Monday, 23rd October 2017
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22 Years Ago DEF LEPPARD Release VAULT Album/Set World Record

Def Leppard 1995. 23rd October 1995

Def Leppard released their first greatest hits album Vault on this day in 1995 and set a new world record.

The 'Vault Greatest Hits 1980-1995' release was their first hits album and collected together all the biggest singles from their most successful period.

It debuted at Number 3 in the UK and 15 in the USA.

15 of their major hit singles were included on the UK version from 1983's Pyromania (x2), 1987's Hysteria (x6), 1992's Adrenalize (x4), Retro-Active (x1), High 'n' Dry (x1) and new song When Love & Hate Collide which reached Number 2 in the UK charts.

On the same day as this UK/World release the band promoted the album by playing three acoustic shows on three different countries on the same day. This was done to help publicise the album and to set a new world record.

The three countries chosen - Morocco, England and Canada also happened to be on three different continents. Europe, Africa and North America. The name given to the event was - 3 Continents In One Day and written on various press releases and backstage passes as "Vaulting The World" or "3 Continents In A Day."

The 6,000 mile trip started in Morocco (which is on UK time-GMT) with the band having flown from London's Gatwick airport. They then flew back to London (2 hours 45mins each way) to play show two and finally flew on to Vancouver to end the trip - a nine and a half hour flight.

With the last show in Vancouver taking place at 10:45pm local time they actually played the shows in 30 hours. 10:45pm in Vancouver being 6:45am in London, England. Due to the time zone changes the record was allowed to stand as it was still the 23rd October in Vancouver.

Also on board the plane with the band were a group of journalists from around the world and fans who had all won competition prizes. Many TV stations including MTV covered the event. A 30 minute special was broadcast on Norwegian TV.

The day after the band completed this mammoth journey they took a 22 hour flight to Singapore to continue their two month Vault acoustic promo tour.

The UK release of the 'Slang' single in April 1996 included the only official release from the band tied to this event. CD2 was packaged in a purple card sleeve and titled the "Limited Edition 3 Continents On One Day Souvenir Pack". It included four postcards with memorabilia pictured from that day and live photos plus a message from Joe.

As Joe explains below in his tour diary, there were a few mishaps along the way! Including lost instruments and his own health issues.

Read the story of the day below with quotes from the band on that day and afterwards. Plus some photos/screenshots from various sources - mostly UK rock magazines.

Also watch a playlist of videos from this day including MTV News Reports, interviews with band and performance footage.

Def Leppard 23rd October 1995 - Photos

3 Continents In One Day - Record Attempt

In order to set a new world record the band had to play three shows of at least one hour in length and have a minimum of 200 fans in attendance.

Show Number 1 - Hercules Cave (Grottes d'Hercules), Tangier, Morocco

The show was due to start at 12am local time but due to power issues it started 30 minutes late. This prompted Joe to tell the crowd - "Sorry about the delay folks. Apparently somebody forgot to put a shilling in the meter.". It took place in - an old cave located on the coast with a stunning view of the ocean. A popular tourist destination. Joe wore a Fez during the performance."

Def Leppard 1995.

Whilst in Tangier the band attended a banquet that featured lots of local themed festivities. Phil rode a camel and got lifted up by a 'strongman' who walked along broken glass - whilst also holding up a roadie under his other arm.

Show Number 2 - The Bottom Line club, London, England

The second show (which was free to fans who turned up on the day) took place in a small club located next to the Shepherd's Bush Empire in London. This show was due to start at 11:45am UK time...Morocco and the UK are in the same time zone - GMT. At this show the band began to vary their setlist slightly. Singer Stevie Vann got up on stage with the band to sing her vocal parts on When Love & Hate Collide. She had originally done this for the 1990 demo of the song and those parts were kept for the new 1995 studio recording. The venue later became an Australian themed bar called The Walkabout.

Show Number 3 - Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, BC, Canada

A third show took place at around 10:45-50pm in a small Vancouver club with around 900 radio station contest winners attending. The band later noted that they were a very loud and enthusiastic crowd with some even moshing during PSSOM. The band played two new songs - 'All I Want Is Everything' and 'Where Does Love Go When It Dies' as a preview of the upcoming 'Slang' album which had been announced for March 1996 at this time.

Def Leppard 1995.

Joe Elliott's 3 Continents In One Day - Road Report

"Arrive at Gatwick a bit late and dash to the Sports shop to get a bag for all my stuff. I've got all my overnight gear in a plastic laundry bag, and it doesn't look very cool. So I get a £10 hold-all, and stuff my gear in. Right, we should be in Morocco in two hours and 35 minutes."

"I'm now at the hotel. in Morocco. It's nearly five o'clock, and we've done loads of press on the flight on the way. Sav's bass hasn't turned up, so his guitar roadie's scouring Morocco trying to find one!."

"We found Sav an electric bass - couldn't find an acoustic one - and everything's okay. It's five minutes to the gig. More soon!."

"Well, I'm hoarse as hell. We played a little set, and it was a good laugh. We went on half an hour late because of a power failure. There were hundreds of people in this little room with just four candles for light! We encored with (T. Rex's) 'Get It On', which we'd never played before. I screwed up 'When Love & Hate Collide' and a bit of 'Hysteria', because of my voice. I've had a bit of a cough for a few days, so it's an uphill struggle from here..."

"Back at Gatwick for 7am. The worst part of the trip so far has been the drive in the bus back to the hotel, which took two hours in the rush hour traffic. Had a quick sleep when we got to the hotel - that was a big mistake."

"The London gig was great - apart from Sav's acoustic bass not working!. It was nice to see a few more fans - a good five or six hundred people. There was some good banter between us. Now we have to pack for a nine-and-a-half-hour flight to Vancouver."

"I missed the films on the plane, but I don't give a shit cos I managed to sleep for six hours. Quick soundcheck and a few interviews and then we did the set in a different order. The audience was stunning. It was like Beatle-mania, with people moshing - moshing! - during our acoustic set. It's great to be back in America knowing that we can still be as valid as ever in '95."

"By the time we'd finished the set I was so buzzing I wasn't tired any more. Me and my girlfriend stayed up all night and had some drinks, and we're straight off to Singapore on a 22-hour flight tomorrow. Somehow I'll lose a Wednesday because of it all. I want my Wednesday back! There's a good headline for you!."

"Would we do it all again? Yes. Would I do it all again next week? No f**kin' way. It's been a great way to launch the 'Vault' album, and if we get into the record books then great, so be it, if not, then we're definitely the first band ever to have done what we've just done, and it feels great. Yeah! We did it!."

Guinness Book Of Records - Quote

"Def Leppard played concerts in three continents on 23 October 1995 to become the first band to achieve this feat. Signed by Peter Mathews and Norris McWhirter."

Rick Savage May 1996 Interview Quotes

"Well strangely to really top it off we had to fly the following morning from Vancouver to Singapore on a 22 hour plane flight. It's madness. You wouldn't want to do it every week, but we have fond memories of it. It was a good idea to finish in Canada, because the Canadians have been very very supportive and the audience is possibly one of the best."

Def Leppard 1995.

Vault Greatest Hits 1980-1995 - UK/World Album Release

The album had originally been announced in the UK press as being released on 16th October with 'When Love & Hate Collide' coming out before this on 25th September. Both of those dates got pushed back. The UK press had also announced the album would be out around Christmas time with the band playing a Far East tour in December 1995. In May 1996 the album was certified Platinum in the USA and went on to become four times Platinum in June of 2005.

Vivian Campbell 1995 Interview Quote

"I'll be honest, when I first heard that there was going to be a greatest hits album before Slang, I thought, "Oh bollocks!". But then, if you think about it, it's the perfect time for Def Leppard to do a hits album because we want the new record to be perceived as something new, so the greatest hits is like closing a chapter. And if the greatest hits is successful, it'll provide a good springboard to release the new album."

Release Dates/Tracklisting Info

The album was released earlier in Japan on 13th October and came out in North America on the 31st October.

The UK and World edition featured UK/European single 'Heaven Is'. For one pound extra UK fans could buy a Limited Edition version featuring a 9 track bonus CD. This had live songs recorded at the June 1993 Don Valley Stadium show in Sheffield.

In Japan and North America 'Foolin'' was included instead of 'Heaven Is'. The Japanese version added 'Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)' in the main tracklisting as it had been a popular song there.

The North American version also replaced 'Action' with 'Miss You In A Heartbeat'. A thank you to Canadians who had made it a hit in that country. 'Can't Keep Away From The Flame' was included in Japan as the usual extra bonus track.


Related News - 22 Years Ago DEF LEPPARD's When Love And Hate Collide At #2 In UK

Related News - 24 Years Ago DEF LEPPARD's RETRO-ACTIVE Album At Number 6 In UK

Related News - 33 Years Ago DEF LEPPARD's PYROMANIA Album Certified 6xPlatinum In USA

Related News - 18 Years Ago DEF LEPPARD's GOODBYE Single #1 In UK Rock Chart

Related News - 29 Years Ago DEF LEPPARD's LOVE BITES At Number One In The USA

Related News - 30 Years Ago DEF LEPPARD's HYSTERIA Certified Gold/Platinum In USA


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Phil Collen - Guitar
Phil Collen - Guitar
Phil Collen - Guitar
Phil Collen - Guitar