Page 139 - Classic Rock - The Complete Story of Def Leppard 2019

RICK SAVAGE
Perm-anent member:
bassist Rick Savage.
The other big hitter who had a big
influence on your early success was
legendary producer Robert John
‘Mutt’ Lange.
The first album, On Through The Night, was
recorded relatively quickly, in just a few
weeks, with producer Tom Allom, who
was Judas Priest’s producer at the time. We
had no idea how important [Mutt coming
in] would be at the beginning. We just
hoped that it would be as important as it
had been for AC/DC and Foreigner and the
Boomtown Rats. Mutt was a pretty hard-
core disciplinarian in those early days, but
he needed to be. We thought you made
records like we had with Tom Allom,
where we basically played our live set.
[Mutt] put me and Rick Allen through
the fucking wringer on High ‘N’ Dry.
Reviewing it in Sounds, Geoff Barton said
the biggest improvement in this and the
first album was my vocals. Which it was.
Mutt made me realise that somewhere
deep down inside myself was a singer, not
just a guy pretending to be one. And he
knew Rick was a great drummer but he
didn’t want him to rely just on what he
knew. He forced him to push on to the
next level. With the guitars it was the same
thing. He really worked them hard. But
Pete was easy to work because Pete was
a fantastic player – when he wasn’t
distracted by substances and stuff. Steve
was in a tiny little shell, scared to death
to come out of it. Sav was playing the
bass, which was Mutt’s instrument
when he was in a band. He’d push us
and push until we’re going: “Fuck off.
I’m not doing it again.” And he’d go:
“Fine. We’ll come back to it
tomorrow.” We’d be like: “Do you
talk to everybody in bands like this?”
He’d be: “Yeah.”
utt Lange would go on to
produce the heady brace of
Malbums that not only became
the biggest-selling albums of Leppard’s
career, Pyromania (1983) and Hysteria
(1987), but also would actually redefine
Leppard’s founding bassist has been there every step of the way. We
collared Sav to hear about the in-jokes, the albums that slipped between
the cracks and why he’d rather play for the masses than for the hipsters.
Interview: Henry Yates
When you formed Leppard, did it feel like song, and when it was finished you’d think:
the start of a world-beating rock band? “Bloody hell, that’s actually quite good.”
In a strange kind of way it did. Whether
every bunch of teenagers that starts a band You’ve had plenty of good and bad luck,
feels that way, and whether it was just naïve haven’t you?
enthusiasm, I don’t know, but me and Joe I know people have been quoted as saying:
definitely felt there was something special “They’re the unluckiest band in the world.”
there. Looking back, there was no real That’s nonsense. We’ve had some bad
grounds for it, because we were pretty things happen in the camp over the years,
rubbish. At that time, we knew we weren’t no doubt about that. But hasn’t everybody?
super musicians, but we clicked when it
came to coming up with ideas. Do you think you could have handled the
situations with Steve and Pete differently?
Back then, did Joe seem like he’d be one of With Pete, I think we were more patient
the great rock frontmen of the eighties? than most people would be. We did give
It was hard to say, because him a lot of chances to get
we’d never really heard him “ADRENALIZE IS THE himself straightened out.
sing. It was his enthusiasm It wasn’t as straightforward
that got him the job, if you FIRST TIME I DON’T as “You’re fired”, it just
like. He’d be the first to THINK WE PUT OUR comes to the point where
admit that when we started HEART AND SOUL it couldn’t continue.
he had to develop his voice. CORRECTLY INTO IT.” With Steve, it’s really
Not really improving it, but difficult when somebody
is on this cycle of…
developing an identity with I wouldn’t say self-destruction, but just
it. But in every other aspect he was born
to do it. difficult to handle. It needs to come from
that person to turn things around. They can
How has Leppard tested your friendship get all the support and help, but that can
since then? only go so far.
However your friendship was in those early
years, regardless of what happens in the Do you think Leppard lost their way after
next forty you never lose it. Nothing’s Steve’s death?
changed. It’s like being in a bubble. It was a very difficult period in the life of the
We have the same jokes, we say band. And it took us a long while to come
the same quotes from Fawlty out the other side. I personally feel like the
Towers and Blackadder. The whole Adrenalize album was an album made
world outside of the bubble by people in a trance. I wasn’t completely
gets older, and we just stay one hundred per cent there. And it’s the first
doing what we’re doing. time I don’t think we put our heart and soul
There’s no need for fist-fights, correctly into it. We did as much as we
or walking out and leaving could, but it just felt like we were
tours, or bad-mouthing sleepwalking through the process. And
each other. The thought because of that, the album has a certain
of that is just so alien vibe and sound that, to me, doesn’t have the
to me.
unbelievable ground-breaking touches that
the previous two albums did.
Was Mutt Lange as
tough on you as he was Do you think of yourself as the guardian of
on everybody else? the band, in a sense?
Yeah. Every single Not really. Factually, it’s me and Joe that
element that went into have been in the band the longest. But
a song was equally you all develop little roles. Joe will always
important. The sound be the flag bearer and mouthpiece. I really
of the hi-hat was as don’t like doing interviews. But Joe seems to
important as the voice. thrive on it. He’s such a fan of music and he
There was no favouritism loves representing the band. So why not?
and no bullying either. He Go ahead!
would bring the best out
of you without you ever What do you feel are Leppard’s most
feeling: “God, I hate this underrated moments?
guy. Why can’t we just go Slang kind of slipped between the cracks.
to the pub?” You’d just At the time, the masses of the Leppard fans
edge your way through the were expecting another Pour Some Sugar
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