Def Leppard News - Phil Collen Says Def Leppard Album Sessions Were A Joy

Phil Collen Says Def Leppard Album Sessions Were A Joy

Monday, 13th June 2016

Def Leppard 2016.
Screenshot by dltourhistory

Def Leppard guitarists Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell were recently interviewed by MusicRadar and mentioned the current album.

Vivian and Phil both talked about the current Def Leppard studio album, its recording process/songs, other guitarists, big choruses/guitar riffs, old tour incidents, loudness of their shows, recording with Mutt Lange, guitars/equipment, Pro Tools recording, the success of Hysteria, Vivian's health, and the future for guitar music.

Phil mentioned the 2014 Dublin album sessions and recalled the car accident that was left out of 'Animal Instinct' (first mentioned by him in a Dutch video interview in 2006). Phil and Steve had crashed into the wall of a shop whilst driving drunk in Holland during the making of the 'Hysteria' album.

The interview was conducted backstage at the Cardiff, Wales show on 16th December 2015.

Visit the Album News section. For more news on new music (based on band member quotes) dating back to January 2011.

Music Radar - Phil Collen Interview Quotes

Do you have any memories of the sessions in Dublin?

"It was a joy. One of the great things was, we did it in three sections. It was a bit like The Stones, when they were at Muscle Shoals for two days and did Brown Sugar and Wild Horses. You didn’t get bogged down."

"What was great about this album is that we knew when to stop. This was the first album we’ve done where we didn’t get confused in the studio. It was different when Mutt was recording us, because he was a genius, and he’d go, ‘Okay, let’s try this’ - and it usually worked."

How wild did Leppard tours get back in the day?

"Me and [late guitarist] Steve Clark used to drink a lot. We’d get bollocks-drunk and do really stupid things. I remember, we were in Holland once and I had this Porsche. We flew over a bridge, slithered on some leaves and went into a shop - and I got arrested. Stupid shit like that, which I really don’t think is funny. But it’s been 28 years since I’ve had a drink.”."