Page 115 - Classic Rock - The Complete Story of Def Leppard 2019

Tasked with replacing the irreplaceable,
guitarist Vivian Campbell has flourished in Def
Leppard. He discusses his days with Dio, his time
with Whitesnake and how it’s all Bolan’s fault…
ivian Campbell might
have been a member of Def
Leppard for more than a
quarter of a century, but he’s
still regarded as the ‘new boy’ in
the band. Prior to joining Leppard
in 1992, the genial Irish guitarist
was already enjoying a varied and
glittering career.
He was in his mid-teens when first
noticed with NWOBHM cult heroes
Sweet Savage. But Campbell’s real
breakthrough happened six years later, in
1983, when he was chosen as the guitarist
with Dio, fronted by the iconic former
Rainbow and Black Sabbath vocalist. He
played on the band’s first three albums,
which are still regarded are their finest,
before an acrimonious split in 1986. His
relationship with Ronnie James Dio
remained strained right up until the
latter’s death in 2010.
A year after being fired from Dio, he
was given the chance of replacing John
Sykes in Whitesnake, then at the peak of
their commercial powers. But this proved
to be a short-lived relationship, as he was
I BOUGHT LEPPARD’S SINGLE
WASTED IN THE PICTURE SLEEVE
WHEN IT FIRST CAME OUT.
shown the door after the 1987 world tour.
Brief flirtations with former Foreigner
vocalist Lou Gramm in Shadow King, as
well as teaming up with Riverdogs, were
no more than temporary diversions. In
1992 he was offered the difficult gig of
taking over from the late Steve Clark in
Def Leppard, and he’s been with the band
ever since.
There have also been other projects in
the meantime, including a solo album and
a brief stint with the reunited Thin Lizzy.
But Leppard has been the main focus of
his life in music since 1992.
Going back to your roots, do you recall
when you first wanted to be a musician?
That was all Marc Bolan’s fault. I saw him
on a Thursday night on Top Of The Pops
when I was about nine. It was either 1971
or ’72, and I had an epiphany. I knew right
then that I wanted to be a musician. I have
a sister who’s a little over a year older than
me, and I used to raid her clothes to dress
up as a rock star.
Who were you erly guitar heroes?
Have guitar, I had a cousin who was several years older
will travel: after
years as a than me and he played me Rory
topclass Gallagher, and I fell in love with his
sideman,
Viv’s found his playing. I remember he used to do the
true home with Ulster Hall in Belfast at the end of every
Def Leppard.
year, and the first gig I ever went to was
one of those. And the first album I bought
was Gallagher’s Live In Europe.
Did you have guitar lessons?
No, I was self-taught. Now, that can be a
mixed blessing. But I think if you are
selftaught then it allows you to develop
your own style. You pick up ideas through
trial and error, and that can make you a
lot more flexible. If you get lessons all the
time, you can be very rigid, and never get
the chance to become individual. You run
the risk of sounding like everyone else.
What was your first band?
Well, Sweet Savage, whom I joined when I
was 15. Before that I was almost in a
different band every week. If there was a
school dance going on, then I’d put
together a band specifically to play it. I
was in loads of bands who only ever did
one gig!
Talking of Sweet Savage, there’s always
been a rumour that the first Dio album,
Holy Diver, was based around the music
taken from that band. Is there any truth
in this story?
CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM 113