Sheffield, England - Media Reviews

Def Leppard @ Sheffield City Hall By Dominic Roskrow

Surely nothing else could go wrong, could it?. Surely nothing could deprive Def Leppard of their triumphant homecoming after years of tragedy and disaster. Surely nobody would have minded a degree of indulgence as they worked off the pent up frustration of the months gone by.

It went wrong, Joe Elliott, picking up a serious back injury in Ireland two days before, was still in hospital at midday on the day of the gig, and missed the soundcheck. And some malevolent spirit hid itself away in the sound system and spent the concert playing mischief with the sound.

Perhaps it was the ghost of John Bonham, determined to stop them in their aim of becoming as important as Led Zeppelin. After all, it would explain Rick Allen's arm accident, and why the sound mysteriously drowned out the Zeppelin section of 'Rock Of Ages'...

Despite it all, Leppard had the edge on the night, and when they appeared onstage a wave of emotion somewhere between disbelief and relief swept through the auditorium. Elliott, covering his injury admirably, picked up on it straight away, and set about the audience in blistering style, happy to extend the hand of friendship to the audience while reminding them that they owe Leppard.

Leppard dress down for the big occasion. Decked in jeans and T-shirts, they deliberately steered clear of the stripey trousers or glam image, concentrating their energy on a 100 minute set drawn mainly from the last three albums.

Elliott, in fact, tried too hard, his voice adopting an almost manic pitch at the expense of the melody that makes 'Hysteria' so special. The two exceptions were when it mattered most, however; on the new album's title track, and on one of the highlights of the evening, a mainly acoustic version of 'Bringin' On The Heartache'.

'Billy's Got a Gun' and 'Photograph' from 'Pyromania', 'Let It Go' and 'Hit And Run' from 'High 'N' Dry', newies like 'Women', 'Animal' and 'Don't Shoot Shotgun' were other high points, while the lighting for 'Gods Of War' would take some beating in the drama stakes.

The biggest cheer was kept for Rick Allen, who seemed at ease with his specially-adapted drum kit, while solo spots by both guitarists were kept mercifully short and to the point.

Not an easy night by any stretch of the imagination, but Leppard are a fine rock band who can almost effortlessly switch from melody to metal and still sound as good as anyone else in their field. Now, if only they could throw off the bad luck jinx, and really let go...

By Record Mirror 1987.

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