Def Leppard News - VIVIAN CAMPBELL Says DEF LEPPARD Has Never Sounded Better Live

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Sunday, 11th February 2018

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VIVIAN CAMPBELL Says DEF LEPPARD Has Never Sounded Better Live

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Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell was interviewed in July 2017 and the full video is now available.

Vivian spoke to Jonathan Graham of Guitar Interactive Magazine.

The interview took place in late July 2017 at the Ramblin' Man Festival in England

Vivian talked about playing guitar live, Last In Line/DIO Songs, Thin Lizzy, differences between Last In Line/Def Leppard, band success.current live sound, Andy Freeman, a possible reunion with Ronnie James Dio/how he joined and was fired from DIO, Heavy Crown album, second Last In Line album, his guitar rig, 2017 plans with Last In Line/Def Leppard and his current health (in July 2017).

He said the band is better live than they have ever been.

He also speaks about his health, just ahead of confirming that he could carry on using Immunotherapy beyond the initial two year clinical trial.

Listen to the full 18 minute interview below.

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

Guitar Interactive Magazine - Vivian Campbell Interview Quotes

Differences Between Last In Line/Def Leppard

"They're different muscles I exercise in the two different bands. Leppard is such a vocal intense band. That's really the challenge for all of us in that band. We're all singing in every song and it's all live. And we take great pride in the fact that people think we're miming because we do it that well you know."

"So that's really what it's all about. If you go backstage at a Leppard show any time from three, four in the afternoon you'll hear vocal warm ups going on. Like we're constantly walking in and out of the dressing room. Singing and doing all these weird low larynx vocal sounds. It's kind of embarrassing but you know we've gotten over it."

"You know the guitar playing is still challenging too. It's not as challenging because in this band I'm carrying all the weight. You know in Leppard we have Phil and Phil plays the majority of the solo parts for obvious reasons. So my guitar playing ig in Leppard is not as challenging as this gig but the vocal side of it really is."

Def Leppard Success/Current Live Sound

"And Leppard is such a great band too. I mean it's just been getting better and better with Leppard. We just finished a couple of months in the States and Canada and the band has never ever sounded better than it is right now. It's like it's really becoming a fine tuned machine. And we're seeing a lot of more younger people coming to our audience. I'd say 30 to 40 percent of our audience now is under 35."

"You know kind of young enough to be our kids in a way and that's very inspiring too and that youthful energy in the audience is translating to the band onstage. So we're getting a little bit more oomph in our performance."

"So it's great I mean there's..I smile just as much when I'm playing with Leppard. It's just the guitar playing is not quite as intense you know. But with hits like I say it's a different thing. I'm the only guitar player. Playing with Vinny it's never the same thing twice. So it's a constant rollercoaster."

Last In Line 2017 Plans

"We've got another couple of weeks here in Europe with this Last In Line tour. Then we go back to LA. We're writing the rest of the next Last In Line record. We go into the studio September 11th with Jeff Pilson and start that. But that'll be done in instalments over the remaining months of the year."

2017 Def Leppard South American Tour/Riverdogs

"Later in September I go to Rock In Rio with Def Leppard. We're doing Rio and a few other South American shows and some shows in Mexico. That's it for now. Then the rest of the year I'll be focusing on doing the Last In Line record. I've got a one-off show I believe in December in LA with Riverdogs. For the new Riverdogs album. But that's the only show I've committed to doing so far. It's jst too much work to be in three bands you know and to have a family and whatnot."

His Current Health (In July 2017)

"My health is the least of my concerns. It's kinda, it's an ongoing thing now. It's really, you know, the way I look at it is we're all dying. So it's like, I kinda. I feel very blessed because I caught my cancer very early and I'm on top of it, I'm ahead of the game. I'm being very proactive in it. I don't let it dictate how I live my life."

"You know it's kind of the other way round it listens to me. So I keep it at bay and there's nothing that Whiskey can't cure, in moderation. And more importantly I'm doing the things that make me happy. You know when I first got my cancer diagnosis and I was starting to do chemo and my hair was falling out and all this shit. The guys in Leppard said to me: 'Stay home, look after yourself'. Convalesce, do what you gotta do. And it took me a long time to convince them and Leppard's management that what I needed to do was go on tour."

"My work is very, very important to me and it's very cathartic to me. That's all I ever wanted to do like I said when we started this interview. And I couldn't imagine anything worse than sitting at home, you know, doing chemo, feeling sorry for myself while the band's off on tour. So fortunately I was able to convince them and, you know, it worked out more or less. There were a couple of rough shows but I got through it. And you know I think a big part of that was it kind of lit a fire under my ass. And I think that is what is making me work so much right now is because I realise that time is finite you know. It's not an open ended book. So you've got to kind of life live to the fullest and... so I'm grateful for that and I really kinda. I like to see the positives. I really think that every cloud has a silver lining."

"So I got a couple of things out of getting a cancer diagnosis. I got to really, really see life in a very different way. Embrace my history. Even when it was painful to me, the DIO stuff. And to see it in a whole different light and view it in a whole different way. And I got to get a grown up haircut, you know, which I shoulda had 2o years ago so, you know, it's all good."