to visit."

"As the opening act, we found ourselves on a stage Def Leppard had constructed, and at first I had trouble getting used to their eighties "ego ramps," that made you stand even higher on the stage. Our staging was lights, and nothing else - Their set had the giant ramp, flame machines, fireworks, smoke machines, and the massive production of a Broadway show. I assumed we would rule the night with our simple sincerity."

"There were shows we went out, and hit it as hard as we could, and Def Leppard flattened us. It was like "Bambi Meets Godzilla." There is no arguing with butt rock." - [There certainly isn't - see above!]

"I had also been naive about the amount of partying there would be on the tour. I had expected, because these guys were in their fifties, they had been tamed. Their attitude about drinking was that it was just part of the experience. The tour was like sharing a bunk with Keith Richards for six months: charming, exhausting, and toxic. I came out of it sober, but it wasn't that much fun sitting there with my soda water, while everyone else partied down."


Vivian Campbell Response - 10th October 2012 facebook Quotes

"I haven't seen the Metal Show episode, but a friend recently sent me an excerpt from Heart's upcoming autobiography and I must say I'm rather disappointed by Ann's portrayal of their time with Def Leppard last summer."

"Now, I get that controversy sells, but I find it a tad hard to swallow the mischaracterisations that pass for her truths. Then again I guess I could've just been so drunk-off-my-ass that, over the course of 40-plus shows, I never noticed the 'flame machines and fireworks' that we supposedly employed whilst posing on our 'ego-ramps'."

"Good job we had that 'health room with cigarettes and full bar' to go back to after the show and recover, because after all, according to Ann, "that's our idea of healthy". I always felt quite sure that Phil's physique owed more to smoking and drinking than to all that workout bullshit. Now, thanks to Ann's revelations, I can be smugly certain."

Vivian Campbell Response - 11th October 2012 facebook Quote (about 'That Metal Show' episode)

"Yeah, I watched it yesterday and I just don't understand why she has such a negative vibe for us; the tour was smooth sailing from our perspective. I commented further down about it, too. Not the show, per se, but the book they have coming out."


News Source - facebook.com/officialviviancampbell

Def Leppard - Mirrorball Tour 2011







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