Monday, 19th January 2015
Screenshot by dltourhistory
Def Leppard were interviewed for a two part documentary on the making of the Adrenalize album in early 1992 and video footage is available.
It was filmed in Los Angeles either January or early February 1992 as the band were mixing 'Adrenalize' and starting to audition new guitar players.
A different version was also shown on Headbanger's Ball which featured only Joe talking about the making of the album. You can see this version in video three from 4:58 onwards and into most of video four. Both parts were first shown by MTV Europe in March 1992. These videos are from a re-broadcast on 23rd January 1993 as part of Def Leppard Sunday.
These specials have been on Youtube before. Uploaded by me one week before Viacom decided to sue YT - Oops. Enjoy them while they are still available.
Watch both special in the playlist below. Once again posted on YT by Bille. A full transcript of the Steve comments has also been added.
Reaction To Steve's Death - Band Quotes 1992
Joe Elliott
"I got home and there was a message on my answering machine from Cliff Burnstein, one of our two managers. Phone me, it's pretty important. So I rang him up, I hadn't got a clue what it was gonna be about and he says have you heard?. And I said no I haven't heard anything. And he said Steve's dead."
"Well initially I just sat there and I went, wow because it was a shock but it wasn't a shock you know. It wasn't a shock like Rick losing his arm. When Rick lost his arm, that was a shock. That's something that you don't expect. But when somebody tells you that your guitarist of 14 years, that's been an alcoholic for longer is dead. Then it's not really as - well not a surprise. It's a shock maybe but you can't say you weren't expecting it. You know it's almost like when your Granny dies. She's 99, she's had a good innings. You're upset but you're not necessarily shocked you know."
And it took a long time for it to sink in. It weeks and weeks before I really got into the proper mourning mode as it were. You know I didn't - I don't know. I just accepted it, it was really strange. I think that with what happened to Rick happening over a Christmas period again like seven years previously or six years previously. Maybe that prepared me for it or something I don't know but it was. I actually handled it very well. I was surprised at myself to be quite honest. I just - I got on with what I had to do. We had to talk to a few- we had to prepare a press release, visit his parents. You know all that kind of thing. We got together as a band to decide what we were gonna do. Just general things. We just threw ourselves into work to try and get over it. That's basically what we did. We didn't sit around moping about it. But it was a great shock and it was a very upsetting thing."
"To be quite honest with you the thing that annoys me most about you - on my 30th birthday I started to think Jesus I'm getting old you know. And then when Steve died and he was only just 30 years old it made me realise how young 30 is. And it woke me up a little bit and it made me realise that there's a long way to go before I can consider myself old. And I was upset for him just in the sense that I know there was so much going off in his head. In a negative way, because of all his drinking problems. But alongside that there were so many good positive things that are now never gonna see the light of day. Whether it be a song or a painting or whatever because the guy had talent and it's just a real shame that for the people that are interested. They are never gonna see what never came. You know because there was a lot of unfulfilled promises in Steve Clark."
"He was a guy that had a great sense of humour. He could be the most depressing person in the world. He could be the most up person in the world. All within the space of fifteen minutes. He was impossible to put a handle on. He was the most unpredictable member of the band. He was probably the mos glamorous member of the band. He was a very shy guy which sometimes came across as arrogance to a lot of people that didn't know him because he really was just so shy that he couldn't handle talking to people he didn't know very well. He was great on stage. He was the most amazing person on stage. However a skinny little guy like him could hold that guitar above his head for five or six minutes at a time and keep playing the bloody thing, is just mind blowing to me. And we miss him terribly."
Rick Allen
"My initial reaction was one of not really being that, that shocked because he'd been ill for so long and we knew he was having problems - personal problems. I think I got more upset about the whole situation when we actually saw each other. You know as a band again. It was strange that one person was missing and that he was never really coming back."
Rick Savage
"There's such a feeling of desperation about the whole thing you know. A little bit of helplessness because throughout the years. It wasn't - it was one of the best kept secrets basically. Steve had a problem for a long time. But was managing to cope with it most of the time. And the last couple of years were really hard on the band and really hard on Steve. You know I'm talking about going to AA meetings with him, family days. Stuff like that - interventions, the whole thing. We now have an insight of what it's like for a person that's maybe married to an alcoholic. It's a hard life and to a certain extent the band as a whole suffered, because it does, it drains you having to put so much attention and looking after one particular person."
Phil Collen
"Obviously a great friend and all that stuff and it was horrible to see what happened to him. You know and nothing anyone could do. Him included because he tried very hard. And yeah - we missed him before he died because you know he was just having such an awful time."
Steve Clark - 2015 Anniversary Updates
- 17th January 2015 - (24 Years Since Funeral)
- 8th January 2015 - (24th Anniversary Of Death)
- 8th January 2015 - (Rare Interview Video)
- 8th January 2015 - (Tribute Fan Videos)
- 8th January 2015 - (Gravesite Fan Photos)
- 8th January 2015 - (Hysteria Tour Photo Gallery)
- Def Leppard - Steve Clark Band Page
- Previous News - 17th January 2015