Manchester, England - Media Reviews

Def Leppard at Manchester Arena By Dom Walsh

After a hugely successful world tour which saw ticket sales break the 1 million sales barrier, legendary British rock 'n' roll icons Def Leppard rolled into Manchester showcasing their 1987 masterpiece, Hysteria.

As the show's countdown elapsed to 00:00 on the big screen, the band took to the stage and immediately sought to go about their business.

The opening trio of Women, Rocket and Animal made for a sensational start to the show. The topless Phil Collen and the smartly dressed Vivian Campbell delivered plenty of heavy riffs that gave the songs more oomph than their studio counterparts.

Throughout the show came a dazzling video and light show that took in the neon sleaze of LA during the monstrous Pour Some Sugar On Me and a wonderful montage trip through the bands history during the album’s title track which neatly and aptly segued into David Bowie’s Heroes to round off the song.

The most poignant moment came with a video tribute to former band member Steve Clarke before Gods of War, who sadly died in 1991.

Amongst the bombast of the big hitting songs from Hysteria, the balladry of Love Bites showed the kind of hit-making factory that Def Leppard became in the late 80s, on both sides of the Atlantic. The euphoric guitar licks and vocal harmonies are irresistible.

With each passing song of the album, Joe Elliot soaked up the adulation of the crowd up and down the catwalk, as well as goading every section of the arena. The crowd didn’t need any encouragement as they were deafening as the band ‘took the album home’ with Love and Affection.

The band returned for a hit-laden encore including Let’s Get Rocked and When Love And Hate Collide before a double shot from the band's Pyromania album in Rock of Ages and Photograph.

The denim isn’t quite as tight and some of the waistlines have expanded a little but Def Leppard are one of rock music’s true survivors. To see the emphatic nature of the band's performance in Manchester was a truly joyous spectacle.

Whilst the encore was loaded with big songs, the real star was Hysteria. At a little over 31 years old, it’s still a phenomenal album.

By Manchester Evening News 2018.

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Def Leppard (w/ Cheap Trick) @ Manchester Arena By Graham Finney

British hard rock bands don't come much bigger than Sheffield rockers Def Leppard who are currently working their way around the World celebrating their 1987 hit album Hysteria.

Joining them on the trek are US hard rockers Cheap Trick who do their best to live up to the bravado of their introduction as the "best f***in' rock band on the planet" with a forty minute set filled with the kind of swagger you only get in bands who've spent decades rocking the shit out of venues like this one which is exactly what Rick Neilsen and bandmates do tonight

Tonight is all about one band though and, in particular, one album Hysteria. It might be billed as a "Best Of" but this is all about that 1987 hit album and from the moment the countdown hits zero and shirtless guitarist Phil Collen is lit up wailing out the intro to "Women", you just know this is going to be a masterclass in how to put on a hard rock arena show.

You see, the thing about Hysteria is that it was polished (too much some would say) but it put the band on the world rock map as a household name and, even now, thirty+ years later, the Sheffield rockers don't put a foot wrong during this immaculate demonstration of classic rock. "Rocket", "Animal", "Pour Some Sugar On Me", as they did back in the '80s, the hits just keep pouring out from the band with this packed house lapping up every minute of it.

A touching tribute to (the sadly no longer with us) Steve Clarke preludes "Gods Of War" while "Love Bites" was the perfect example of the kind of '80s rock ballad that peppered the charts during that era. Yes, it's pure cheese but damn, watching Vivian Campbell calmly rocking out, Joe Elliot pulling all the textbook rockstar poses and Rick Savage strutting about all denim and blonde hair, it’s exactly how we remember it from the first time around.

The spine of the set finishes and the band return to let rip with the kind of encore that puts them in the category marked untouchable with "Let's Get Rocked", "When Love And Hate Collide", "Rock Of Ages" and "Photograph" taking the band racing towards the finish line leaving fans racing out of the doors to make sure that, if they aren't already, those tickets for the band's sure to be jaw-dropping appearance at Download Festival 2019 are in the bag.

By Pure Grain Audio 2018.

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