TWIN BLADES:

INTERVIEW WITH DEF LEPPARD’S STEVE CLARK AND PHIL COLLEN.
Kerrang! magazine No. 57 December 15-28, 1983 | Interview by Max Kay

Def Leppard have now sold in excess of nine million copies of their ‘Pyromania’ album worldwide, which I make about 55 million dollars worth, yet on their recent British outing, which took in Birmingham, Nottingham and London, they still lost money. Prior to these dates, in the privacy of a sauna that laughingly doubles as an interview room at Phonogram’s Bond St HQ, I asked Leppard guitarists Steve Clark and ‘new boy’ Phil Collen why on earth they still insist on touring here, and whether being the underdogs in this country bothers them at all?

STEVE: “It used to bother us a long time ago, but we’re too busy to worry about it now. It’s picking up for us though… I don’t know if it’s feedback from America.”

Why is ‘Mutt’ Lange [producer] on such a hefty cut of the credits and the cash that goes with it?

PHIL: “Well, he’s definitely the best producer in the world.”

STEVE: “We credited him for arrangements… but he’s been involved with us for such a long time, it’s hard to see him as an outsider.”

But surely it’s a little on the warped side that the producer should make more out of the album than the individual members of the band, which he surely must if he’s taking another cut for producing the thing?

STEVE: “It depends on which way you look at it. We’re tax exiles now, although we haven’t even got time to be tax exiles because we’re on the move all the time. We’re only allowed sixty days in the country.”

Def Leppard have certainly set a precedent here that may have repercussions in the future, but nobody seems to be too bothered as the millions continue to roll in…

PHIL: I consider most producers wankers. Some of them get money for old rope, but he’s a genius. That’s why we use him and we’ll use him again an’ all.”

Certainly the man has his own sound and his technique for recording drums is bizarre to say the least.

STEVE: “The technique we used to record ‘Pyromania’, ‘Mutt’ had never used before, ever… doing the drums last!! It turned out great, but I don’t think we’ll ever record like that again. On the next album we’d like to record something different, we don’t want to do ‘Pyromania II’.”

Unlike most Brits, I like to see people do well outside their own country…

STEVE: “… that makes a change.”

But how have people here reacted, in general, to your new found success?

PHIL: “I can’t understand their attitude because we’ve all worked our balls off. I used to work in a factory, he used to work in a mill… it’s pathetic!”

Did MTV make and break the band in America?

PHIL: “It’s been a combination of lots of different things. I think the most important thing has been the way we’ve worked hard and the attitude of the band; we don’t have ego problems, and our image helped…”

STEVE: “Our video had a fresh approach. It stood out from the others which were M-E-A-N-I-N-G-F-U-L! bullshit!”

One of the finer aspects of life with Leppard at the moment is the attention given them by their fellow pros and heroes, such as Brian May, who the boys played with onstage in Los Angeles and are still in awe of, AC/DC, who came down to see them in Hawaii, and Journey who watched the gig in San Francisco. This is all a long way from the boys’ humble beginnings in a band called Atomic Mass, but they’ve managed to retain a refreshing level-headedness.

PHIL: “We don’t take it too seriously. When our success began in the States, we took it with a pinch of salt because you see so many bands who have a bit of success, and  then (indicates the floor) nothing… they let it go to their heads… it’s been the best year of my life without a doubt.”

Success has also brought the interest of guitar manufacturers who’ve showered Leppard with freebie instruments to the point where the band eventually had to turn them down as they’d no more room in their flight cases to bring them back to England.

PHIL: “I’ve got millions of guitars but the one I actually play is an Ibanez which I designed. It’s just an Ibanez Destroyer but I had it modified when I was in Girl and they’re actually going to put them in production, so maybe next year they’ll be a Phil Collen Ibanez… ha-ha… I used to play Gibson Les Pauls but I like tremolo arms, and I use Kahlers.”

STEVE: “I only use Gibson Les Pauls on the road because they’re reliable and really easy to use.”

Did you buy any guitars while you were in the States?

PHIL: “Yeah, a black Les Paul Custom that I’ve got two EMG pickups on. I bought a Gibson Melody Maker in a pawn shop… oh, and two Hamers, plus three Ibanez they gave me while I was out there.”

STEVE: “I bought a 1960 Gibson SG Deluxe that I put two EMG pickups on, and a couple of Hamers that were specially made for us. You know, the kind of miniature guitar you can play in hotel rooms when you’re lying in bed. Well, the fretboards are all smaller which makes them really difficult to play, so Hamer made us these special guitars which have a normal size neck, yet the bodies are tiny. They have whammy bars and Di’Marzio pickups on them.”

If you listen to the track ‘Foolin’’ on the album ‘Pyromania’, you’ll hear the sound of an acoustic guitar where an Ovation Balladeer was used. You’ll also hear amplifiers that sounds like they could just be…

PHIL: “…Marshalls, but I think we’re gonna bin ‘em because everybody sounds the same. We’ll probably try something else next time. We’re both using ariels (radio transmitters) instead of normal leads now, but you get a shitty sound with them. You get a better sound with a lead, but it really restricts you, especially on stages the size of those we’ve been playing on in the States. We got used to it in the end, though, and I use a graphic to get a really good top end.”

STEVE: “Next time we go to the States we’re gonna try and use a system where we’ll build all the amps and monitor speakers into our stage production, so you don’t have anything loud but wherever you go there’s always speakers to cover so you get an overall spread wherever you stand on stage… we’re just gonna  totally bin the Marshalls. We’re even thinking of using a splitter box and footswitches with a Musicman for a smoother Brian May sound. The Marshalls will always be there for a certain rhythm sound but…”

PHIL: I’m going to start using effects as well which I’ve never used at all.”

If you like the sound of ‘Pyromania’ and wonder why your band can’t get that sound in the studio, listen carefully…

STEVE: “On ‘Pyromania’ we’d put down two tracks of Les Paul for the low end, two tracks of SG for the mid-range and two tracks of Telecaster for the top end. It sounds like there’s only two guitars playing, but in some cases, there’s six.”

The main difference between the Collen and Clark techniques appears to revolve around Steve’s classical training and Phil’s jazz leanings, which involves playing every note rather than hammering on.

STEVE: “I do read and write and I know the rules of music which is great in a two guitar band because we’re so different in our approach to playing. Phil will play something if it sounds right whereas I look at things and say: ‘it’s wrong to play that note, it’s not musically correct’, so he’s a bit more adventurous.”

Def Leppard are making exciting music with a content that embodies the finest of melodies coupled to a rock solid hardness. Can nine million people be wrong? I doubt it.