DEF LEPPARD 2019 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame (Setlist/Speeches/Show Report)
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Def Leppard were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame 2019 in Brooklyn, NY last night with five songs also performed.
The show took place at the 17,000 capacity Barclays Center.
The band's first time in Brooklyn since 9th July 2005 on the Rock Of Ages tour.
The 34th annual induction ceremony where Brian May of Queen inducted the band into the hall 13 years after the were first eligible.
Fan voting ended on 9th December 2018 with Def Leppard winning by 119,803 votes ahead of Stevie Nicks. The official final total for fan votes was 547,647 votes.
The event started at 7 pm local time and lasted for five (very long!) hours until Def Leppard closed it with a short live set after their induction speeches.
They were also interviewed live in the red carpet before entering the venue (but the less said about that bit the better).
Brian May made a couple of little errors (or big depending on your point of view) during his ten minute speech but it did not detract from a great introduction for the band.
Joe was surprisingly the only Def Leppard member to talk but did so for ten minutes himself. He talked the crowd through a basic history of the band including a very emotional standing ovation for Rick and thanked many of the significant people who have helped them along the way. And tha fans!.
Setlist/Staging
Five songs were performed in total. Four Lep classics in 'Hysteria', 'Rock Of Ages', 'Photograph' and 'Pour Some Sugar On Me' and a special cover version to end the set.
The band used the 'other' drum riser with the steps and were set up with amps either side of that in front of the big main video screen. A setup used by all performers and showing the usual historical band photos and content.
Special Guests
Both Brian May and Ian Hunter joined the band at the end of their short set to perform the Mott The Hoople classic 'All The Young Dudes'.
Ian previously played this twice with the band in 1996 and 2000 in the USA. Both were performers when it was played at the 1992 Freddie Mercury Tribute concert in London. Joe and Phil sang background vocals that night alongside the other members of Queen and the late David Bowie and Mick Ronson.
They were also joined for the finale by Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone from The Zombies, Steven Van Zandt (The E Street Band) and Susanna Hoffs from The Bangles.
Read the full Induction speeches below and view many media photos. Including a photo which shows the band presenting Brian with one of Rick Allen's 'Legends Series' paintings of Jimi Hendrix backstage.
The next scheduled show will take place in June at the Sweden Rock festival.
Def Leppard @ Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame 2019 - Brooklyn, NY, USA Setlist
- 01 - Hysteria
- 02 - Rock Of Ages
- 03 - Photograph
- 04 - Pour Some Sugar On Me
- 05 - All The Young Dudes
With Brian May and Ian Hunter plus members of The Zombies and Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles.
Watch footage from the show on - Periscope
Watch some Fan Videos from the show here.
Brian May Induction Speech
"Hi folks. I would guess from tonight 65 years after Bill Haley sang Rock Around The Clock, Rock And Roll is alive and well am I right?. I have the greatest job in the world. I am so honoured and privileged to be importing Def Leppard into the Hall Of Fame. What an amazing thing."
"I've got a quote first from the Joe Elliott book of philosophy which says; 'You get one chance to do the good shit, don't fuck it up'. So this is my guideline tonight OK. I wanna do 'em justice. I really wanna do these boys justice. And I'm not gonna tell you a history, I'm just gonna tell you my personal view. I wanna tell you how these guys came into my life and how important they are."
"1918, cast your minds back. 1981 Queen were in a studio in Munich making an album called Hot Space and I nipped out to see some friends of mine Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow. And wjo was supporting but a young precocious bunch of boys called Def Leppard. I got there late and I missed 'em. And I felt so bad about it I went to their dressing room and went in to see and poked my head through the door and said Hi guy I just wanted to say hello because I missed you. I'm Brian May from Queen and as a band they said No Shit!. Which was kind of nice so I think we got on from that point. And they told me that Queen had been a great influence on them which is always a great thing for me to think about."
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"Cut to 1983. You know what you do when you're on tour. We're out on tour and when you're in the cars or the planes or whatever and you hit the button to see if anybody's playing the record. So this is what I;m doing and every time I hit the button I'm hearing this amazing kid of clang. Sort of arpeggiated; guitar and I'm hearing the big harmonies. This big juicy bass line and these hugs fat drums. And it's not Queen it's these young precocious boys from Def Leppard."
"And the song was called Photograph. This amazing song which catapulted them to fame. It was never off the radio at that time. And before the album that was finished that it came from Hysteria, they'd sold 10 million copies of it which is pretty rare."
"OK cut to September '83. I'm in Los Angeles, again we're recording an album which this time is The Works I think. And I go out. This time Def Leppard are playing the local arena which is the legendary LA Forum. And when these boys hits the stage I have to tell you I have never seen anything like it. I've seen some great shows in the Forum but I've never seen an audience react like that. They got to their feet. They never sat down and they screamed and shouted the whole way through the performance. Def Leppard killed that night."
"I went backstage to see them afterwards, they invited me and just like when we first played in the States all their Mums and Dads are there. Very proud and I was introduced to them. And they said will you come up and play with us tomorrow night. They had two nights so I said yes. And the rest is history. We played 'Travellin' Band'. It's history except to say that I nearly lost my career and my life because this is Pyromania and the production has all kinds of fire. You know what that is and actually Joe warned me. He said watch out for the fireworks at the end Brian. Be careful. But I'm at the end and we're up behind the drums and there's a kind of chasm in front of us where the fire's about to come out. And I have no idea. I;m gone. I'm like giving it all this and Joe's going Brian1 Brian! and I;m thinking he;s just kind of appreciating me. He's going Brian Brian Brian!. Anyway this huge sheet of flame comes up in front of me and Joe just in time Joe's dragged me out of it. Otherwise I wouldn't be here tonight. So early on in my career Joe Elliott saved me life. ."
"You know the history of Def Leppard is incredibly colourful and full of stuff which I can't even go into. I don't have time. But they started in August in 1977 in Sheffield, England. Which is not a very glamorous place and as a lot of people of said here there's a great urge to get out."
"They recorded eleven incredible albums. And they've played their asses off around the world many many times. They did it the old fashioned way. They played and played and played and they made great music in the studio. They've sold more than 100 million albums. hey endured being very fashionable and being very unfashionable as well. As sometimes happens particularly in England where sometimes the press wasn't very kind you know. I don't know why this happens but they kind of got attacked among other things for making hit records."
"Now can I just remind you of what some of those hits were. We've got Bringin' On The Heartbreak, Photograph, Foolin;, Pour Some Sugar, Armageddon It, Hysteria, Let's Get Rocked, When World's Collide, Animal, Love Bites, Rocket. It's a long list. It could go on... they've released 50 singles. Most of which were hits and many of them Number Ones. ."
"But there this was this kind of feeling abroad in the press and in the media. particularly in the UK as I said that maybe that made them uncool. Well let me tell you those songs. The fact that they wrote real songs that people can sing and carry in their heads is the reason that Def Leppard will be remembered in hearts and minds long after all of us have left."
"Let me say something about their endurance. You know the Def Leppard band is a family. An evolving family. I would say the amazing bass man Rick Savage is really the founder member. He's the only guy who was there at the beginning and he's here at the end. Well it's not the and it's the continuation of the story. But very soon Joe Elliot joined them and Joe brought the name with him. Which apparently refers to some aurally challenged cat of some kind."
"So these stalwarts were the very first birth of the band. But the family grew and evolved and faced all kinds of adversity. The loss of drummer Rick Allen's arm in 1984 was a massive shock and set back. Which would have ended the career of a lesser band. But thanks to the incredible fortitude of Rick himself, in bringing himself back, And also thanks to the incredible loyalty and cohesiveness of that family which is Def Leppard in supporting him when he came back. They actually grew in stature and in every way. Not only Rick but the whole band reinvented in a sense. And I was there at Donington when he first came back for that triumphant return."
"Similarly the loss of the fantastic riffmaster Steve Clark in 1991 will always be...what a great player. What a wonderful guy and I think many people thought that that could be a mortal blow to the band. And it could've been for lesser human beings. But the current guitar duo of Phil Collen and Viv Campbell is awesome. In fact I think Collen and Campbell are truly frightening as a guitar duo. And it's amazing."
"Not everybody realises that these guys are not just crowd pleaser's they also. They embody such an amazing technical excellence. And I regard all these guys as great friends and kind of part of my family. That's my it's so important for me to be here. I wouldn't have let anybody else do this OK."
"They turned up for our Freddie Mercury Tribute which was 1992. And we played together. And Joe and I in particular have shared many precious and fun moments. Snatched among the madness of the touring life. We have a strong bond and he's one of my dearest pals. When Steve died Joe says that the first phone call he got was from me. And when the news got out of Freddie's passing the first phone call I got was from Joe Elliott."
"These guys are a magnificent rock group. In the classic tradition of what a rock group really is. I'm just gonna quote a couple more things. Early on Joe said what's the secret of a successful rock group. I said Don't split up. A few years later he came back and he said I have a couple of other secrets to being a successful rock group. You have to not get fat and you have to keep your hair."
"It's safe to say these guys did not get fat. They did not lose their hair. They've not split up. And they're here tonight."
"These guys are a great band. They're also as honest and decent. A bunch of magnificent human things as ever came out of Yorkshire. Or Britain. Or the World."
"Ladies and gentleman. It is my privilege to welcome. To induct into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Def Leppard!."
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Joe Elliott/Def Leppard Speech
"Thank you. Thanks for having us. Good to be here. First of all massive, massive love and gratitude to our very dear friend Brian May and congratulations on the incredible successful movie."
"Also like to congratulate our fellow inductees tonight. It's been a real honour to be able to share the stage with the likes of Roxy Music and Stevie Nicks and The Zombies. Artists that we have admired from a distance for many many years."
"Alright so down to business. We'd like to take this opportunity to acknowledge a few people and some significant moments that played a very important role in getting this band to where it is today."
"Starting off with our parents. Now back then we were just a bunch if teenage wannabes. Living at home. Dreaming the dream and, you know, so without their help and encouragement it would be a lot tougher to be standing up here on this stage tonight. My Mum for example taught me my first three chords when I was eight years old. I've learnt two more since and I have come to realise you don't actually really need them at all."
"My Dad who lent us 150 pounds to make our first ever recording back in 1978. Which was absolutely the launch pad of this very wild ride that we have been on ever since."
"That's just two examples of what our folks did for us along the way. And I could stand here all night with great tales of parental support and what have you. But basically it goes without saying that their help and their financial support or otherwise things would have turned out very very differently. So thank you Mum's and Dad's. Thank you very much."
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"Another significant moment in this band's birth was the simple act of missing a bus. Which is something that I did on one August night in 1977. I decided to walk home instead of waiting for the next one. Fate would have it that I would bump into a young kid who I knew to be a pretty good guitar player. That kid was a guy called Pete Willis. Pete was the co founder of this band and one of the best right hands in the business. Now sadly Pete couldn't be with us tonight. But I want to emphasise how very important Pete's role was in this band in the early days."
"He was a terrific player. He had a very mischievous sense of humour. But he brought plenty of great musical ideas to this band. And it was Pete after a chance meeting in a college canteen. Both reaching for the same guitar magazine. Introduced us to the late great Steve Clark. Over the following ten years Steve made a massive musical contribution to this band. His incredible and unique riffs helped shape some of the most important songs that we will ever write. And it really does go without saying that we love him. And we miss him every day."
"Two gentleman who helped take us to a level that we might previously have dreamt about. Cliff Burnstein and Peter Mensch. They formed Q Prime Management and they looked after us for the best part of 25 years. We will always appreciate the fact that Peter bankrolled this band for years. Until things started to take off and boy did they take off."
"But not before the most significant contribution that Peter and Cliff ever made which was introducing our music to our future producer, co-writer and mentor Mr. Robert John 'Mutt' Lange. Now we first worked with Mutt on an album in 1981. An album called High 'n' Dry. A pretty good record. But it was 1983 that saw us move into a whole new orbit. The phenomenal success of the album Pyromania. Where we were introduced for the first time to our wonderfully loyal fan base."
"Without them we would not be up here tonight. And of that I have absolutely no doubt about whatsoever. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you."
"You who came on board with us for the best part of the following 36 years and supported us through some tough times along the way. But also times have helped us make this band what it is today. It's solid. We're appreciative of who we are and what we stand for."
"Those songs written over the years were always our main priority. You only just had to check out our misguided fashion sense over the years. And you'll understand where I'm coming from. And although it seemed that there was always a looming sense of tragedy around every corner, We just wouldn't let it in."
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"But it is true. It did seem that every time that we made some musical head way life would just not us back down son. Pyromania is a raging success and the Rick has a life changing accident. He survived it and came out the other side stronger. Rick Allen everybody."
"Hysteria gave us global success that we'd always dreamed. But then we lost Steve. We survived and we came out the other side stronger people. And that's the way it's always played out throughout our career."
"So let's face facts people here. If alcoholism, car crashes and cancer couldn't kill us. The 90s had no fucking chance. ."
"So finally I'd like to just bring this into the now. And thank some people who have been helping keep this beautiful machine on the road. Hopefully for many many more years to come."
"Our manager Mike Kobayashi. He took over the reins from Howard Kaufman who looked after us from 2005 until his sad passing in 2017. Howard did an incredible job breathing new life into this band at a time when it could have gone either way. And Mike continues to do so. So thank you my brother."
"To our friends at Universal Records past and present. Especially present. And to our families. To our wives. To our children who help keep us grounded. Honey, how much did that purse cost?. They give us a good reason to keep doing what we do."
"And last but absolutely not least my own band mates here. We're not blood but we're the closest thing to brothers that this only child has ever known. And I couldn't and I wouldn't wanna do it without these guys. Thank you."
- Def Leppard - Brooklyn 2019 Show Page
- Def Leppard - Def Leppard Tour 2019
- Related News - 19th December 2018 - London 2 Show Report
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