Def Leppard News - PHIL COLLEN On DEF LEPPARD's Spectacular HYSTERIA 30 Release

Friday, 11th August 2017

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PHIL COLLEN On DEF LEPPARD's Spectacular HYSTERIA 30 Release

Phil Collen 1988

Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen was interviewed in June about the new Hysteria reissue and the full audio is available.

Phil spoke to the Music Mania Podcast back in June along with Tesla drummer Troy Luccketta.

Phil talked about the 2017 US tour, Poison/Tesla, playing live, Hysteria 30th anniversary, the reissue, Vivian Campbell's illness, joining the band in 1982, Pyromania album, his health and fitness, Delta Deep and the recent G4 Experience event.

Listen to the full 33 minute interview below. Phil's part starts at 5:12mins in and lasts until 17:18 mins. The rest of the interview is with Troy.

Visit the Tour News section. For more news on future tour plans.

Music Mania Podcast - Phil Collen Interview Quotes

2017 US Tour

"Well for this leg. We're actually going to South America after this. But yes for sure it's been spectacular. You know we're having such a blast, all three bands. Us, Poison and Tesla you know it's all original members. It's kind of the real deal. So we're having a brilliant time, loving it."

All Three Bands Sharing A Stage/DL/Poison/Tesla

"It is and for us as well. It's just really good to be part of .it. All the band's are getting on great. You know we had a tour party the other day in Vancouver in this beautiful setting and all the bands, three bands, all the band's crew. Everyone was hanging. We just had a great time together. It was just a very wonderful family atmosphere. You know everyone comes from the same kind of era and the same kind of genre of music. So that makes a real difference. And we've all known each other for so long. So it's just great. I just bumped into them, I was in the gym yesterday with Bret from Poison."

Producing The Tesla Album

"You know also we're gonna be recording one more vocal for the Tesla album I'm producing. We've actually finished it but you know how it is. It's like we're just changing one little bit. So that's where we're at. We've gotta find somewhere this week to record a vocal. Just a little - just two lines really."

"But all of that, it's very exciting and it's wonderful to be part of."

Def Leppard's Live Performances

"I think we're getting better you know. Joe Elliott's singing better than I've ever heard him sing in his life and I keep telling him that. I think that changes the dynamic. You know we all start singing. I can sing stuff I couldn't sing last year. And playing gets better which is good I gotta keep my chops up because I'm doing this thing with Joe Satriani in July. It's called G4 . It's like four guitar players. It's Paul Gilbert, Joe Satriani, myself and Warren DiMartini and we all get to play a set, talk to the audience, all the people who come and then get to jam together. So it's great being part of that as well. So you know you do have to keep your licks up and all that stuff. But I do notice that the more we do the better we get. And that's something we love doing. Keep raising the bar and just making it work. It's great."

Hysteria Album 30th Anniversary

"No, it's crazy. It's like that thing just flew you know. It's wonderful that it lasted so long. That was Mutt Lange our producer that was his main objective. We have to make music - he actually said that you could play to in 20 years or something and here we are 30 years later and still means something. But the fact, yeah the vinyl thing as well. You know it's gonna be really cool. It's a great package and yeah looking forward to that as well. It's got so many little kind of deep cuts and new things that hadn't existed before. So yeah Joe Elliott's our kind of archivist, you know, he has lots of little things. He said; 'Oh I found this thing we recorded in a basement in Holland'. All of this stuff. So there's a bunch of that stuff is gonna be released as well."

"We rehearsed - we lived in Holland for pretty much three years on and off so there's all these rehearsals studios that we recorded in and just different versions of things. So it's pretty spectacular."

Vivian Campbell's Illness

"Absolutely and you know the thing with Viv he just keeps pushing forward. You have to you know but it's inspired us. It's like, it's better than the alternative. The alternative is to kind of sit back and not do that. You know he loves playing. He loves performing and singing and playing guitar and everything. So yeah he keeps that going and his doing great actually. He's out there, he's in good health and everything's really cool. So we're having a blast."

Joining The Band In July 1982/Pyromania Album

"Yeah I mean I knew the guys. We'd played together and jammed together. I'd stayed at Joe's and Joe and Steve had spent time here when they come down to London, they're from Sheffield. Which is kinda, you know, it's like Pittsburgh going to New York. That kinda distance. So they would come down. We'd hang out and they'd sleep on my Mum's couch. Yeah we just became friends and so I didn't really ask to join the band."

"I was - I just kind of morphed in just helping the guys out, and then before you knew it the album got released and we're on tour. It was like whoah!. So it happened so quickly and then the album blew up and you know we didn't see that coming. Not to that extent."

Delta Deep Live Album/Single

"Yeah we're about to find time to record, or start our second album. We've got some great songs good to go. And we have a live album I've been promising for ages. We just mastered the first single. It's called Bless These Blues. It's a live track that we recorded last year on our tour. That'll be coming out this summer and the album will be following."

"So so much great stuff going on. It's just finding the time to do it really."

G4 Experience

"I love it. I'm honoured to be asked into it as well. That's really cool. And you know I'm gonna be recording some music for that as well. So don't know where that stands at the moment. But yeah it's gonna be great and I think we'll be talking to the audience and firing questions and just talking a lot about the psychology of guitar playing and being in a band and how it's not just about picking a guitar up. There's so much that goes with it you know after being in a touring rock band that's still at our height 30 odd years later. There's so much to talk about and I meet people so much and they get the wrong idea about what it's like to be in a band. So ."