Def Leppard News - 22 Years Ago DEF LEPPARD In DURBAN (Vivian Campbell Tour Diary)

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22 Years Ago DEF LEPPARD In DURBAN (Vivian Campbell Tour Diary)

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Def Leppard played a Slang tour show in Durban, South Africa on 7th December 1996 and a tour diary is available.

The show took place at the Kings Park Stadium.

The first time the band had played in this city where they were supported by local band Squeal.

The second of three outdoor stadium shows in South Africa.

The first show took place on 5th December in Johannesburg and was filmed for local TV.

These were the band's first stadium shows since the Don Valley Show in Sheffield in June 1993. And technically speaking their only all stadium tour.

Vivian wrote about the Durban show for Kerrang! magazine as part of a series of Tour Diaries from all three shows.

Johannesburg, South Africa 1996 - Vivian Campbell Tour Diary Quotes

Same old, same old. Police escort, blah, blah, blah, all the way to the... Wait, what's this? The Holiday Inn? There must be some mistake; we're big, fat pop stars, after all.

The Holiday Inn, it seems, is one of Durban's better hotels. Durban, you see, is not quite as flash as Jo'burg. Plenty of indigenous people, however, which speaks volumes about the wealth distribution in this country, not to mention the so-called abolition of apartheid. Not one of the waiters, porters, taxi drivers, etc - the so-called 'service industries' - has turned out to be white.

Slang 1996.

So, I took a walk, met some of the locals. Lovely chaps to a man, but not one of them had heard of Def Leppard. Guess we won't sell many records in Durban.

The day of the gig is intensely humid. Just to prove we still can, we challenge the security guards to a soccer match after soundcheck. We won. Of course, they probably let us (big, fat pop stars!). The gig, on the other hand, is really, really hard work. You see, they have these ramps - runways, if you will - which extend from the stage on either side along the front of the PA. In the trade they're known as ego ramps - see, the bigger the ego, etc, etc.

(Read the full diary via the show page link).

Fan photos and reviews from any past tour can be submitted - Here

Def Leppard - Durban 1996 Show Page
Def Leppard - Slang Tour 1996/1997
Previous News - 6th December 2018
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