Page 71 - Classic Rock - The Complete Story of Def Leppard 2019
P. 71
RICK ALLEN
Do you have a favourite album? arms. It was interesting to be put in a You got me runnin’: wondering why are we doing this? Why
I have two that I really love, I love the Def situation where I had to figure them out. the boys sing the should we continue? This isn’t fun any
national anthem
Leppard album and I love Slang as well. It was really challenging. I used a system before a publicity more. But then, looking at one another, it
football game for
Those two records have more in common I call ‘substitution’ where if I can’t play it Philadelphia radio was like… Wow! We’re brothers. We
than a lot of our others. I mean, I love cleanly on one drum, I’ll substitute other station Z95FM actually have been doing this for so long
during 1983’s
playing Hysteria and Pyromania and all the beats on others drums. So I play Pyromania tour. and we really like each other.
other stuff. I like them all but your something that isn’t exactly the way Everybody has their own
favourites change… I originally played it, but is a version that idiosyncrasies – we know that – but
I think is more than acceptable. generally we just get on. That, coupled
Is there older stuff you’d like to play? with the fact that we still write music that
When we did Vegas (the Hysteria Finally, then, how do you account for we feel is relevant and we’re fans of.
anniversary Hard Rock Hotel residency, Def Leppard’s longevity? Fortunately, there’s an awful lot of other
spring 2013) and we created this covers The best answer I can give to that is: people who are, too! But genuinely,
band Dead Flatbird (who served as the because we like each other! After Steve without the friendship factor, the
opening act), we were playing a lot of died, I remember we were all just sitting brothers thing, it just wouldn’t work.
songs that I’d only ever played with two around in a room, really depressed, We just couldn’t do it.
THE PHYSICAL WOUNDS ARE ONE THING
BUT THE MENTAL STUFF THAT WAS GOING ON,
I DIDN’T REALLY UNDERSTAND THAT…
THE DEPTH OF THE TRAUMA.
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