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40 Years Ago DEF LEPPARD Debut HIGH 'n' DRY Songs In LEEDS (Concert Review)

Def Leppard 2020. Def Leppard 1980

Def Leppard played a show on the On Through The Night tour in Leeds, England on 12th December 1980 and an archive concert review is available to read.

Record Mirror reviewed the show which took place at the Fforde Grene Hotel.

Another show on a small scale club tour ahead of recording of the 'High 'n' Dry' album in March 1981.

The band had been due to start working with Mutt in October 1980 but had to wait longer then planned.

Joe suggested a small club tour to road test new songs.

Three of the four new songs are confirmed as - 'This Ship Sails Tonight' - which would go on to become 'Too Late For Love' on the 'Pyromania' album.

'When The Rain Falls' - which would become 'Let It Go' and have been debuted already in April 1980, and eventually be released in 2020 on 'The Early Years' box set.

One of the other new songs was 'High 'n' Dry (Saturday Night)' which would be used to open the shows.

The tour was discussed in the 1987 'Animal Instinct' biography and this show was reviewed by Record Mirror magazine.


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Def Leppard 1981.

Record Mirror - Concert Review Quotes

"'High 'n' Dry' is too weak a number to open with, as for the first few vital seconds it drags along as an utter nonentity."

"Still, everyone was head banging along from the start."

"They've played here before and both times their reputation has preceded them, with long queues forming early."


Tour Story - 'Animal Instinct 1987'

Although the songwriting was going well, the group was getting restless waiting for Mutt.

The October starting date had tuned to November, then January.

Joe became impatient and suggested a short December club tour to test the new material and at least show the British metal fans that Def Leppard hadn't turned its backs on them.

The tour was originally just going to be the two shows at Chesterfield Aquarius, as promised to the paper factory mogul.

But over Steve and Pete's misgivings, it turned into a week long series of shows of some of their old club haunts like the Nottingham Boat Club and Retford Porterhouse.

"I didn't want to do the tour." Steve assets. "It was a way to test the new songs, but it seemed silly, that we were trying to prove something to the kids. It would look like we'd a;ready peaked and that we were trailing off, going back to the old clubs. I wanted to play in front of 3,000 people again, not 300."

"He was right." Joe concludes. "It was my fault and it was, one of the first big mistakes I'd ever made. Steve was totally against it and rightfully so."

"We got some good press from it, but it was a financial disaster and a waste of a week."

Def Leppard 1980.

"Attendance was depressing."

"When Leppard played at the Nottingham Boat Club eleven months earlier, four hundred people were turned away at the door."

"This time, 87 people showed up."

"Only one hundred and fifty fans came to Retford Porterhouse."

"In Dunstable, Leppard did good business, about 800 folks."

"But the show was a disaster."

"Joe only got halfway up the speaker stack during one of his climb-the-PA-stunts when he fell off, straight on to his ass."

"Peter Willis' guitar also kept going on the fritz."

"Fortunately two guitarists from a London-based glam-metal band called Girl, Gerry Laffy and Phil Collen, came to cheer the Leppards on."

"Phil helped Pete switch guitars during one number when Pete's roadie momentarily disappeared."

"The band debuted four new songs at the show but without much success."

"Joe called out one number and when the band kicked in, Rick Allen started playing the wrong song."

"'We weren't familiar with all the titles yet' Joe says sheepishly. 'We had to start that one again'."

A little poorer and a lot wiser, Leppard went back to Sheffield to resume waiting.


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