Friday, 23rd November 2018
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RICK SAVAGE On DEF LEPPARD's ROCKET Video (Filmed 30 Years Ago)

Def Leppard 1988. Screenshot

Def Leppard filmed their classic Rocket promo video 30 years ago on this day in 1988 in Amsterdam, Holland.

The video was filmed at Levant Kade in Amsterdam, Holland. A large warehouse situated in a port area.

The same building where the band filmed the first Hysteria album promo video for 'Women' in late May 1987.

It was directed by Nigel Dick who would go on to direct the videos for 'Slang', 'Work It Out' in 1996 and 'Rock On' in 2006.

One of the most popular videos from the album saw the band performing on a stage decorated with TV screens, bicycles and clocks. Intercut with archive footage from the same time period which inspired the song lyrics. The early 70s Glam era.

Short scenes on one of the screens showed the band messing around as their own glam band called 'Studly Grange' with Joe on drums, Sav, and Rick on guitars, Phil on lead vocals and Steve on bass and roadie Malvin on keyboards. Each of them dressed in glam make-up.

Sav talked about the video in a 1993 interview when promoting the Visualize video release.

Rocket 1989.

Rick Savage - 1993 Magazine Interview Quotes

It starts with Rocket a really fun video!

"Yeah we really like that video. Unfortunately we'd just compiled 'Historia' when we filmed 'Rocket'. It just goes to show the incredible strength of 'Hysteria' as an album because Hysteria was still going so strong when we released Historia that we were still required to do another video for it. It ended up being a big hit for us in England, America and Australia - Yeah that was a really great video."

Where did you film it?

"Oh! - interesting fact this. We filmed it in a warehouse in Amsterdam and believe it or not, it was exactly the same warehouse 'Women' was shot in two years earlier."

Isn't there another interesting fact concerning one of the seventies groups shown on the monitors in the video?

"Yeah one of them is Us! There is a minute snippet of us taking the mickey out of the 'Glam' era."

Def Leppard 1988. Screenshot

An early version of Glam Slam?

"Yeah if anyone that saw Glam Slam and could freeze frame Rocket would see a striking similarity between the two."

Are there any bits of Glam Slam on Visualize?

"Yes, there are. It comes under the section of solo projects."

Can we deal with that more comprehensively in a minute?

"Good point...back to Rocket. It was a great video to make and relatively easy. It was directed by Nigel Dick for the Foundry and he was great. We really get on well with him. We haven't worked with him or even heard from him for quite a while but he is a really nice guy. He used to work for Phonogram and he knew exactly what we wanted and how to get it. It was in fact one of the easiest videos to shoot. Everything we did was acceptable, the director liked it and everybody was so easy going. The idea of the video was great as well so that helped. Anyone that knows any other Nigel Dick video will know that the TVs are a trademark for Nigel."

Watch all the Hysteria album promo videos on this YouTube Playlist

Def Leppard Hysteria Album Videos.


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