Def Leppard: Rockin' arenas never gets old

After 35 years of touring all over the globe with Def Leppard, it’s a wonder guitarist Phil Collen can recall ever even being in Green Bay, much less a specific show.

But he does.

It was 1992 — the same year the “Adrenalize” album debuted at the top of the charts — and the British rockers played back-to-back shows to 11,000-plus at Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena. When they return to the Resch Center on April 19 for their third trip to that venue, the cold won’t be a problem.

“We haven’t done Green Bay ... for 11 years, so that’s going to be smokin’ hot,” Collen said.

The sing-alongs to such monster arena hits as “Rock of Ages,” “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” “Photograph” and “Let’s Get Rocked,” the vintage Union Jack T-shirts and at least a couple of guys still hoisting lighters are inevitable whenever the band hits the road, but there’s something special about this tour, Collen said. Def Leppard is out with Poison, touring with its original lineup for the first time in more than five years, and Tesla.

If you’re keeping track on your ’80s/early ’90s rock/hair metal scorecard at home, it’s a fairly impressive roll call of veteran players.

Joe Elliott, Rick Savage, Rick Allen, Vivian Campbell and Collen in Def Leppard — a roster that hasn’t changed since 1992. Poison’s Bret Michaels, C.C. DeVille, Rikki Rockett and Bobby Dall of the classic big hair, heavy eyeliner “Look What the Cat Dragged In” lineup dating back to 1986. Original Tesla members Jeff Keith, Frank Hannon, Brian Wheat and Troy Luccketta are joined by Dave Rude, who has been playing with the California blues metal band since 2006.

“All three bands, it’s the original members. It’s not like the lead singer or the drummer from some band with a bunch of strangers in there just going back out on tour. We’ve never split up. Tesla took a hiatus and is back with its original members except for one person. And Poison, it’s the same four guys,” Collen said. “You don’t really see that much these days. There’s not a lot of integrity and not a lot of sticking together for the right reasons. I’ve actually been pointing that out. I think that’s why a lot of people really dig this kind of package. It’s the real guys. It’s not a bunch of fake musicians pretending to be something else like karaoke-style.”

RELATED: Our Journey band singer reviews Journey's show at Resch

RELATED: Meet the kid who stole the Green Day show

The thought of all those rock stars backstage together during the height of ’80s excess conjures up a far different image than the one you’re likely to find today. The hard partying of the heyday has given way to things like workouts, family time and side projects.

Collen is producing Tesla’s new album, due out at year’s end. The last time Def Leppard toured with Poison in 2012, Collen's daughter and DeVille’s son, both 3 or 4 at the time, became fast friends out on the road. He recounts a story about how they had so much fun playing together his daughter wet her pants.

“So yeah, I guess if that’s hanging out with other bands, we definitely do that,” Collen said, laughing. “It’s a little different than say back in the ’80s. I think there’s a lot more professionalism, a lot more integrity.”

That adjustment in lifestyle is one of the things that has allowed Def Leppard to still tour as heavily as it does, said Collen, who hasn’t had a drink in 30 years.

“It’s, to me, the easiest part of the whole thing — once you stay fit and healthy and that,” he said of touring. “It’s why you get in a band in the first place, to play live in front of people. People say, ‘Don’t you ever get tired? Is it a chore? Is it boring?’ Are you kidding? To have people singing back songs you spent a good amount of time writing and recording and then they’re singing back at you. Women throw underwear at you and all. It’s like, ‘Wow, why wouldn’t you want to do that?’ That doesn’t get old.”

Def Leppard’s personal tragedies over the decades are well documented. Allen lost his left arm in a car accident in 1984. Guitarist and songwriter Steve Clark died in 1991 of alcohol poisoning. Campbell was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2013. The guitarist has said he’ll probably take treatments for the rest of his life.

The band has not let itself be either defined or sidelined by the setbacks. Its stubborn perseverance perhaps referenced in the title of the concert film the group released earlier this year: “And There Will Be a Next Time — Live from Detroit.”

“Obviously, when we lost Steve, who was my best friend, that was horrific. It was just awful,” Collen said. “I actually didn’t want to carry on as a band after that, because I felt that something had really changed. I got talked into it. We celebrate Steve all the time, so it’s an important thing. We had to choose the right person, and we got Vivian in, because we didn’t want to replace Steve. We wanted someone who was going to appreciate (what Clark had done).”

There’s a feeling of gratitude to be able to stand onstage with the same guys he’s played with for decades, Collen said.

“We really are blessed. I’m very aware, especially the older you get.”

Def Leppard is synonymous with the ’80s — the decade in which the “Pyromania” (1983) and “Hysteria” (1987) albums catapulted the band to huge success. It was a time when the artistic expression that dominated music of the ’70s was beginning to give way to the music industry as a business. “So much money floating around,” Collen said.

It was also the decade of MTV, which was instrumental into turning Def Leppard into rock stars.

“We wouldn’t have been here if it hadn’t been for MTV. We were a young band that didn’t look like other rock bands. We had more in common with the look of say Duran Duran and pop bands, but we actually were a rock band. ... Even the music was a hybrid. Robert ‘Mutt’ Lange, our producer, wrote all the songs with us and he had an idea, a concept. All these things happened in the ’80s that certainly wouldn’t have happened in the ’90s or the 2000s.

“It’s purely a business now,” he said. "The fact that we’re still allowed to create and still be artistic I find amazing. I think that’s the reason, because (of) all that hard work in the ’80s. But it was a fascinating time. It was the end of an era. That was kind of like the golden age of excess and everything.”

It’s a different scene now from the days when MTV would play such a diverse slate of artists as The Go-Go's, Michael Jackson, Billy Idol, Prince and Def Leppard in the same hour. Music is much more segregated now, Collen said, and he doesn’t see the same thing driving today’s new artists in the age of Instagram and Facebook as did Def Leppard when it was a young, hungry band out of Sheffield, England.

“The motivation for being an artist or in a band or a musician is very different from what it was when I started. I wanted to play music. I wanted to express myself. And also, you wanted to share that artistic thing. The Beatles, they would write a song and record it and get it out. James Brown would do it. David Bowie, The Stones ... be really proud of that music. Now there’s a real shift. The motivation for doing it is to be, ‘Look at me, please. Notice me. Please pay attention to me.’ That’s where I see the big change. It’s not the artistic endeavor anymore. It’s purely image conscious.”

kmeinert@pressgazettemedia.com and follow her on Twitter @KendraMeinert

HOW PHIL STAYS IN SHIRTLESS SHAPE

If you've seen Def Leppard live, chances are good you’ve also seen guitarist Phil Collen’s rock-hard abs. He frequently goes shirtless during shows. Mostly, because at age 59, he can, thanks to body-weight exercise, intense cardio and martial arts.

“It’s a slightly vain thing, I guess, but it’s also, you know, I feel great. I actually feel better now than I did when I was in my 20s,” he said. “I’m a vegan, I don’t drink. I’ve never smoked. I don’t take drugs, prescription or otherwise, and it really makes a huge difference.

“Also, because of the working out, I don’t get the aches and pains that a lot of guys even 20 years younger than me start to get from lack of activity. That’s really why I’m able to do that. I think the minute you quit, you’re actually forgetting how to be young, and I think that’s what happens to a lot of people. I kind of make sure I keep in shape.”

DO IT

Who: Def Leppard, with Poison and Tesla

When: 7 p.m. April 19

Where: Resch Center, Ashwaubenon

Tickets: $129.50, $89.50, $69.50, $49.50; check availability at ticketstaronline.com, (800) 895-0071 and Resch box office

Security measures: Wanding and bag checks outside the venue; arrive early. 

ROCK OF AGES IN WISCONSIN

A sampling of places Def Leppard has rocked in northeastern Wisconsin during the past couple of decades:

» Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena, Ashwaubenon: 1992 (back-to-back shows)

» Outagamie County Fair, Seymour: 1999

» Kewaunee County Fair, Luxemburg: 2000

» Resch Center, Ashwaubenon: 2003 and 2006 (with Journey)

» Rock USA, Oshkosh: 2015

EVERYTHING GOES BETTER WITH 'ROCK'

When it comes to lyrics. Def Leppard definitely went through a "rock" phase.

“Do you wanna get rocked?” (“Let’s Get Rocked”)

“Let’s get the rock out of here.” (“Let’s Get Rocked”)

“Rock this place to the ground.” (“Rock of Ages”)

"Still rollin’, rock ‘n’ rollin’." (“Rock of Ages”)

"Rocket, baby, guitar, drums, light up." (“Rocket”)