Def Leppard enjoyed the process of recording virtually so much during the pandemic — they’re looking to keep doing it in the future. Frontman Joe Elliott shed light on howe the band recorded their new album, Diamond Star Halos, which drops on May 27th, telling Classic Rock magazine, “It was so exciting to wake up in Dublin and see a message from (guitarist) Phil (Collen) with a new idea. This was a whole new way of working for us — and I don’t think we’ll ever do an album the traditional way again. This way, there was no pressure. And the record doesn’t sound disjointed. It sounds like a band all on the same page, which is what we are.”
This time around, guitarist Viv Campbell sat out of the composing duties for the album, admitting, “I just wasn’t ready this time. That’s the bottom line. I thought we were going on tour, and then it was: ‘We’re making a record!’ I was in full panic mode. I do feel bad for not pulling my weight. But it wasn’t like we were short of songs.”
Joe Elliott added: “Vivian was happy to do the Ronnie Wood thing on this record. But his contribution to this record is immense from a performance point of view. His (Jimi) Hendrix-like solo in ‘This Guitar’ is superb.”
In pulling the “diamond star halos’ line from the 1971 T. Rex classic “Get It On (Gang-A-Gong) for their album title, Joe Elliott explained, “Whenever people take a dig at our lyrics, we’ve always said: ‘We’re more Marc Bolan than Bob Dylan, more ‘hubcap diamond star halo’ than ‘the answer is blowin’ in the wind’! So when Phil suggested the title, we all went: ‘F***, yes!’ Glam is in our DNA. We’re all big fans of (Led) Zeppelin and the (Rolling) Stones, but really, in a musical sense, we were born on Top Of The Pops — (David) Bowie, Bolan, Slade, Sweet. With this album we’ve gone back beyond the ’80s to the ’70s and all the music that inspired us as kids. Yet it still sounds like 2022 — even though we did it in 2020.”
- Def Leppard / Motley Crue / Poison / Joan Jett & The Blackhearts “The Stadium Tour” dates (subject to change):
June 16 – Atlanta, GA – SunTrust Park
June 18 – Miami, FL – Hard Rock Stadium
June 19 – Orlando, FL – Camping World Stadium
June 22 – Washington, D.C. – Nationals Park
June 24 – Flushing, NY – Citi Field
June 25 – Philadelphia, PA – Citizens Bank Park
June 28 – Charlotte, NC – Bank of America Stadium
June 30 – Nashville, TN – Nissan Stadium
July 2 – Jacksonville, FL – TIAA Bank Field
July 5 – St. Louis, MO – Busch Stadium
July 8 – Chicago, IL – Wrigley Field
July 10 – Detroit, MI – Comerica Park
July 12 – Hershey, PA – Hersheypark Stadium
July 14 – Cleveland, OH – FirstEnergy Stadium
July 15 – Cincinnati, OH – Great American Ball Park
July 17 – Milwaukee, WI – Miller Park
July 19 – Kansas City, MO – Kauffman Stadium
July 21 – Denver, CO – Coors Field
August 5, 6 – Boston, MA – Fenway Park
August 8 – Toronto, ON – Rogers Centre
August 10 – Orchard Park, NY – New Era Field
August 12 – Pittsburgh, PA – PNC Park
August 14 – Minneapolis, MN – U.S. Bank Stadium
August 16 – Indianapolis, IN – Lucas Oil Stadium
August 19 – Houston, TX- Minute Maid Park
August 21 – San Antonio, TX – Alamodome
August 22 – Arlington, TX – Globe Life Field
August 25 – Glendale, AZ – State Farm Stadium
August 27 – Los Angeles, CA – SoFi Stadium
August 28 – San Diego, CA – Petco Park
August 31 – Seattle, WA – T-Mobile Park
September 2 – Vancouver, BC – BC Place
September 4 – Edmonton, AB – Commonwealth Stadium
September 7 – San Francisco, CA – Oracle Park
September 9 – Las Vegas, NV – Allegiant Stadium
SIDE NOTES
The tracklisting to Def Leppard ‘Diamond Star Halos’ is:
“Take What You Want”
“Kick”
“Fire It Up”
“This Guitar” – featuring Alison Krauss
“SOS Emergency”
“Liquid Dust”
“U Rok Mi”
“Goodbye For Good This Time”
“All We Need”
“Open Your Eyes”
“Gimme A Kiss”
“Angels (Can’t Help You Now)”
“Lifeless” – featuring Alison Krauss
“Unbreakable”
“From Here To Eternity”
CHECK IT OUT: Def Leppard’s 2022 lyric video for “Take What You Want”: