Pre-Rock Of Ages Speech -- By Joe Elliott

"We don't really say much, when we're on stage, we just let the music do the talking. But it occured to me the other night when we were starting the tour off in Dublin. Where we'd actually been and where we'd actually arrived at. And it's 23 years since we last played here. When we were third on the bill to Ozzy and the Scorps and we had the great experience of playing with people like Motorhead - and Bad News!. But what you've gotta remember about what happened 23 years ago is this RICK ALLEN!. You see the hairs on my arm, they're up man. Just like they were in 1986. It was one year before we released the Hysteria album. There we were, we weren't really sure what was gonna go on. But he'd fought his way back from a terrific injury and everybody here, which we totally appreciate it wasn't everybody here, but it was - this was the spiritual rebirth of this boy at the back. It will always be Donington to us. Make some noise for Rick Allen will ya!. Stand up again man this is never gonna happen again come on. It's the human spirit winning over anything, this is the man. So before he starts f**king blubbing all over his cymbals, which I think he already is doing, I'm sorry Rick I had to do it man. He's gonna introduce this next song. And it goes something like this - Gunter Gleiben Glouten Globen."

Pre-Show Comment -- By Joe Elliott

"It's 23 years since we last played what was then known as Donington, and let's not forget it was Rick Allen's first real gig after his accident. - To be able to come back 23 years later and headline Download gives us an immense feeling of pride, especially following last summers extremely successful arena tour with Whitesnake. It's going to be great to tread the boards with those guys again."

After Show Comment -- By Rick Allen

"It kind of took me full circle, Really the same thing happened again, all these years later. I feel so blessed to be doing what I'm doing. It restores my faith in human beings."

Fan Review -- By Richard

I was at the Download festival yesterday to see Def Leppard and thought they totally kicked ass! Whitesnake were ok but DL just raised the bar to a new level!

Download was the 8th time I've seen DL and one of the best shows I've seen. I've been a fan since 1987 and have all their albums, a number of singles and a few bootleg cd's (including their first ever club gig with Vivian-where they play Die hard the Hunter!) and dvds (Wasted in Tokyo 1999 and Sun Mohegan Centre, 2005).

Fan Review -- By

Feel free to add one at any time.

Media Review -- Def Leppard By terrybezer

If you thought tonight's Def Leppard set would be heavily laced with irony, you would be wrong. Likewise, if you feel that things might have been lame in any way, shape or form, this really wasn't. Hell, the Lep were so good that even 'When Love And Hate Collide' was incredible.

It's very easy to forget just how many astoundingly good songs this band have but playing a complete greatest hits setlist to 70,000 people, Def Leppard roll back the years and provide the perfect end to this year's festival.

A classic rock ending to a phenomenal weekend is something that should definitely be repeated next year. The only problem will be how can you possibly top a performance like the one seen tonight.
terrybezer © Metal Hammer 2009.

Media Review -- By Nick Ruskell

The headliners last played Donington 23 years ago, celebrating the truly heroic return of drummer Rick Allen following the loss of his arm in a horrific car accident. It was a triumph then and, as Download quakes under the Sheffield quintet's might, tonight is another victory. This is how good you get when you spend literally decades rocking arenas, but this is more than just another gig, and the look on Joe Elliott's face as he salutes his drummer is every bit as powerful as Photograph, Rock Of Ages and Let's Get Rocked. Gentlemen, you did yourselves proud.
Nick Ruskell © Kerrang! 2009.

Media Review -- Download Festival 2009 - Day 3 By Vox Online

The setting sun once again proved to be an excellent backdrop for the headliners of the evening. It also cast a dispirited feeling over the tens of thousands of people patiently waiting for the classic entrance of Def Leppard . It was the last sunset of the weekend and the last performance too, and even though the anticipation of the legendary rockers had us all teetering with excitement, one couldnt help but feel slightly disheartened as the end of the rock behemoth that is Download Festival was just hours away.

It's very easy to forget just how much a part of one's life Def Leppard was back in the days, and how many astoundingly good songs they have in their back catalogue. Once they kicked off, the feeling of nostalgia was over-powering. Providing us with renditions taken from their complete greatest hits setlist, Def Leppard were the perfect end to this year's festival. To the delight of the crowd, they played old favourites such as 'Animal' and 'Photograph' as well as newer material from their 2008's 'Songs From The Sparkle Lounge'. It was truly phenomenal witnessing over 70,000 fans singing 'Love Bites' word for word, and even more so, the fact that I seemed to remember the lyrics to all of their classics. At one point during the beginning of the set, frontman Joe Elliott spoke about how good it was to be able to play in daylight and asked the crowd to turn around and look back at the tens of thousands of people on the arena. "It's amazing from where I'm standing," he said. And it was an exceptional sight. The sea of heads stretched out to a point where the last ones disappeared from your line of vision. A combination of an exhaustive weekend where most of us had used up all of our energy reserves and a more composed crowd made it possible for one to enjoy the show without having to glue their feet to the ground to avoid being knocked over. The mix was perfect. From the choice of band, to the crowd, to the weather.

The last time Def Leppard played at Donington was in 1986, and after a lively 'Pour Some Sugar on Me' Elliot explained to the crowd how they had first played Donington at the Monsters of Rock festival, and how much that gig had meant to them. Elliot brought Download to an end tonight with a stirring tribute to drummer Rick Allen - he spoke of how their 1986 gig had been his comeback after having had his arm amputated following a serious car accident and of his 'spiritual rebirth' at that point in time. His words were so moving that the Download crowd cheered and applauded Allen who stood up behind his drums, raising his arm before wiping tears from his eyes. It was an extremely emotional and moving tribute. Elliot then went on to accuse Allen of "blubbing all over his cymbals". A touching end to an amazing set and an eventful weekend filled with all kinds of emotion. Yes, Download should certainly consider keeping this 'Classical Sunday' as part of their trademark, because it really does work.

Download Festival truly rocked, and the crowds rolled. Donington Park is definitely the spiritual home of Rock. Spectacular !
© Vox Online 2009.