A few months ago Canadian singer Bryan Adams featured on a top 10 list of underrated recording artists. I say what about Def Leppard? Their last 5 or so studio albums received almost zero promotion by their record label Universal and radio stations alike. Some people believe that ever since Bryan Adams started working with producer Mutt Lange in the early 90s he has started to sound like Def Leppard. So, is it any coincidence that both Def Leppard and Bryan Adams toured together in 2005?
I think that Def Leppard got the recognition they deserved throughout most of the 80s selling millions of albums and completing non-stop sell-out world tours. Not to mention the two diamond awards they received for two back to back albums selling over 10million each. Since disappearing from MTV screens in the mid 90s they have continued to record albums and constantly tour the world. In 2001 they even had a movie made about them (Hysteria - The Def Leppard Story) and in 2005 they were amongst the first four bands to be inducted into VH1's Rock Honors, the others being Queen, Judas Priest and Kiss.
So I ask this, why on earth do a lot of music followers believe that Def Leppard is an 80s hair metal band that must've disbanded sometime in the early 90s? Either that or people say shit like their first four or five albums were awesome and the rest were all mediocre. Are they even a hair metal band? Obviously in my opinion they are so much more than that. Personally I agree with Brian May who thinks that Def Leppard is one of the finest rock acts to come out of the UK in the last 30 years. Even the legendary Phil Lynott had nothing but admiration for them.
A selection of Def Leppard songs spanning the late 70s, 80s, 90s and 00s:
