Line-up

Headliner
Def Leppard Last time in Rättvik: First time!

Venue

Dalhalla

Dalhalla, 795 21, Rättvik, Sweden

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Def Leppard biography

Def Leppard are a hard rock and heavy metal band, formed in Sheffield in the UK in 1977. They are considered to be part of the New Wave of the British Heavy Metal movement.

Def Leppard have had a mix up of members, since 1992 they have consisted of Rick Savage on bass guitar and backing vocals, Joe Elliott who is the lead vocalist, Rick Allen playing the drums, Phil Collen on the guitar, and Vivian Campbell also on the guitar. This is the band's longest-standing line-up.

The band's success came in the 80s when they released their debut album, "On Through the Night", which successfully reached the 'Top 15' in the UK. Despite this success, the band performed at Reading Festival where they were greeted with unhappy fans who pelted beer cans and bottles filled with urine at them on stage. This came after fans were angry that the band were conforming to please an American market, being disloyal to their local roots.

However, after their release of their second album in 1981, named "High 'n' Dry", they began to find their feet and get to grips with their own original sound. Impressively, Def Leppard's video for "Bringin' On the Heartbreak" became one of the first metal videos played on MTV in 1982. This success brought the band back to likeness in America where they then went on to tour, opening for Ozzy Osbourne and Blackfoot.

Their most successful album came in the form of "Hysteria", released in 1987 considered on of the most successful bands of the ‘New Wave of British Heavy Metal’ in the 80s in the UK.

Live reviews

In case you aren’t convinced about Def Leppard’s present-day pulling power, consider this; in both 2009 and 2011, they headlined Download Festival. In the world of hard rock, they remain titans more than thirty-five years after their formation in Sheffield; on their own tours, too, they frequent arenas, with a fervent cult fanbase. Things, admittedly, have slowed down on the studio front; their last record, Songs from the Sparkle Lounge was released back in 2008 and met with a tepid reception, although a new full-length is being promised for 2015. Onstage, though, it’s very much business as usual; an impressive light show incorporates giant screens with visuals behind the band, but otherwise it’s largely left to the musicianship to take centre stage. Joe Elliott’s vocals are holding up nicely, despite decades of relentless touring - he’s one of only two original members - whilst Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell are by no means shy of a solo. Perhaps the biggest attraction, though, remains Rick Allen behind the kit - surely the world’s finest one-armed drummer, having overcome the loss of his left arm in a car accident back in the eighties to earn the nickname - from Leppard fans - of The Thunder God, and not without reason.

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