Phil Collen of Def Leppard chatted about the new Def Leppard album “Diamond Star Halos” and “The Stadium Tour,” which will include a tour stop at New York’s Citi Field on June 24.
“Diamond Star Halos” is Def Leppard’s 12th studio album. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hard Rock charts; moreover, they were able to score a Top 10 debut on the Billboard 200 all-genres charts, thus marking their eighth Top 10 career of their career.
On the song selection process for the new LP, he said, “We just wrote the songs and they appeared. When we started it, we didn’t even have a record label. We were just writing songs for the love of writing them without a real agenda so that’s what happened. Before we knew it, we had enough songs and a few left over. It was really good.”
For Collen, every song on the album is his favorite. “I love all of them, they are all part of the same thing. It is almost like a concept album because there is a definte thread about celebrating the era that got us into the music business, which was the early ’70s,” he said.
“I am more inspired by this album because we had more time to reflect,” he said. “We didn’t want to do or write a COVID album. This was a reflection of all the experiences we’ve had over the years and we put them into practice. Everything about this album was perfect from an inspirational point of view. The more we did it, the more excited we got about writing it and celebrating the era that got us into music. That’s why we call it ‘Diamond Star Halos’, it’s a line from a T. Rex song. I distinctly remember when I saw David Bowie on TV doing ‘Starman’ and everything went from black to white to color at that moment. We all had similar moments like those.”
They returned to the Billboard Rock charts for the first time in 15 years thanks to their anthemic “Kick.”
The album features two duets with Alison Krauss: “This Guitar” and “Lifeless.” “That was a nice surprise. We just asked her towards the end. Joe was talking to Robert Plant and that’s how that came about. She was working with Robert Plant at the time, he mentioned it to her, and told him that she would love to sing with us on two songs. We sent us her two songs and that was amazing,” he said.
On the title of the current chapter of his life, he said, “Let’s Go.”
‘The Stadium’ Tour
This summer, Def Leppard will co-headline the massive 36-city “The Stadium Tour,” which will kick off on June 16th in Atlanta, Georgia. “People can expect everything on this tour,” he exclaimed. “We never really sounded this good. It has power and an energy that we’ve never had before. It has a punk energy to it and we are really excited about that.”
On June 24, Def Leppard will be performing at New York’s Citi Field, which is home to the New York Mets, as part of “The Stadium Tour.” They will be joined by Mötley Crüe, Poison, and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. “I am just really excited,” he said. “We did a gig at the Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles two weeks ago and that was amazing to be on a stage, even though it was a tiny little stage.”
Def Leppard is comprised of Joe Elliott (vocals), Phil Collen (guitar), Rick Savage (bass), Vivian Campbell (guitar), and Rick Allen (drums). They were inducted into the prestigious Rock and Roll Hall of Fame back in 2019.
With more than 110 million albums sold worldwide and two prestigious diamond awards in the United States, Def Leppard continues to be one of the most important forces in rock music. Over the course of their career, the band has produced a series of classic ground-breaking albums that set the bar for generations of music fans and artists alike.
The group’s spectacular live shows and an arsenal of hits have become synonymous with their name, leading Def Leppard to be heralded as the world’s greatest live rock band.
Def Leppard’s influential career includes numerous hit singles and ground-breaking multi-platinum albums—including two of the best-selling albums of all time, “Pyromania” and “Hysteria,” capturing the group’s iconic tracks, bringing together classic Leppard hits such as “Rock of Ages,” “Pour Some Sugar on Me” and “Foolin.”
For the first time, in January 2018 Def Leppard debuted their full recording catalog worldwide via streaming and download platforms. As they did with the original release of their records, Def Leppard dominated the worldwide charts again.
The band has amassed a staggering 5.5 billion streams since 2018, reaching a younger 18-44 demographic that now represents 58 percent of their fanbase. “That’s not bad, that’s great,” he admitted.
Additionally, the band has garnered an impressive 15 million followers across its social media platforms.
Following the close of their historic 2018 co-headline stadium and arena run in North America, Def Leppard sold a staggering one million tickets, and the tour grossed over $100 million, a massive feat in today’s touring world.
Def Leppard will top that number yet again with another sold-out North American stadium run in 2022 which is set to kick off the rest of the world. As always, the group keeps pushing the boundaries with their electrifying live shows.
If he were to have any superpower, it would be “artistic expression,” which he described as “such a valuable thing.” “That’s why we are still excited and it keeps getting more powerful,” he said.
‘The Shout Out’ radio show
He also spoke about his wife, Helen L. Collen’s popular “The Shout Out” radio show. “I am excited for her. That is great and really cool,” he admitted.
To learn more about her radio show “The Shout Out,” check out its Linktree page.
Success
On his definition of the word success, Collen said, “Success is the freedom to do exactly what I want to do, and that’s really what we are doing.”
For his fans, he concluded about the new album “Diamond Star Halos” and “The Stadium Tour,” “We have been building up to this, we have been working at this for ages, and the album as well. I think it’s the best album we’ve done. It is very personal to us and I think we will top it off by celebrating and doing ‘The Stadium Tour,’ which is incredible. It is one of those boxes you tick off for the goals you’ve achieved so mission accomplished.”
“Diamond Star Halos” is available on digital service providers by clicking here.
