[ Def Leppard UK - 9th May 2008 News ]
| Def Leppard Sparkle On BBC News |
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Def Leppard have been interviewed by BBC News during the UK promotion this week for the new album. Emma Jones spoke to the band after their Islington show. Joe and Phil were also interviewed on BBC Breakfast this morning:
Interview Highlights:
But to mark the release of new album Songs From The Sparkle Lounge - predicted to go top five this weekend - just 200 fans got to see them storm through their greatest hits at north London's Islington Academy.
Joe Elliott: "There's a certain safety in stadiums, With a tiny gig like the one we just did, you can hear everything the audience is saying about you, and you have to watch out where they're putting their beer glasses. A couple of times I wanted to lift my mic-stand but I was worried about taking off Sav's head."
Rick Allen: "We all live at Joe's when we're recording, and then we're all together when we're touring. We're always together."
Phil Collen: "We've toured every year for the last four years, We want to promote our current album because we think it's great, and we also think our live show is great. Some of the stuff we've put out over the years wasn't that good. But now, our UK tour is nearly sold out. It just goes to show, if you try hard enough and work at it, you get this reward."
Joe Elliott: "We haven't gone country, Tim went rock, The bands we grew up with, like UFO and Thin Lizzy, were not metal bands, We've spent a quarter of a century trying to educate people and they just don't listen. We eventually put out an album of covers by people like David Essex and Blondie but even that hasn't got the point across that we have never been influenced by metal bands like Motorhead or Black Sabbath."
"We'll have three homecoming gigs. Belfast for Viv, London for Phil and Sheffield for the rest of us," he says. "You can imagine what the guest list will be like. It's always a mixture of emotions because you know you have to get your auntie in and having your family there is always a pressure. If it's a gig in North Dakota you just get on with it, but if it's the UK, you want to go out there and get it right, because it's your hometown."
"The beauty of it all is that for 10 or 15 years the value of music was going down. No kid was asking for a guitar or a drum kit, they all wanted was a Nintendo. OK, now it's the same scenario, but at least there's some kind of rock and roll which is getting them involved in music again."
"Alex Turner is a great writer," says Elliott. "He is a poet. Hailing him as the new Dylan though, that's a little far-fetched, let's see how he does in 10 years. But good on them.
"They've joined the ranks of us, the Human League, Joe Cocker and Dave Berry as Sheffield's musical exports. Woo-hoo!"
Might be worth checking out the Entertainment 24 feature - on at various times on BBC News 24. Looks like all the news outlets recorded video at the Islington gig. Decent UK promo at last! The album is expected to beat the Best Of number 6 entry and go top 5 (first time since Slang).
A number of new UK interviews have surfaced today with various band members: who are doing press at the Landmark Hotel in London.
Read The Full BBC Interview - Here
UK Interview 1 - Liverpool Echo (Joe)
UK Interview 2 - Manchester Evening News (Phil/Sav)
UK Interview 3 - Glasgow Daily Record (Joe/Phil)
Def Leppard - Songs From The Sparkle Lounge
Buy Def Leppard 'Songs From The Sparkle Lounge' - Here
