EXCLUSIVE: Def Leppard's Phil Collen Talks Hysteria And Meeting Pink Floyd Post by: Dave-O 12 July, 2011 - 10:26 AM

(Photo: Getty Images)

Triple M's Becko caught up with guitar legend Phil Collen of Def Leppard ahead of their massive Aussie tour to talk about their biggest album and chance meeting with Pink Floyd back in the 80s.

Looking back at their classic 1987 album, Hysteria, it was way ahead of it's time. Produced by AC/DC's producer Mutt Lange it spawned an incredible seven singles including, "Rocket" and "Pour Some Sugar On Me". Phil must sit back and think it was truly an amazing time.

"I do. Def Leppard had a plan and a sound that they were trying to achieve… it was trying to be a cross between AC/DC and Queen. [The] two bands that have really influenced us a lot," he said.

"[Hysteria] was a huge album because it was a hybrid of different things. After the Pyromania album we discovered how we really sounded and that's really what Hysteria was. It was the 'real us' if you like, the unique part of Def Leppard, so that's why it really crossed over."

Of course we love to hear stories of the extravagance of the rock industry during the mid-to-late eighties. When Becko spoke to Pink Floyd's Guy Pratt a few weeks ago he said during their world tours they had a private jet with a waterbed and marble bathroom.

Phil said that Def Leppard never went too crazy on the extravagance but he did have a Pink Floyd tale to share from those days.

"We bumped into [Pink Floyd] in an elevator and they were about to play," he recalled. "And they said 'oh I'm gonna be home for lunch tomorrow, I'm gonna play some stadium and then they were off on this plane'. And it was like 'wow!' And we were still busing it!

"We did tours where we went in a plane [but] we nearly had an accident once [so] we stopped doing that. It freaked us out," he laughed. "We [were like] 'enough of that'. So we didn't go too crazy on extravagance."

In other Def Leppard news, guitarist Vivian Campbell told RTTNews that the band is planning to record a new album in 2012.

"It's our intention in 2012 to make another studio album and hopefully we'll lean a little bit toward the rock side of the spectrum," he said.

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• Richo says

  Mirror Ball, Live & More is a magnificent live album. With the Sheffield Lads heading to Melbourne soon, isn't it about time you got us in the mood and played their new song "Undefeated".

  Posted Wednesday 13 July, 2011 9:12 AM