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Def Leppard Slang World Tour 1996/97. :: Tour Dates
Def Leppard Slang World Tour - 1996-1997

Band Line-Up - Joe Elliott, Rick Savage, Rick Allen, Phil Collen, Vivian Campbell.

Shows Listed - 133. Live Recordings - 39.

First Show - Bangkok Thailand 27th May 1996. Thailand.

Last Show - San Juan Puerto Rico 27th April 1997. Puerto Rico.


"We Show The World a Brand New Face"

Phil Collen 1996. For the first time ever the band started a world tour in Asia. Kicking off at the very same place where the Pyromania tour had ended in 1984. Bangkok, Thailand. The back to basics approach taken towards the end of the 1993 tour was taken a step further with a very bare stage setup, black Marshall amps, small drum riser and a minimum of lights. The band wanted to reflect the approach and sound of the album: listen to the muscians, rather than watch the stage show. Rick Allen played a full acoustic kit as he had in late 1995 along with foot pedals allowing him to play acoustic snare drums with both his left foot and arm. This made for the most organic and raw live sound the band had had at live shows since the early 80s.
First time shows followed in Indonesia, Malaysia, Phillipines and South Korea with that show being filmed and broadcast by local TV. Many new songs were tried out including 'Truth?', 'Gift Of Flesh' that did not remain in the set for very long. 'Miss You In A Heartbeat' made it's debut at a full Lep show with Phil on lead vocals.
Another successful Japanese tour took place in June with the bands 4th and 5th appearances at the legendary Budokan in Tokyo. 'When Love & Hate Collide' was introduced as a semi-acoustic version. The tour also included a first time visit to the city of Fukuoka. Whilst in Japan longtime photographer Ross Halfin took a number of photos that would later end up in a book titled 'None More Black', using the name for the forthcoming US Tour. Phil was joined by his son Rory for these dates.

"None More Black"

The US tour, their shortest since 1980, would kick off in, yes there really is a, Kalamazoo, in Michigan. Supported by Texan alternative band Tripping Daisy the band stuck mostly to playing outdoor amphitheatres. Sadly although most venues could hold up to 15-25,000 people the audiences were down to 4-5,000 in some cities, reflecting dissapointing sales of the album during the mid-90s alternative boom. On the whole the tour did quite well attracting almost 20,000 fans in Milwaukee. For the first time the band played a small club show in between main tour dates with a show in Atlanta's Celebrity Cafe.
A couple of special guests would join the band on this leg. Firstly Joe's idol Ian Hunter singing lead vocals on the Mott The Hoople classic/Joe's favourite song 'All The Young Dudes' in Middletown, NJ. Recorded and later released on an Ian Hunter compilation album. In San Diego, Gloria Flores sang backing vocals (in Spanish) on 'Slang', as she had done on the album version. In Sacramento, Tesla guitarist Brian Wheat's band, SoulMotor supported the band and future live B-sides were recorded at the Mountain View show on Aug 31st.
During this leg the band played the ultra rare acoustic song "Where Does Love Go When It Dies" and the classic "High 'N' Dry (Saturday Night)". The band mimed for Top Of The Pops at the soundcheck in Detroit, beamed by satellite to the UK during July.
After wrapping up the US shows the band headed to Canada for a full tour having already visited Toronto. The infamous near-death plane journey occured on this leg when the band's private plane suddenly dropped a couple of thousand feet in altitude. Luckily for them, and us, they survived and continued with the tour ending in New Brunswick at the Moncton Coliseum. Sav later described the incident as his most memorable moment of the Slang tour.

Rick Savage 1996. "Slang At Home"

Back to Europe where the album had been received rather better than Stateside. UK band Terrorvision were the support act throughout this leg and on to the UK. The first act to have supported Lep on two successive tours. As with previous tours many dates were played in Germany along with first time visits to Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. And the bands first headline show in the small Benelux country Luxembourg. The band would add new single "Breathe A Sigh" to the set during this leg. Another song not played since. The band's UK tour featured more arenas than any previous tour, or since. Kicking off with a sold-out hometown show at the Sheffield Arena, recorded by the BBC, and followed by two nights in Birmingham where the band would add the rarely played "Turn To Dust". After winning a charity football match in London the band played Dublin's Point and first time arena shows in Manchester and Newcastle. In London the bands two nights at Wembley Arena outsold reunion shows by the reformed original line-up of KISS.
The band then returned to Exeter for the first time since 1980 to play a small acoustic show for competition winners.

"Unos Dos Tres Quatro!"

Dec 1996 saw the band's first ever visit to South Africa. Taking in three huge stadium dates with local bands in support. Almost 50,000 fans turned up in Johannesbourg for a show recorded and broadcast by local TV. The only professionally filmed full show on this tour. After taking a Christmas/New Year break the band returned to the road to play their first ever South American tour. Two Mexican shows were followed by debuts in 9 countries with wildly enthusiastic audiences coming to see the band. The show in Panama took place at a now-closed US Military base in Fort Amador for 16,000 fans. Much Music filmed a show in Buenos Aires, Argentina and the band appeared on Brazilian MTV. Another rare club show took place in Argentina before the tour ended in Puerto Rico. Sadly none of the Slang songs would be played live again other than it's title track. This was the first tour since 1984 that Sav would not use a trademark headset mike, sticking to a normal mike for the whole tour.


Please contribute [ Fan Reviews/Pics ] for any dates attended. Any information for this Def Leppard tour would be greatly appreciated.



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