It’s finally here, Def Leppard’s 11th studio album is available world wide from today! The self titled record has been highly anticipated by fans and is the groups first studio release since 2008’s Songs From The Sparkle Lounge (Allowing them to officially beat Metallica and Guns N’ Roses in the fastest draw competition….).
Expect a full review soon on Tickets There (don’t laugh) but on first listen it’s sounding pretty decent. Not the exact return to their 80’s style we’d been expecting and a lot more US focused than normal – but some absolute belters. May just be the best record in two decades.
Go now, buy the thing, support the Lepp and come back soon.
Time to get majorly excited as the mighty DEF LEPPARD have announced they are returning to Ireland this December. The Lepps will be joined by their ultimate touring partners, Whitesnakeand will kick off a ten date IRE & UK arena tour in Dublin’s 3Arena on December 6th, followed by Belfast’s Odyssey arena on the 7th. Support will come from Black Star Riders.
This is without a doubt the most exciting news old Tickets There has gotten in quite some time. Expect a lot of updates. LEPPARD!!!!!
Tickets go on sale 10:00 am, April 1st with the pre-sale starting on the 30th. Dublin tickets will range between €59.50 – €64.50 while Belfast tickets are all priced £49.50. Prices do not include booking fees.
December 2015:… 6th – Dublin (3Arena) 7th – Belfast (Odyssey)
9th – Newcastle (Metro Radio Arena)
10th – Glasgow The (SSE Hydro)
12th – Birmingham (Genting Arena)
13th – Nottingham (Capital FM Arena)
15th – Manchester (Arena)
16th – Cardiff (Motorpoint Arena)
18th – London (SSE Arena Wembley)
19th – Sheffield (Motorpoint Arena)
Whether you’re a fan of Def Leppard, The Quireboys, Joe Elliott, Mott The Hoople or good old fashioned rock ‘n’ roll, then this one is for you.
The Down ‘N’ Outz, Joe Elliott’s tribute band to his childhood icons – Mott The Hoople and all things connected to them are coming to Dublin’s Academy for the first time ever on December 18th and thanks to MCD, Tickets There want to send you and a friend to see them.
To be in with a chance of winning and hearing them play some of the best tracks from their debut album, My ReGeneration and this year’s The Further Adventures of, simply email ticketsthere@hotmail.com with your name, phone number and answer to the following question.
Who wrote Mott The Hoople’s biggest hit, ‘All the Young Dudes’?
The competition will remain open until December 5th. Winners will be notified on the 6th.
Oh it’s getting serious now folks, First Download and Hellfest and now Graspop and Sweden Rock have unleashed the beasts for next year’s festivities. Both have fairly enticing attractions so the pressure is now on for decision making.
Graspop: 19,20,21 JUNE 15
Graspop is coming out mighty strong this year. As one of Europe’s most scared festivals, the chances of a good line-up are always pretty decent and 2015 will be no different. They’ve managed to capture most of the mouth watering touring line-up’s this year.
KISS, Slipknot and Scorpions will headline the event with serious support coming from Judas Priest, Motorhead, Alice Cooper, Exodus, KoRn, Body Count, In Flames, Lamb of God, Cradle of Filth, Arch Enemy, Cannibal Corpse, PRIMORDIAL and many, many more. Full line-up details and ticket info available here.
Sweden Rock Festival: 3,4,5,6 JUNE 15
One thing – Headliners are the best I’ve seen yet. Def Leppard, Motley Crue, Judas Priest and …ahem, ToTo will headline this four day extravaganza. That’s not all though.
Five Finger Death Punch, Backyard Babies, Opeth, Meshuggah, Hammerfall, D-A-D, Airbourne, Nuclear Assault, Exodus, H.E.A.T., The Quireboys, Exciter, Delan and again, lots more. Sweden Rock have confirmed they still have roughly 50 more bands to be announced so keep an eye on their official site for details as they unfold.
For more than thirty years, Vivian Campbell has been a well-established figure in the world of heavy metal and hard rock. Since cutting his teeth with the influential Sweet Savage in the late seventies, Vivian has continuously worked with some of the genre’s finest artists. Firstly with the iconic DIO, where he wrote and contributed to the band’s first three solo albums, before a falling out with Ronnie led to his departure from the group. However, Vivian quickly landed on his feet when he joined Whitesnake to play on their 1987/88 ‘Whitesnake’ tour. But it wasn’t until 1992 that he finally found his home with eighties goliaths, Def Leppard and for the past twenty two years he has enjoyed every, high, low, success and challenge that the music world and life can possibly dish out – and he still goes back asking for more. Aside from Def Leppard, Vivian has also found time to release a solo album, play in various side projects, reunite with the original DIO line-up and spend a year with his all-time heroes, Thin Lizzy.
Last year, Vivian was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma but still continued to play with Last In Line and tour with Leppard around the US and Europe without ever missing a show, despite having to travel back and forth between tour dates to Los Angeles for treatment.
With Def Leppard currently camped in Dublin to work on new material, Vivian was good enough to take time out of the studio to talk with Tickets There about their new material, the recent re-issue of their Slang album, ballads, touring, Last In Line and enjoying the experience of short hair for the first time in his life.
Tickets There: Vivian, let’s start with the most recent Leppard release. What made you decide to release Slang ahead of some of the band’s better received albums?
VC: We released Slang firstly because we were able to and more importantly perhaps, because we really didn’t feel it got a fair shake when it came out in 1996. In the middle of the grunge era, it was a really difficult time for bands that represented the eighties, like Def Leppard. So even though we made a record in Slang that sounded of the times, it still really fell on deaf ears (no pun intended). So we decided to re-master and repackage it with all the material from around those times, all the bonus tracks and demo versions..etc. and put it out there in the hope that people will give it a more objective hearing in 2014 than it got in 1996.
Tickets There: At the time Slang was extremely well received by critics, but that still didn’t help it repeat the success of it’s immediate predecessors with the general public. Why do you think that was?
VC:Well, a good example of that was the first single in America, a song called ‘Work It Out’ which was actually my first writing contribution with the band I remember I was very excited about that prospect that my first song with the band would be the leadoff single then. That enthusiasm was very quickly dampened a few weeks after, when someone from our management called me to say the radio stations, like rock stations in America had loved the track and said it would totally fit their format but they just can’t play it because they can’t go on air and announce that was Def Leppard. You know they were playing The Stone Temple Pilots and Soundgarden, Nirvana, Pearl Jam and stuff like that – you know and they just couldn’t fit Def Leppard into that format – regardless of how good or how bad the music sounded.
So we were between a rock and a hard place you know, it was really a lose-lose situation for us so we really don’t feel that people outside of the really hard-core Leppard fans got a chance to hear this record the first time around.
Tickets There: The re-issue has been out now for a few weeks, have you seen much feedback from fans who’ve turned around on their original opinion?
VC: A little bit. It did tend to polarize our traditional fan base and we kind of knew that going into it and that was the chance we took at the time. You know we knew there were people that just hated the sound of the nineties and just wanted Def Leppard to be Def Leppard, but we felt that the onus was on us more to respond to the musical movements of the time and to be influenced more by that than our traditional sound. The most traditional sounding Leppard we’ve made since then was the one that immediately followed Slang, Euphoria – the title of the record has an ‘IA’ like Pyromania and Hysteria. Even the cover and the art-work – everything about it yells a traditional Leppard record. That came out in 1999 when we felt it was ok to be ourselves again. We really were a band in crisis in 1996.
Tickets There: When you started making Slang, what was the goal of the band?
VC:We didn’t really know what we were doing but we knew what we couldn’t do. So we collectively decided that it was best for us not to make a record that sounded too much like Def Leppard and we had to deal with the lyrical content of rock music at the time was very dark and that’s obviously a 180 from songs like ‘Let’s Get Rocked’ and ‘Pour Some Sugar On Me’ and stuff like that. So we knew we had to adapt to that and write darker lyrical themes and stylistically make a record that sonically sounded of the times. We knew we’d step on somebody’s toes by doing it, but it just felt right at the time.
Tickets There: And when you listen back on it now 18 years later, how do you think it’s held up over these two decades?
VC: To be honest I haven’t listened to it yet – well not the repackaged version. I have a tendency not to listen to Def Leppard music..
Tickets There: (Laughs) I don’t think I’ll print that
VC: Well you know whatever anyone does for a living, I doubt they go home and do it again. For me it’s the same with Leppard. I actually don’t listen to a lot of music in general.
What I remember about the original recording of Slang was that it always had a vibrancy about it. I do think it’s one of Leppard’s better sounding records, to use a word not commonly associated with Leppard, but it’s a more organic sounding record. Just in the way we recorded the drums, Rick (Allen) played acoustic drums and for the guitars we went old school – putting mics in front of cabinets instead of taking directs, which is mostly the way Leppard records. It does have a bit more air in the sonics which gives it a bit more depth as a result. I always remember it being my favourite record sonically from the band.
Tickets There: Looking back to those times, what was it like coming from bands like Whitesnake and DIO and coming into Leppard, one of the biggest bands of the nineteen eighties just at the beginning of this big change. Was it what you expected when you joined the band or were things very different than you’d imagined?
VC: Certainly by the time we got to Slang it was all off kilter. At the time, when I joined my biggest concern wasn’t the changing musical trends, because I don’t think any of us had registered that by early 92. My bigger concern was whether I really wanted to join another band and it didn’t matter who it was. I’d been in and out of so many bands at that stage and I didn’t have a good track record. So I’d basically given up on bands at that time and I was under contract to Sony records and I was writing with co-writers and cutting demos with an eye to make a solo record. So I was searching for a music direction of my own at the time and basically given up on trying to make a band, but obviously when the opportunity came to join Def Leppard it was different. I mean, there’s bands and then there’s bands and Leppard are a massive, massive band and a group that I’d always been a fan off. Furthermore I knew Joe (Elliott) socially and I knew the kind of guy he was and even if I didn’t know the other guys in the band, I kind of figured if they’re anything like Joe its probably a different kind of proposition to DIO or Whitesnake.
So both parties had to think long and hard whether it was the right arrangement. Joe felt I was perfect for the band but the guys in Leppard, who didn’t know me [personally] only knew me by reputation and that I could play guitar. The things they didn’t know was A, I could actually sing a bit too and B, that I’m actually not the guy who can’t keep a job (laughs). It’s possible they probably thought that, given my reputation of being hired and fired x2 in DIO and Whitesnake. So we basically went through a courtship that lasted a couple of months over this. It was nothing really to do with the music, it was all about the personalities and whether or not we can make it work. It’s been twenty two years so its definitelyworking out.
Tickets There: Yes, I don’t think you’re in much danger of losing this gig.
VC: No (laughs), you know people think ‘He must be an asshole to work with because he keeps getting fired’, but there’s a lot more to it than that. DIO and Whitesnake were never real bands and that’s the big difference between them and Leppard. I mean Leppard really is a democratic band. It’s five guys and creatively it is very open. And it’s not sunshine and roses all the time, but we respect each other and we do get along. Whereas DIO, no matter how Ronnie tried to portray it and despite the fact that Jimmy Bain wrote most of the music it was never a real band, it was always Ronnie’s call at the end of the day. Whitesnake as well, history has spoken on behalf of that. There’s been dozens of, and I’m not kidding, that’s not an exaggeration; different musicians through the doors of Whitesnake over the years and the only constant has been Coverdale, so it’s obviously his band you know.
Tickets There: So you’re currently in Dublin with the rest of the band working on new material. How have things been going?
VC: It’s actually going very well. We’ve got about nine things on the go currently, although most of them aren’t finished as, there’s a load of top melodies and lyrics to be written yet. The way the band works is very bizarre and I won’t even begin to try and explain that to you now, but for us this is great progress. especially considering we only started three weeks ago.
Tickets There: These sessions took everyone a little by surprise. Did you intend on coming out with a new album?
VC: When we came here we weren’t sure if we were going to make a full album or try and get a few songs to put out this year, but as things progressed, and they progressed rapidly and very well so we decided to do a full length album. Our goal is to have it done by this time next year and get it released by spring 2015 and to tour extensively on that next year. This year we will be doing a summer tour but it’ll only be the states most likely. We’ll also be coming back to Dublin in May, I wouldn’t say to finish up the record but to do a second instalment. There will need to be a third, possibly fourth instalment to get it finished, but it is progressing very well.
Tickets There: And has the re-issue of Slang changed the way the band is setting up this time at all?
VC:We did set up for the first time since the Slang record to record together, the five of us in real time because we don’t normally do that. We generally build a track up bit by bit and it’s always one guy working and its thoroughly, thoroughly tedious. So it was exciting to actually get in there and play and try to capture some of the dynamics we have as a live band. In the first week we actually got four rock tracks together and that was also a concern of ours coming into this. We wanted to make sure, even though we want to make a very comprehensive, modern Leppard sounding record, we did want to make sure we had the rock element covered and we actually for that out of the way like it was no-one’s business in the first week. This is what happens when you play together as a band, you tend to write rock songs as opposed to when you do it individually and you tend to get drawn into doing mid-tempo, little dirgy ballady type stuff. So it’s good that we got to play together and somewhat collaborate with each other on the stuff. Still a lot of it has to be determined, but so far we’ve got the rock element covered and we’re getting into some more studio crafted songs here at the moment and we’ll be wrapping up here in the next couple of days and pick it up again in May.
Tickets There: You’ve made references in the past to your lack of enthusiasm towards ballads. Would you prefer to make an all rock Leppard album?
VC:I’m not against the ballad side of it, but I’ve seen how we get drawn into that a little bit too much at the expense of our rock tracks. If you think that first and foremost the band was a rock band we all come from that rock element and it’s something we needed to address. I don’t think it would be right for the band to go out and make a High ‘N’ Dry style album where every song is pretty much hard rock. I don’t think that’s where we are and I don’t think that’s representative of us as fifty year old men. Having said that, we’re a great, great live band and we can certainly still rock so it was important that a considerable percentage of any album we’re doing is leaning towards rock.
Tickets There: Def Leppard is sometimes seen by fans as a band that’s split on the issue of social media. How do you feel about the changes in the music over the past few years and the move towards releasing music online and moving away from traditional formats?
VC:I personally have done that 100% and have felt that way for several years, but that’s just my personal opinion, that’s not the opinion of the band necessarily. Again it depends who you ask in the band. I think a couple of the guys would be with me on that and a couple of others might be vehemently against it. It is what it is. I’m not saying I embrace it because I think it’s the better thing, but you can’t ignore the facts when they’re staring you in the face. We live in a very rapidly changing world. I’m not personally a fan of social media, I don’t use it for my personal life, but I do enjoy the ability it’s given me to connect to Def Leppard fans and I found it a useful tool to gauge what people are thinking and what [Def Leppard] fans are thinking with regard to us. Like I say I don’t have a personal Facebook page where I go back and forth with my family, I still believe in more traditional means of communication, but the record business and the whole music business has changed dramatically and anyone who denies it is beyond a luddite (laughs). Its Darwin’s theory, you evolve or you die.
Copyright – Sexy Tickets There
Tickets There: You mentioned Leppard are going to tour this year and there’s a tasty rumour going around that it may involve KISS and Poison. Can you shed any light on what’s going to be announced?
VC: I’d say you’d be half right there, but only half right and half wrong (laughs). There will be an announcement of our tour imminently, we’re talking a matter of days. It has to be announced because we’re almost at summertime.
Tickets There: Do you think fans outside America will see you in 2014?
VC: Not at this point, but never say never. Something might come up at the last moment where we get a great offer to do a European show and upon that we could add a few others, but I would be very surprised. Most likely if we get this record finished for next spring that would see us doing a world tour of sorts, whatever that means nowadays. Certainty Europe, Australia and Japan would be our hope.
Tickets There: Last year, Def Leppard played a massive successful residency in Las Vegas that focused on the Hysteria Album. Does it look likely we’ll see a Viva Pyromania residency soon?
VC: We have a standing invitation to do that again whenever it suits us. It’s just a question of how long we end up touring this summer versus our desire to get this record finished. Personally I’d be surprised if that happened in 2014, but I wouldn’t be shocked it happened in early 2015.
Tickets There: That sounds better, I think I could afford it by then.
VC: (Laughs)
Tickets There: I just want to talk a little bit, if you have time about your work with Last In Line
VC: Absolutely, I’ve always got time to talk about that (laughs). I’m really passionate about (L.I.L.). I really enjoy playing with Vinny Appice and Jimmy Bain again.
Tickets There: Can you tell us how you started playing with the guys after so many years apart?
VC: I blame Thin Lizzy for it. That’s where it happened again that I got a few months touring Europe and the States with Lizzy in 2011 as a stunt guitar player and that really reignited my passion for the instrument. Thin Lizzy were such an influential band to me growing up and playing those songs, playing ‘Black Rose’, ‘Jailbreak’ and ‘Emerald’ and ‘Don’t Believe a Word’, playing all those great songs that I knew inside out onstage with Brian Downey and Scott Gorham, it brought me back to being fifteen again and reminded me of why it is I love playing Guitar.
As soon as I came of that tour I called Vinny and I called Jimmy and we just got together, into a rehearsal room and that’s all it was. I just wanted to play with them again, play some rock and it just sounded so great. We hadn’t played together in twenty seven years and it literally sounded like it had only been twenty seven minutes. The chemistry was just there, it had never gone away and it’s so tight just to play with those guys.
Then one thing led to another. Vinny said he knew this singer called Andrew Freeman so he invited Andy down that day. Andy came down and knew the songs so started singing. Then we talked, jokingly that we should do a gig or two. One thing led to another and we ended up doing a handful of shows last year despite a lot of setbacks and we managed to get the ball rolling on it. We started with a few local shows in Southern California, Las Vegas and what not. Now we’re actually going in to record some new music, even though that was never our intention. It just seemed the next logical step after we’d done some shows, it just seemed right to take it a stage further and try to create a sound that’s ours, not just trying to recreate the DIO sound.
Tickets There: You mentioned earlier that the DIO was such a major factor of the original band, how is the new music sounding and how can you avoid DIO’s legacy hanging over it?
VC: It’s obviously always going to sound a bit like DIO, We’re playing those songs that we wrote and recorded. The difference is that Andy doesn’t sound anything like Ronnie and that’s actually what motivated me to go out and do some gigs. If he’d come in there being a Ronnie clone I’d have been very disinclined to go any further with it because I don’t want it to just be a tribute to Ronnie’s voice. Furthermore I think that Ronnie is a really, really tough act to try and duplicate. He had such a unique sounding voice. So the fact that Andy didn’t sound anything like him really appealed to me. The reason for that was that it put the focus on the songs and the original band. The focus goes to the guitar, the bass and the drums and therefore the guys that made the records. Not only did we make those records, but what a lot of people don’t even realize is that we wrote the songs […] obviously including Ronnie’s input which was monumental but there was a real sound that we had, the fact that Andy didn’t sound like Ronnie somehow resonated with me that it was ok to go out and play those songs and have the focus somewhere else.
People then started asking me, ‘are you going to start making new music’. At first I said no because it was never on my field of thought, but then it became more apparent that for Last In Line to move forward and to be taken to that next level, that’s what we needed to do. Furthermore we got into the studio just a few weeks ago, in early January and started writing. Just Jimmy, Vinnie and myself and it was so effortless that way we came across new music it just fell out of us like it did on the first record, on Holy Diver. It was so easy for us to come up with musical ideas. We act as great springboards for each other. Like when I play something for the guys, they instinctively know where to go and vice versa. We came up with a half a dozen song ideas in a matter of days. Then Andy came in and we exchanged vocal and melody ideas and we’re kind of kicking around in the middle stage between now and April 20th when we’re going into the studio to start recording. Hopefully it’ll finally gel and that final 5/10% will come into place. It really is an exciting thing for me, but it’s a very different way to the way Def Leppard writes and records which is also equally invigorating.
Tickets There: And will you be letting any ballads through on the Last In Line album?
VC: Fuck no (laughs)
Tickets There: As if Def Leppard and Last In Line wasn’t enough, there’s also reports that you’re planning a second solo album. Have you found time to work on that at all?
VC: That’s kind of open ended for me. There’s no actual agenda for it. Obviously the Leppard thing is what it is and I’ve told you the schedule or the proposed schedule for that. With Last In Line I would hope to have a record done at some point this year. As regards my record I’ve already gone in and started on six tracks. I’ve six backing tracks completed and I’ve got the songs written, I’ve got the lyrics and melodies or them. I will at some point this summer get those six finished. My only real concerns with regards to that is if I can physically sing all of them. There might be one or two of them that are out of my range and out of my comfort zone as a singer.
I won’t really know till I try how it happens, but I may have to bring in a guest singer. At this stage it’s my intention to do it all on my own and it’s going to be very much be rock record. That’s not to say there might not be a ballad on that (laughs), but my focus is on making a rock record. There’ll be a lot of guitar, riff oriented songs. On the tracks I’ve cut so far I used some of the guys from a bar band I play with back in Los Angeles occasionally, all stellar musicians.
Tickets There: Moving back to last year, you went through a very traumatizing experience and I believe you were forced to cut your hair for the first time since you were eleven?
VC: (Laughs) That was actually one of the benefits. Long hair, I let that identify me. It becomes so much part of your identity when you have your hair long your whole adult life. Then there’s this fear of letting go of it. I would never, or at least very, very reluctantly ever have had my hair cut. Of course then when you have chemo you don’t have a choice, it just falls out. I was kind of forced into the issue and I’m actually very thankful for it because I’m enjoying life with short hair and the convenience of it. A lot of people have actually said it makes me look younger so I’m fine with it (laughs).
Tickets There: And how has recovery been going?
VC: I completed around six months of chemo and so far so good. Although truth be told I have to go in and do another biopsy when I get back to LA in two weeks as my last scan wasn’t very clean. It might be nothing or it might be that it hasn’t all gone away yet, in which case I’m really not that concerned about it. It’s a process that you just have to go through and it’s one of the most curable forms of cancer and I’m very fortunate that mine was caught very, very early in its progression. I’m not very worried about it, but it’s an inconvenience to go through the process.
Tickets There: Rather than back down or let it affect you, you went out last year and did a massive amount of work and touring with Leppard and Last In Line. How were you able to put yourself though all that and still deliver every day?
VC: Well actually I was very thankful that I could. I think it would have been physically and mentally more difficult to go through for me if I didn’t have my work to do. I actually wished that Leppard had some more shows last summer. I’m not tooting my own horn here, but I was physically very strong going into it all. Even before I was diagnosed I was relatively fit, being vegetarian for thirty years or so. I work out a lot, play football a lot and run a lot and I’ve been working with a trainer regularly for years. Then when I was diagnosed I ramped up my training and built up a lot of muscle mass as I knew I was going to lose a lot through chemo. With cancer there’s all sorts of different levels and of course people personal pain management threshold and tolerance levels so either my chemo wasn’t as severe as I have just enough stubborn Irish tolerance that I was able to keep going (laughs).
Tickets There would like to wish Vivian many, many thanks for participating in this interview and we wish you well with your treatment, the Last In Line album and of course the next sessions with Leppard.
I was initially going to avoid reviewing this and just enjoy it, but after several spins of the Slangre-issue this week and it being Valentines days and all, I figured my first love in music deserved my attention. Sending the actual members of Def Leppard a card is considered ‘psychotic’ by those around me so I hope a review will suffice.
Slang came our four years after I had first heard Def Leppard. Up till the point their previous albums, On Through The Night, High ‘N’ Dry, Pyromania, Hysteria and Adrenalizehad all pushed their sound further and further towards a standardized, polished pop direction with layer upon layer of vocals, guitar fiddly bits, synths and all things eighties. Unfortunately for Def Leppard and many, many other colossal bands of that era, the sher volume of hack amateurs in the genre and grunge movement shifted people’s attention towards a more solemn, displaced sound. Plaid shirts, problems and anger replaced the mullets, spandex and sing along fun that came before it. Where to go?
Leppard served out the early wave of Pearl Jam, Nirvana and Soundgarden hysteria (no pun intended… well maybe just a little) by touring the Adrenalize album to packed arenas and keeping fans interested with the Retro ActiveB-sides albums which sparked the massively successful ‘Two Steps Behind You’. It would be three years before Leppard would remerge and like Metallica, they were barely recognizable when they did.
Slang was a kick in the ass to Leppard. The way they recorded, the sound, the style were all massively different to their tried and tested formula. No more years of recording and time apart. Leppard hit the studio and wrote/recorded like never before. The layers of production that had grown and grown over the previous three albums was replaced by a more raw sound that exposed Leppard to their audience in a way that hadn’t been heard since On Through The Night. The giant guitar riffs, duelling solos and plunges were replaced by melodic leads that allowed the matured lyrics and themes to hit the surface.
Songs like ‘Work It Out’, ‘Breath A Sigh’, ‘All I Want is Everything’ and ‘Where Does Love Go When It Dies’ brought a level of seriousness and reflection that was rarely heard before. No attempt was made to turn each song into a pop single, instead the band weren’t afraid to make a stamp with these tracks and open themselves up to a new direction. Turn To Dust, Truth, Slang and Gift of Flesh brought some of the rock back into the picture and but again showed Leppard were not rehashing their glory days by peddling out copies of ‘Animal’, ‘Rock of Ages’ and ‘Pour Some Sugar on Me’. The songs were darker, more blunt and perfect.
Musically the grouped changed as well. Eastern and meditranian includeces can be heard all over the record. Styles similar to R&B, alternative rock and even some grunge can be heard throughput giving additional depth and diversity.
Slang initially divided fans. While critics worldwide applauded Def Leppard, their followers missed the larger than life anthems. However the years have been kind to Slang, even from some of the most ardent corners of the Lepp base. It’s endearing credibility, it’s ecliptic mix of styles and warm collection of songs make it an interesting journey to bask in. After Slang, the band reverted temporarily to their older sound for the Euphoria album and the Slang sound was never explored further. Who knows where it could have gone, whether it would have improved or lost its meaning; but for one point in the middle of the nineties, Def Leppard shook things up in a way that would have terrified most established bands. They braved a committed, but traditional fan base, a hostile world of peers and a new youthful energy that’s primary aim was to destroy everything Leppard had championed in the previous decade and they came out swinging. Slang has stood the time and every fan should take the time to remind themselves of that.
The moment is here folks. Def Leppard have officially released the re-mastered version of Slangwhich joins previous re-masters Hysteria, Pyromaniaand Adrenalize. The release features the original tracks which have been spruced up making them louder and prouder than ever before, as well as several demos tracks, B-sides and treats for any Leppard fan.
Slang registers highly on the Leppard intrigue list. It was the album that alienated the older fan base and embraced change which was prevalent in the music world at the time. While some bands ran for cover, Leppard boldly faced the post-grunge world with a bold statement album that saw their image, sound and direction completely shift. Critics applauded it and over time the album picked up many loyal followers.
So, now many years have passed and the time has come to re-visit Slang and see how it’s held up all these years. It’s out now on iTunes, Spotify and the usual physical sites.
Tickets There would like to wish all of our readers, commenters, followers and all the many amazing bands we love so much a very happy new year. 2013 was epically epic and 2014 is looking even stronger.
Before the first proper 2014 post (and yet another Tickets There reboot begins), I’d like to thank Psykosis, Warpath, Exzeltic, Overoth, Animator, Killface, Zombified, Dead Label, Gama Bomb, EHT Promotions, DME, Donnchadh from WMB Ireland, Dan and all the folks from Carnage, Slayer, Exodus, Death, Leonard Cohen, ASH, Black Sabbath, Def Leppard, KISS, Slash, Reckless Love, Crashdiet, Twisted Sister, Helloween, Napalm Death, Whitesnake, Danzig, Testament, Metallica, Jameson, Guinness, Jägermeister, Buckfast, Trooper Beer, Fibber MaGee’s, Gypsy Rose, McKenna’s Dun Laoghaire, everyone at HELLFEST, The Academy, all the cool folks in the Odyssey (except A-hole security and Stalin like measures of control) and my girlfriend (co-conspirator) Dee for an amazing year of gig going, good times and drunken shenanigans.
The criteria for storylines and starlets has apparently lowered in Hollywood. Nowhere is this more obvious than in VIVA! Hysteria which bounds to cinema screens across the world this week. Offering nothing to any discerning viewer and relying heavily on its Def Leppard laced soundtrack and a live performance by the band themselves. Almost every hint of the movie’s intricate plot and diverse and interesting characters is diluted to the point of near non-existence thanks to the director’s obvious David Lynch influence and Darren Aronofsky delivery.
For 90 minutes the viewer is required to carefully study thousands of faces, waiting to pick up on the disappointingly weak storyline that brazenly focuses on ‘two ladies’ quest to hog monitor time before being eclipsed by the man only known as ‘I keep my arm on the ramp dude’. The quality of the actors is on par with any academy award winning nominee from the past thirteen years, made more surprising by the fact that all the stars are all new comers; however the intrusion of the background artists and camera work levels their role in the film to mere ‘attendees’.
On the plus side, you are treated to a full performance of Hysteria, the major catalyst in the story by one of the world’s most beloved and distinguished bands, Def Leppard. Joe, Rick, Viv, Phil and Richard all play a blinder and despite this being a complex communist spy / art-house / independent / drug culture / hammer horror homage to Charlie Chaplin in story, the music ends up stealing every minute. Def Leppard well done – but unknown director, you have wronged the movie industry. Next time try some character dialogue. Fortunately Joe Elliott used his opportunities to keep a few laughs coming.
UPDATED AUG 18th 2013: IRISH FANS!!!! VIVA! HYSTERIA is coming to Cineworld Cinema, Parnell Street on September 19th for one showing only. Tickets are on sale now priced €10.50 from their Official Website.
Of course, this was most likely down to the article below. There’s no doubt in my mind that Leppard were so blown away by the academic article about their life and times in Ireland that they realized not showing the film in Ireland was a terrible idea. Either way, I have my tickets booked 😀
ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
Bad news for Irish fans – there won’t be a cinema release for Def Leppard’s new live show film – Viva Hysteria. Even though they recorded Hysteria here (guilt), even though they lived, worked and loved it here (guilt, guilt) and even though Joe Elliott lives a stone’s throw away from where I’m sitting (guilt x3) – the band, who stored their equipment in Dublin, recorded their most recent albums in Dublin, practice before tours in Dublin and have brought almost every major tour they’ve ever played here – they won’t be releasing it in Irish cinemas. Well Holy Elliott, I never thought I’d see such a thing. Even just a few days after I posted a loving tribute to you – you’ve gone and assumed Irish fans won’t be interested in sitting through your performance. Well that’s fine, I’m ok. I’m just disappointed that unlike Metallica, unlike Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax, unlike One Direction, The Jonas Brothers and Katy Perry – Leppard are the ones I can’t go and see locally.
DVD /Blu-Ray are out October 21st in Europe. For anyone outside of Ireland visit Defleppard.com for more details about local cinema screenings and so on.
…I still love you Leppard, but you have let me down.
..By the way, everyone should read that in a comically old fashioned guilt implying voice 🙂
Def Leppard In Ireland – A Quick Look (using Google Street View)
Well maybe it’s Dublin’s fault that Leppard are not releasing Viva Hysteria here… So let’s remind Leppard of our history together. According to DefLeppardUK, the band have played in Ireland a total of 14 times (Tickets There has managed to catch six of those shows) since their first gig on these shores in 1983.
They moved to Ireland in the mid-80’s when recording Hysteria and lived just outside the city centre in a little house pictured on your left. Their local was a lovely bar called The Old Punch Bowl (‘actual real authentic legit’ group photo outside the pub can be seen above) Remember lads – remember the good times. while here, they worked on their classic album – Hysteria.
Leppard loved it so much in Ireland, they decided to store their gear here and some of them even bought houses. The suspected venue where that gear was stored can be ever so slightly seen on the right. I’m not giving out details because they might still be keeping things here and I know you lot go mental for stalking. All those times I be blogging stuff and ye go mental – well no more! From now on I’ll drip feed the lot of ye.
After a few of the lads moved away (unconfirmed), it was mighty Lepp frontman, Joe Eliott, who kept the DEF torch burning this side of the UK. He has lived in Ireland since the 80’s and darn well loves it here. In fact, he likes it so much he even wanted the Gards to continue policing the area he lives in (again, picture) when they announced the station closures.
Well that’s it for now. Maybe I’ll do a real article some day, but that should be enough to help get public interest started on the 100% official genuine Def Leppard walking tour of Dublin. I leave you with a then and now shot of The Point Depot / The O2. The then photo features Leppard in the 80’s just sitting around – proper Rock (and I feel like some gimp-Perez Hilton type who needs a shower to wash off the words).
Joe Elliott, iconic frontman of Sheffield legends, Def Leppard, turns 54 today. For the past twenty one years, I have looked on Joe Elliott as the perfect example of how to be a rock star (except frequent exceptions for Monsieur Rose) should be.
Joe, you’ve been an inspiration to millions. You are a God on the arena stage and you front one of the greatest bands of all time. You’ve managed to avoid the pretentious rock star life of the 21st century and kept a band running for more than three decades without ever falling to the paparazzi invasion and vicious public spats. You’ve helped Leppard carry on through immense personal tragedy, loss and missed opportunities – but you’ve always come out swinging; bigger and badder than ever. You still drink and eat meat which alone (according to me and Alice Cooper) is top notch and you still make time to hang out with up and coming rock bands, helping them record their albums in your studio and just being a legend. You kicked a guys ass for pushing Ian Hunter (proper order!) and, on top of all that, you’ve earned your title as ‘the nicest guy in rock’ – Dave Grohl can never touch that. I’ve only had the pleasure of one very quick meeting with you but you were totally cool and one day I hope to buy you a pint.
Joe Elliott, I salute you and hope that younger generations will continue to see the magic you and the Leppard lads create. Have a wonderful birthday and please do not worry that I’m on route to your house… I’ve said too much :p
Many of Def Leppard’s army of fans will remember the disappointment of not being able to attend their residency in Last Vegas earlier this year. Fortunately, Bunim / Murray Productions, AEG and the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Vegas have stepped up to offer fans a chance to get an inside glimpse into the mighty Lepp’s world.
Def Leppard have been announced as the first artists so star in a new hard rock TV series. The multi-episode show will follow the band’s stay in Vegas; on and off the stage and provide a rare opportunity to see the chemistry the band has, that enables them to remain a dominant force in music after more than 35 years together. The show is currently called ‘Living With Def Leppard’, but Tickets There has suggested better titles such as ‘Reality of Vegas’, ‘Love and Las Vegas’, ‘Reality Bites’ and the ultimate – ‘Pour Some Reality on Me’. I’m expecting to hear back from the band momentarily.
No word on when the series will air as of yet but TT will let you know as soon as we do.
On a personal note, I hate reality TV with a venomous passion – but given the nature of this one, I’ll withhold judgement until I see it. Leppard could be risking serious personal humiliation (Ozzy, Metallica), massive drops in wider respect (Ozzy, Metallica) and a long crawl back to their current height if all goes tits up (…Metallica – Ozzy had Sabbath and it worked!). Or, they could be doing something wicked cool (Metallica – A Year and a Half In The Life of… – certainly not Some Kind of Monster). Let’s see how episode one goes, but either way it’ll be nice to see Leppard on the telly more often. Maybe then Joe can make a s*x tape and ‘’’leak’’’ it online and get them into celebrity big brother.
Well, the hangovers have worn off, the body has stopped aching and the cure has been had. Hellfest 2013 is over and despite it only being two days since Tickets There’s triumphant return, it seems like a hell of a lot longer since I (yes I, too late for the split personality bullsh*t) was passed out on the street outside the terminal building in Nantes. Four nights and three days of heavy metal (and drink) fuelled mayhem in Clisson and already 2014 beckons. Before that though, we need to look back on some of this year’s highlights as witnessed between boozing sessions in the metal corner.
Friday was a packed day with Saxon, Testament, Twisted Sister, Hellyeah, Helloween, Six Feet Under, Whitesnake and headliners Def Leppard all putting on excellent shows. Despite my thrill at seeing Saxon for the first time, my surprise at how amazing Helloween are and my sheer love for David Coverdale and co, the night was ruled by two bands – Twisted Sister and Def Leppard.
Dee Snider and co put on a show that can only be described as perfect entertainment. In between jokes about the multiple DS wigs floating amongst the attendees and mass sing-alongs – the band rocked out hit after hit of cock rock excellence. The only thing that topped them was the highly anticipated performance from main stage closers an’ Sheffield’s finest, Def Leppard.
Leppard’s slot at the festival was special for two reasons. Number 1, Leppard were performing their Hysteria album in full for the first time ever in Europe. Second, guitarist Vivian Campbell was making his debut after announcing earlier this month that he has been receiving treatment for Cancer. In an unprecedented move, Leppard took the stage playing the tail end of The Who’s‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’, before lashing into their own set. Hellfesters from all genres were there to greet them and see one of the biggest bands in Rock. They kicked off with fan favourites, hits and rarely played cuts from their earlier albums including ‘Wasted’, ‘Good Morning Freedom’, ‘Foolin’, ‘Bringing On The Heartbreak’ without the usual acoustic intro, ‘Action’, ‘Lets Get Rocked’ and the iconic duelling guitar solo ‘Switch 625’. The band were on fire and the opening tunes served as the perfect intro for the most perfectly overly produced album of all time.
Little can be said about Hysteria that hasn’t been written it before, but after 21 years of being a devoted Leppard fan I can honestly say the live show was one of the greatest moments of my gig going life. ‘Armageddon it’, ‘Gods of War’, ‘Don’t Shoot Shot Gun’, ‘Excitable’, ‘Love and Affection’ were all outstanding, but the king of their set was the incredible ‘RunRiot’, a song I have never heard live and one that has been a long standing champion on my favourite DL songs of all time list. After a brief interlude, the band returned and finished the night with the awesome ‘Rock of Ages’ and ‘Photograph‘. A phenomenal set from a band that just cannot be held back. Review? Nah – this is a fan’s tale.
By Saturday, things were starting to get a little hairy. Less acts were seen, more booze was had and the general festivities were getting bigger and bigger. ZZ Top, My Dying Bride, Red Fang, Down and KoRn were all witnessed and all (yes, Korn included) put on top performances. ZZ Top especially stood out with their southern blues rock n roll charm. Only one band could dethrone them, along with most bands playing this festival; the almighty KISS.
KISS are no strangers to Hellfest and previously headlined in 2010. As the familiar ‘Alright Clisson’ intro blared out over the PA, screams, arms and pints shot up and the band launched their Monster tour with ‘Psycho Circus’, the lead single from their 1998 comeback album of the same name. Greeting the crowd, Paul Stanley mocked that the band wouldn’t be growling – hellfest or no hellfest, because that’s ‘just not [their] style’. Knowing this was the final night of the band’s European summer tour, all the stops were expected to be pulled out and KISS didn’t disappoint. They delivered a hard paced set packed with their hits, tricks and sher awesomeness. ‘Shout It Out Loud’ had the crowd united in singing while ‘I Love It Loud’ bellowed through the audience with unmistakable force.
New single, ‘Hell or Hallelujah’, was enjoyed by all; including those who didn’t’ know it before ‘War Machine’ from 2009’s Sonic Boom and the classic ‘Deuce‘ bombarded their way in. After this it was time for Tommy and Eric to shine as Tommy took over the mic for the classic ‘Shock Me’ with Eric following with ‘Outta This World’. Gene took over again on ‘God of Thunder’ (not sang from the top of the lighting rig for sone reason) before ‘Lick It Up’, ‘Love Gun’ and ‘Rock and Roll All Night’ finished things off in classic over the top, fireworks fashion. As with any KISS show, there was so much happening it became hard to keep track off but with every song came the flying over the crowd, lifts, risers, smoke, explosions, fire breathing, confetti..etc, etc. it never gets old, it just gets better.
The band returned for an encore consisting of ‘Detroit Rock City’ and ‘Black Diamond’, much to the crowds approval. KISS came, KISS saw, KISS destroyed Hellfest. Like Def Leppard on Friday, no matter what type of metal you were there to see – KISS blew you away. If they didn’t, you’re a sad sap who needs to leave your bedroom more often. Day 02 over – another resounding success.
Finally Day 3 came along and it felt just right. The sun was shining, the ‘Metal Corner’ was quiet – a good day for whiskey and rock ‘n’ roll; and what better way to start things off than Down playing a special set instead of the previously announced Clutch?. After that the likes of Lordi, Ghost (who suck live just as much as they did on their last album), Hypocrisy and Cradle of Filth, Danzig and Napalm Death fill out an evening of heavy, light and strange metal…well, light is a little misleading.
Sunday was a day of surprises for TT. First of all, Danzig wasn’t just playing Danzig. On closer inspection of the t-shirt it turned out they were playing a surprise Misfits set with Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein joining them. Realizing this moments before they were due to take the stage was better than most birthday/Christmas presents can ever be. Danzig, Doyle and the guys sounded great and the pogo/mosh filled rendition of ‘Die, Die, Die My Darling’ was one of the true gems of Hellfest 2013.
Cradle of Filth provided the second surprise. Having not seen them since they played the Temple bar Music Centre way back in 2001, I wasn’t expecting the group to have seasoned too well. I was wrong as Dani Filth’s voice shredded through the Temple PA as crisp and powerful as ever. Indeed the entire band sounded amazing and even with the oddly out of place ‘Anywho’ comment from Dani, the band put on one of the best shows I managed to catch. The pentagram lighting rig above the stage only added to the atmosphere.
Finally, Napalm Death – a band I have read about, heard about and known for nearly 15 years, but strangely one I have never, ever tried to listen to expect for forced spins of ‘Nazi Punks Fuck Off’. What a show and what have I been doing all these years? They were incredible! One of the strongest, most bare fisted brutal acts of the entire weekend. I managed to get up good and close (my first and only attempt over the whole festival) and they were beyond reproach. Definitely the band I will be checking out more in the coming weeks and one I will never forgive myself for ignoring. Napalm Death – thank you!
I’m avoiding calling this a review because I just didn’t make the effort to see enough, record enough or stay sober enough for my opinion to carry any weight. However, that’s just how I wanted it. Hellfest blew me away and made me a life time attendee all in the one weekend. With it getting bigger and badder than ever every year – you can count me in as Johnny come lately but I ain’t never leaving. Bring on 2014, long live Hellfest and thank you to everyone who made it the best heavy metal experience of my life.
You know old Tickets There can only go so long before a Def Leppard story makes its way in. Good news for US and EUR fans though as Leppard are increasing their 2013 tour. So far the band have 11 shows announced with hopes they’ll click on a few more before they’re through…. (‘giant AHEM’IRELAND’). All current shows are listed below and all will include a live airing of their classic album, Hysteria.
Hellfest have thrown out a line and we are caught (hooked was just too eazy). The excellent organisers have announced Def Leppard as the latest headliner for this years festival. They’ll be playing on Friday night along with Whitesnake and Twisted Sister.
Also featured on this year’s bill are KISS, Testament, ZZ Top, Danzig, Morbid Angel, Cradle of Filth, Immortal, Accept plus over 100 more. Tickets There is sold anyway – KISS and Def Leppard !! (and did we mention they’ll be playing Hysteria in full? Oh yes – they are. Maybe they’d like a review? 🙂
Hellfest takes place in Clisson, France from June 21st – 23rd. Tickets cost €160 for three days or €75 a day.
Following in the footsteps of rock n’ roll icons such as Elvis, Motley Crüe and Guns N’ Roses, Def Leppard have announced their first ever Las Vegas residency. Set to take place between March 22nd and April 10th, Leppard will invade the Joint @ Hard Rock Hotel and Casino with their ‘VIVA Hysteria’ show and perform their mass selling album, Hysteria in its entirety as well as greatest hits from their career. Nine shows have been confirmed with tickets going on sale this Friday, 09:00am through ticketmaster.com and VIP nation.
Tickets There kept the head down majorly last year, but you didn’t think we’d miss one of the greatest touring line-ups in living history did you? The heroic conquering heroes Def Leppard, the filthiest grime and sleaze you can scrape off the streets of LA (Steel Panther :p) and the tided up and looking great Mötley Crüe all under the same roof! Not something to be missed no matter how far you have to travel.
Anyone that’s ever been to the MEN arena knows two things. First, it’s massive! Entering at the top level and walking down those oh so fun steps in the dark with thousands of people behind you is no fun whatsoever; but if fills you with plenty of adrenaline that can be doused with pints. Second, there’s no smoking….officially. What happens in the toilets, stays in the toilets. Aside from that, it’s easily one of the greatest venues in the U.K. with plenty of bars, merch stands, standing room and incredible sound. Walking in at the obnoxiously early time of 18:30, it’s strange to see the arena so full, but then again Steel Panther are already on stage and nobody wants to miss this.
Opening with ‘Supersonic Sex Machine’ from their new album, Balls Out, Steel Panther are on fire from the word go. While some felt their tongue in cheek take on metal wouldn’t wash with the English crowd (I cannot fathom where that idea came from) it seems Panther know what they’re doing no matter where they play. ‘Tomorrow Night’,’ Asian Hooker’ and ’Just Like Tiger Woods’ gain them a rapturous response from the crowd and an understood, open invite to return to the UK anytime they choose; but the night’s over yet. Their onstage banter, led by guitarist Satchel, and riff heavy tracks are the perfect entertainment to kick off a night of hair metal. The group close with the classic ballad ‘Community Property’, ‘17 Girls In A Row’ and the almighty giant, ‘Death to All but Metal’ and it’s oh so appropriate line, “Where is Def Leppard, Where is Motley Crue?”…well they’re backstage ”fucking groupies” according to singer Michael Starr. With the group earning “literally hundreds of pounds” to play this tour and their promotion over Reckless Love in the spandex genre, no doubt they’ll come back for more in 2012.
With the novelty side of the night over, it’s time for the first of our two headliners to lay the marker, throw the gauntlet and blow our heads off! Mötley Crüe explodes onstage with all the fire, energy and power they’re known for. ‘Wild Side’ (the greatest drinking song in their repertoire), ‘Saints of Los Angeles’ (proof they still know how to write bitchin’ tracks) and ‘Live Wire’ open the show. Nikki Sixx, Vince Neil, Tommy Lee and the great Mick Mars all shine on stage with Vince and Nikki covering every inch of the stage, Mick holding his own with the fans and on guitar; and of course, Tommy the legend overshadowing all of them from behind his kit. How does he do it? Well you gotta be blonde to find that out. In every possible way, everyone in attendance tonight knows they’re witnessing one of the most iconic bands in rock music at their best.
‘Shout At The Devil’ boosts a mass sing along from the crows with arms raised, explosions from the stage and pounding on the bass. ‘S.O.S.’ and the awesome ‘Primal Scream’ keep the adrenaline going before the band convene around a grand piano for a stripped back rendition of ‘Home Sweet Home’ before re-launching the action with ‘Looks That Kill’. Taking a break, the band retires back stage to let Tommy begin his drum solo and did we mention….. his drum was set up on a rollercoaster track? Oh Yeah! Tommy kicks off his solo as standard before the whole kit starts to roll to the left and right of the track before going into full 360° action without a single beat being missed. Slowing down, Tommy asks for volunteers from the audience to come up, eventually catching one bewildered looking lady who gets strapped in and flown off as Tommy drums the beat from the Chilli Pepper’s ‘Love Roller-coaster’. And we thought Steel panther were meant to have the theatrics! With that, the band return for Mick Mars apocalyptic-solo before the bands returns for ‘Dr. Feelgood’.
As Crüe’s set comes to an end (still have another band! TT – you’re writing too much nonsense – Ed), Leppard singer, Joe Elliott, walks on stage to present Nikki with a birthday cake and rouse the crowd to sing to him. The set’s closed with ‘Mutherfucker of the Year’,’ Girls, Girls, Girls’ and ‘Smokin’ In The Boys Room’. With one encore of ‘Kickstart My Heart’, the boys are done and the stage is dismantled. While Vince’s voice has never been known for its dominating power in the arena, the sheer force of the band’s sound and incredible wealth of tunes makes them one of the must see bands on the road today. Anytime ye fancy an auld visit to Ireland lads, Tickets There will be waiting.
Now, time for the true Gods of the live arena. The band that sell sex, love and rockin’ out with every note! The one, the only (we’re fans – get over it); Def Leppard! While Panther have the comedy, Crüe have the edge; Leppard will always be the force that pulls it all together and adds so much more. They overcome every single obstacle in the book of ‘Shit things that happen to bands’ and still come out on top every time. They’ve lost members, limbs, fans, popularity and sales and yet here they are, 30+ years after their inception still headlining arenas around the world and breaking new ground with every step. No matter what you say about Def Leppard, they are a true model of how a band stays together, stays successful and comes out ‘winning’ every time.
Leppard kick of their set on a stage that suddenly looks twice as large with ‘Undefeated’ from their new live album, Mirrorball. The band looks every bit in shape and together as they ever have and they waste no time displaying those traits that help them outshine all others in their class. ‘Rocket’, ‘Action’, ‘Make Love Like A Man’ and ‘When Love and Hate Collide’ all lead the traditional route into the heart of their set with Joe Elliott’s voice literally decimating the sound system with its power. Despite the Crüe fans bickering about the true headliners tonight, no-one in the arena can deny that Elliott is knocking Vince Neil out of the park with every note. And it’s not like the rest of the band are taking a break either. ‘Gods of War’, a rare inclusion, sets the night on fire with its powerful riffs, courtesy of Phil and Viv. It’s pounding, yet starkly placed drums (aka – Mr. Rick ‘Thunder God’ Allen) and its incredible wall of backing vocals and heaving bas lines. Step up Mr. Sav. If this isn’t everything you want from a Leppard concert, I don’t know what is!
‘Two Steps Behind’, ‘Bringin’ on the Heartbreak’ and the mega ‘Switch 625’ really lay it home how good the band are sounding these days. It’s obvious the lads are delighted to be playing their first proper UK shows in four years (not including their 2009 and 2011 headlining shows at Download – ahem – Ed) and they’re basking in every minute of it. ‘Hysteria’ and ‘Animal’ follow before the pile drive the set home with the classics ‘Armageddon It’, ‘Photograph’ and ‘Pour Some Sugar On me’. The band scarified ‘Rock of Ages’ for Gods of War, but who’s complaining? Leppard return to the stage to round of an incredibly long but mind-blowing night with ‘Love Bites’ and the always classic, ‘Let’s Get Rocked’. Band happy, Lepp fans happy and Mötley Crüe begrudgingly tipping their hats – it’s a wrap. After eight shows in five years, TT doesn’t know when we’ll get to see the mighty Lepp again, but one’s things for sure; there will be a next time. ..
I think it’s fair to say that Tickets There has not been the most prolific writer of 2011! Well 2012 will see a change to that and *gob smacked horror* we’re gonna start writing again AND! It’ll be the best of metal / rock and the odd other from about this fine green land of ours (Holland!)……ok, sorry (*real brackets commence*)(EIREbaby!). Before all that, we’re going to take one final attempt at basking in what feel is easily the most impressive, memorable, kick ass, slow bruiser of a 2011 tune. If we’d put the title in the subject line you’d be home by now! Don’t be afraid to try new things, variety is the problem child of life –some things you just can’t reach…a love for, Reckless Love is not one of those things.
Song of 2011, sad to say we haven’t listened to a lot of new stuff this year, but we couldn’t escape Reckless Love ‘Animal Attraction’! When we first heard it, Tickets There was not happy. Copious amounts of coffee, staff meetings, dialogs, ‘Live Reviews – this is an active link….to the post below’ back and forth, firings, hiring’s, dialog, ass holes, bleach, Guinness, Amber Leaf, the lovelies, Jägermeister redbull, vodka, coke-a, Jack Daniels (ish), Def Leppard, Alice, Cooper, Steel Panther, ASH, Thin Lizzy. Motley Crue and mother-f**king love for all things rock ‘n’ roll – Reckless have won out. TLC b*tch of a song. Merry Christmas, Santa came early. Reckless Love, Animal Attraction is the tune, stones engraved, sermon delivered; now rock the hell out and get down with this bad son of a loving she devil!
Back by popular demand, Def Leppard are in Ireland after a two year absence; once again warming up for another headlining slot at the Download Festival. Two years ago they arrived with Journey and the jaw dropping Whitesnake in tow. Tonight’s line-up is even more astonishing with the legendary Thin Lizzy and Mr. shock-rock / Mr. Rock N’ Roll Hall of famer, the one, the only Alice Cooper, around to beef things up. The crowd in the O2 may not be as impressive as 2009’s show, but that just means a few thousand less Journey fans and I think we can all agree that’s never a bad thing.
Kicking of the proceedings tonight are Thin Lizzy and it has to be said, WOW. Anyone who was at their recent shows around the country can surely agree that the current line up are incredible. Ricky Warwick is definitely a worthy successor to the coveted space left by Phil Lynott. At no point tonight do you feel they’re anything less than the real deal, with original members Scott Gorham (original-ish) and Brian Downey rockin’ as hard as they did forty years ago. New guitarist Richard Fortus; whose last appearance in the O2 ended in near riot last September when he rolled into town with his day band, Guns N’ Roses; is more than capable of replacing John Sykes as he tears away at those rolling dual lead guitar solos with Scott. The only thought about the new line-up is that Scott and Brian will never be afforded the chance to be their age. With Phil in the band, Lizzy would be able to grow older and fans would go with it. Unfortunately, the band need to tear every song to pieces and ram it forcefully down your throat In order to walk away with a satisfied crowd to see them off. Maybe that’s the genius of Lizzy, they were never meant to slow down and this ensures it’ll never happen. Either way, Thin Lizzy have too many incredible songs to just leave idle. They need to be played and this line-up are more than up to the task.
Lizzy finish up their set with a pounding performance of ‘Black Rose’ before the mega Cooper stage show is pieced together. As the giant curtain rises up, fans pack around the stage in eager anticipation for one of rocks finest showmen to begin. The Vincent Price intro booms over the PA as the houselights go black building the spook master’s arrival. As the curtain drops, Alice stands atop a towering pulpit, decked out with spider arms around his waist as the band launches into ‘The Black Widow’; from his most recent album, Along Came A Spider. Discarding the jacket, Alice follows through with ‘Brutal Planet‘ before appeasing the greatest hits fans in attendance with his classic, I’m Eighteen. As canes get flung into the crowd amidst sword waving and exploding gloves, the band carry on with the classic ‘Billion Dollar Babies’ (which of course includes the traditional sharing of the Cooper insignia dollars), ‘No More Mr. Nice Guy’ and the incredible, living snake accompanied ‘Is It My Body’. ‘I’ll Bite Your Face Off’ follows with the crowd being informed the title and the fact that’s it’s a new song via Alice’s jacket and blood soaked shirt.
‘Feed My Frankenstein’ swiftly follows suit and easily stands out as one of the night’s highlights, especially when you factor in the 12 foot Frankenstein donning the Cooper make-up that’s brought to life to sing the last chorus… while walking around the stage Oh God yes, it is that good!. ‘Poison’ and ‘Wicked Young Man’ cause mass hysterics, followed by the classic ‘Killer’, which ends in the traditional guillotine gorge of death. Alice, wrestled into a headlock by sadistic ghouls meets his end by violent execution. With his decapitated head being displayed by the ghouls, fans are united for a sing along to ‘I Love The Dead’ before the master returns with shiny top hat, coat; with his sword and balloons to boot for a blow out version of ‘Schools Out’, appropriate given the week that’s in it (although any JC/LC students may not agree). With a little break, the band return for one last blaze of glory; ‘Elected’, which Alice dedicates to Dublin while waving the tri-colour and dressed in the Irish jersey. Amazing show from start to finish, time to head ho…oh wait (cheeky)
With the crowd gleaming up to the nines from Cooper’s performance, it’s time for the Mighty Leppard to take the stage and show all the naysayers out there why they can headline above any other act in the world. With a striking new stage setup, Leppard emerge triumphantly to rapturous cheering from the now packed O2 arena. Starting with ‘Undefeated’, one of the three news songs that’ll be on their forthcoming live album, Mirrorball, the band are on fire. Joe Elliott, Phil Collen, Rick Savage, Vivian Campbell and thunder God himself, Mr.Rick Allen are all at the top of their game, adorned by glittering gloves, mike stands, headphones – the works. ‘Action’ and ‘Let’s Get Rocked’ follow, sending the crowd into a sing-along frenzy before older fans are treated to the incredible ‘Foolin’. ‘Make Love Like A Man’ and the iconic ‘Love Bites’ drive the point home that Leppard can damn well do anything they please because this is a band with more hits per album than most others can achieve over a whole career. Sav’s now standard bass solo/intro for the bands cover of David Essex’s ‘Rock On’ has to be noted as a highlight.
A duelling guitar solo between Vivian and Phil follows; before the pace is slowed down for acoustic renditions of ‘Two Steps Behind’ and ‘Bringing on the Heartbreak’. Steve Clark’s incendiary ‘Switch 625′ launches the band back into hard rock mode before and extended performance of ‘Rocket’ is unleashed in all it’s pounding drum glory. ‘Hysteria’, ‘Armageddon It’ and ‘Pour Some Sugar On Me’ nail the set down before Leppard brings things near close with the almighty ‘Rock of Ages’. Of course they do return for an obligatory encore, performing one of their biggest Irish hits, ‘When Love and Hate Collide’ which goes down a treat before stunning die-hard fans with a final, hell-raising crack at ‘Wasted’ from On Through The Night.
Easily one of the best shows Ireland will see this year. Three amazing bands in one place, every one of them playing a blinder and not a hint of ‘Don’t Stop Believing’. Value for money in anyone’s books.
Welcome back to the Tickets There gig guide. It’s been a long time since we did one of these but hopefully it’s ‘back for good’. Keep in mind, this guide will be updated throughout the month of June, so check back from time to time 🙂
Dublin Gig Guide
Friday 3rd:Alarmist We Are Losers & Avalanche Ammo (Whelan’s) Friday 3rd: Retarded Cop (The Workman’s) Monday 6th: ASH & Guests (Whelan’s) Wednesday 8th: Def Leppard, Alice Cooper, Thin Lizzy(The O2) Wednesday 8th: Lisa Hannigan (Whelan’s) Saturday 11th: Adebisi Shank, Heathers & O Emperor (Whelan’s) Saturday 11th: Oddsocks Revival (The Grand Social) Thursday, 16th: The JÄgermeister Freezer Sessions (General Fiasco, The Shoos, The Kanyu Tree,The Danger Is) Friday 17th: Le Galaxie: plus guests. Album launch party (The Workman’s) Wednesday 22nd: Ladydoll & guests (Whelan’s) Thursday 23rd: Dirty Epics (Crawdaddy) Thursday 30th: The Walls (Grand Social)
The West!
Thur 2nd: The Minutes (Róisín Dubh) Thur 2nd: Bipolar Empire(Monroe’s Tavern) Fri 3rd: North Atlantic Oscillation (Róisín Dubh) Fri 3rd Imelda May (TF Royal Theatre, Castlebar) Sun 5th Thin Lizzy(TF Royal Theatre, Castlebar) Sat 4th: Adebisi Shank, Heathers, O Emperor (Róisín Dubh) Thu 16th: Dinosaur Pile-Up, Zombie Computer, Toby Kaar (Róisín Dubh) Fri 17th: Lite, Terra Melos (Róisín Dubh) Wed 22nd: Lowlands (Róisín Dubh) Thur 23rd: Windings (Róisín Dubh) Fri 24th: Artful Renegade (Róisín Dubh) Sun 26th Grada (Monroe’s Tavern) Mon 27th: Janelle Monae (Róisín Dubh) Thur 30th Pugwash (Monroe’s Tavern)
Festival Guide
Saturday 4th – 5th: West Fest (Co. Mayo):
FATURING – Imelda May, The Coronas, Republic of Loose, Sharon Shannon, Bagatelle, Ryan Sheridan plus more.
Saturday 4th – 5th: Forbidden Fruit Festival (Kilmainham, Dublin):
FEATURING – The Flaming Lips, Ham Sandwich, Aphex Twin, Jape, Dan La Sac, The Subs, Battles, Squarehead, The Cast of Cheers & any more
Friday 10th – 12th: Temple House Festival (Co. Sligo):
FEATURING – ASH, Stereo MCs, Something Happens, Aslan, Declan O’Rourke, Lisa Hannigan, Kerbdog, Sweet Jane, The Riptide Movement and many more.
Sunday 19th: Danny Byrnes Music Festival (Co. Westmeath):
FEATURING – The Aftermath, Sweet Jane, The Vibes, Icon on Fire, Dave Peyton, Peter Doran, Arrow In The Sky, We Go Go and Ricotta.
Friday, 24th – 26th: Sea Sessions: (Co. Dongeal):
FEATURING – The Villagers, Bell X1, Ziggy Marley, The Walls, Riptide Movement, The Go Team, The Danger Is, The Minutes and many more.
It’s finally here, Def Leppard’s 11th studio album is available world wide from today! The self titled record has been highly anticipated by fans and is the groups first studio release since 2008’s Songs From The Sparkle Lounge (Allowing them to officially beat Metallica and Guns N’ Roses in the fastest draw competition….).
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