![def leppard 80s def leppard 80s](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/2e/8b/f5/2e8bf50fdb07d25a89d52691b68d47d0.jpg)
The actual results were far less impressive. Luckily, we got to spend a few weeks playing arenas opening for Ozzy Osbourne."Įlliott detailed how management and record company execs had pumped up the band's hopes with projections that High 'n' Dry would generate huge sales and catapult Def Leppard to stardom. To the Blackfoot fans, we looked like the New York Dolls. But they're like southern rock, and we were out there trying to be like UFO or whatever (laughs).
![def leppard 80s def leppard 80s](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/a1/d0/db/a1d0dbd4cf806dab256c1edcfae3c037.jpg)
Great guys-Rickey Medlocke is a wonderful man. “We finally made it to the States in the summer, playing clubs opening for Blackfoot. "We toured Europe first, with Richie Blackmore's Rainbow,” the singer continued. "You could argue that my singing on it, albeit better than on the first record, was a little shouty. To this day, we still really love it," Elliott remembered. It was really frustrating for us, because it was the first album we'd made with ‘Mutt’ Lange. The traction came after we finished touring. with something of a thud: "When we first came to America for High 'n' Dry, there was no traction on the record. When asked to recall what it was like for Def Leppard to tour the States on the back of the album's initial release, Elliott says they landed in the U.S. High 'n' Dry is also notable for featuring the single, "Bringin' on the Heartbreak," an epic power ballad that would be the first Def Leppard song to have significant impact in America. The album marks the band's debut with producer Robert "Mutt" Lange, who would help the band craft the wide-reaching sound that turned up the pop hooks and dance-floor aesthetics behind the massive hits on the those two diamond LPs. Def Leppard's second full-length, High 'n' Dry, can sound like a revelation on a first-time listen. While the band would go on to make two diamond albums (more than 10 million copies sold) Pyromania (1983) and Hysteria (1987), the group's earlier discography is also impressive. The singer really lit up, however, when given a chance to talk about the deeper aspects of Def Leppard's rich history (they do have their very own drama-filled Behind the Music episode), and the group's first forays across the Atlantic to America.
![def leppard 80s def leppard 80s](https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/def-leppard-streaming-846c91d6-d5b4-4171-9ed6-e1afebebfbb8.jpg)
Speaking on the phone in 2018 as he and the band geared up for their summer tour with Journey that year, Elliott gamely fielded the requisite questions about his favorite Journey song (“Chain Reaction,” for those wondering) and thoughts on his band's catalog finally going digital. RELATED: July 1988: Def Leppard Heats Up Summer with "Hysteria" rockers Slade and Mott the Hoople as easily as he references Frankie Goes to Hollywood and Mick Jagger solo singles from the ‘80s. Talking to the Def Leppard frontman finds him to be a veritable fount of information on rock and roll history, able to wax eloquently on ‘70s U.K. Meanwhile, McCartney (including his work with Wings), Springsteen and Taylor’s streaks stretch back six decades to the ’70s, and that’s not counting the output of, and McCartney’s driving contributions to, The Beatles, who landed 17 top 10 sets on the Billboard 200 in the ’60s (and 15 more since).Joe Elliott is something of a rock and roll historian. 10 in 2015.Īs Def Leppard - who was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in its 2019 class - extends its streak to a fifth decade with a new Billboard 200 top 10, here’s a look at all the acts that have linked such a run so far dating to the ’80s.Īcts With New Top 10 Albums on the Billboard 200 Chart in the 1980s, ‘90s, 2000s, ‘10s & ‘20s:ĪC/DC, Def Leppard and Metallica are the only groups to achieve the distinction above.
![def leppard 80s def leppard 80s](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/2e/8b/f5/2e8bf50fdb07d25a89d52691b68d47d0--s-rock-bands-def-leppard.jpg)
5, 2008). In the 2010s, the act sent its self-titled studio set to No. 10, 2005) and Songs From the Sparkle Lounge (No. In the 2000s, the group again collected a pair of top 10s, with Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection (No. 1 for five weeks in 1992) and Retro Active (No. In the 1990s, the British band visited the top 10 twice, with Adrenalize (No. 1 on Top Hard Rock Albums Chart With 'Diamond Star Halos'