Pete Willis - The only REAL Def Leppard

[Von Halen]

I think Campbell has dropped out because of his cancer. But I agree. I really thought he would provide more edge than he did. I think he was just a hired gun, and really had no input. This has to be Elliot and Collen's band now. I believe they ruined it for radio, and can't figure out how to get back to their roots. Which wouldn't work in the climate of todays music and music business, anyway.

[Seshmeister]

Pyromania was pretty good too I guess but they were heading too much into the commercialized MTV era.

I can't stand this band now and refuse to see them live.

Last time I saw them we left after 6 songs.

We were there to see Steel Panther support them.

[private parts]

Pyro was pretty good. Actually saw that tour from the front row (actually smashed up against the barricade) of festival seating (the good ole days).
But Hysteria just got to tedious with all the guitar and vocal layering and techno sound effects.

[WARF]

I think Campbell has dropped out because of his cancer. But I agree. I really thought he would provide more edge than he did. I think he was just a hired gun, and really had no input. This has to be Elliot and Collen's band now. I believe they ruined it for radio, and can't figure out how to get back to their roots. Which wouldn't work in the climate of todays music and music business, anyway.

They would sell a shit ton more records if they went back to at least their pyromania sounds. They are alienating their old fans and not bringing much new fan base with anything they did in the past twenty years. I think they just wanna sell out shows based on the nostalgia of their 80's hits ( Viva Hysteria tour ) and they don't really care if they sell copies. I heard they have a deluxe edition of SLANG , bwahahahahahaha. I remember when I heard that WHEN LOVE AND HATE COLLIDES song and wondered how the fucking the mighty Def Leppard has transformed into NSYNC.... then I did some research they had the same writer.... seriously. What a fucking shit band!

[private parts]

all the guitar and vocal layering and techno sound effects.

Aka "Pussification" which BTW got them a lot of it.

[WARF]

Last time I saw them we left after 6 songs.

We were there to see Steel Panther support them.

Def Leppard should be supporting Steel Panther.


This was the last decent Def Leppard song.

It's not greatness but it at least shows some flashes of Pyro/Hysteria

[WARF]

I also dig a couple tracks from RETROACTIVE mostly because they are Steve Clark recordings PUSSIFIED by Phil Colon....


But I still think is a really solid Def Leppard track, the best since Gods of War....

What do you think?

[Seshmeister]

I remember when I heard that WHEN LOVE AND HATE COLLIDES song and wondered how the fucking the mighty Def Leppard has transformed into NSYNC.... then I did some research they had the same writer.... seriously. What a fucking shit band!

I just checked the setlist of the show we walked out of.

Rocket
C'mon C'mon
Make Love Like a Man
Armageddon It
When Love and Hate Collide
Nine Lives

It took most of song 5 to ask everyone(there were 6 of us) if they wanted to go so we walked out as 6 started.

The bill was exactly upside down

Def Leppard
Motley Crue
Steel Panther

[Seshmeister]

I'd never even heard 'C'mon C'mon' before, what a sack of Pop Idol shit that is.

[SunisinuS]

Some of his later work:

[FORD]

Never noticed how much High And Dry sounded like an AC/DC song. This is the first DL song I remember hearing.

No question that Ac/Dc was a big influence on their early sound. In fact, there's a live video of "Problem Child" on one of Ac/Dc's recent video box sets. The performance was for some UK TV show called "Rock Goes To College" in 1977 or 78, and there's this group of poodle-haired kids near the front of the stage banging their heads along with the music. The camera doesn't stay on them long enough for a positive ID, but it looks a lot like the teenaged Def Leppard to me. They would have formed the band shortly after this, so perhaps that's where the inspiration came from.

[WARF]

You mean this , FORD?

[FORD]

Yep, that's the one. Didn't even look for it on YouTube, because I figured the RIAA fascists would have already yanked it.


And sure enough.... they did just that. I swear those leeches watch this website.

[cadaverdog]

No question that Ac/Dc was a big influence on their early sound. In fact, there's a live video of "Problem Child" on one of Ac/Dc's recent video box sets. The performance was for some UK TV show called "Rock Goes To College" in 1977 or 78, and there's this group of poodle-haired kids near the front of the stage banging their heads along with the music. The camera doesn't stay on them long enough for a positive ID, but it looks a lot like the teenaged Def Leppard to me. They would have formed the band shortly after this, so perhaps that's where the inspiration came from.

Not sure about that but Phil Collen's picture is on the back cover of Deep Purple's Made In Japan. The picture was actually taken at a private school in England.

[Seshmeister]

No question that Ac/Dc was a big influence on their early sound.

Their biggest influence was Mutt Lange and with him doing AC/DC albums at the same time as their early albums a lot of the sound would come from that.

There is no real reason to assume that Pete Willis leaving led to the pussification of DL. That happened over a number of years and maybe it was just in response to the fact that the more they went in that direction the more albums they sold.

By the end of the process the songs Mutt Lange was producing/writing with Bryan Adams even Shania Twain could just as easily have been on Def Leppard albums.