Def Leppard At The O2 Arena – The Undisputed Kings Of Arena Rock

Def Leppard show everyone present in The O2 Arena what they are among the best in the world at. Rocking an arena to the rafters. All this while sounding incredible. And those vocal harmonies.

Def Leppard – Extreme

The O2 Arena, London – 2 July 2026

Words: Bogdan Bele

Photography: Manuela Langotsch

Def Leppard is one of those bands that I have been listening to pretty much all my life. I grew up listening to cassettes of Adrenalize, Hysteria, Pyromania, On Through The Night and High ‘n’ Dry, courtesy of my uncle.

And I continued on that path, pretty much listening to their entire recorded output as it came out. While I did not necessarily love everything they have put out, they always had a special place for me. 

Later, I had the chance to see them live, and that happened a few times over the years. I was truly shocked to hear how, apart from being a really solid live act, they were able to reproduce those vocal harmonies to perfection. But even with that background, nothing could ever prepare me for Thursday evening in London’s The O2 Arena.

By the time Def Leppard hit the stage of an arena that is almost at capacity (and I am talking full capacity, not just the first ring), they are in full swing with their current tour. They have already played a Las Vegas residency in the USA, been to India, and played a number of festivals and headline shows in Europe. 

After an energetic Extreme performance (details about that a bit later), the band starts promptly with their most recent single, Rejoice, as the stage, with a pyramid-like lighting rig, inspired by the cover of their massive opus Hysteria, lights up.

It is a perfect opener, showcasing the band’s fine voices already. They waste no time and start what will be a night of, as frontman Joe Elliott puts it, “something old, something new, something borrowed…” But mostly hits.

The first one of the night is Animal, and by this point, everyone is shouting the chorus, band and crowd, in perfect synergy. Mr Elliott is in fine voice, and so is the band. And the whole crowd.

The stage set is what one should have for an arena show of this size. The moving light rig, as well as the massive screen behind them and the two side ones, full of very well-done visuals, makes sure that one feels part of the whole thing, wherever they might be seated in the cavernous space.

And next comes something borrowed, a cover of Depeche Mode’s Personal Jesus. I checked out the setlist beforehand, and I was honestly wondering what the point was, despite liking the studio version, when a band has that many hits they could play instead.

Well, the point was that it sounded great, especially with the effect on the singer’s voice and the church-like grey tone visuals.

They go into one of the things they are very good at, ballads, early on, with Bringin’ On The Heartbreak, and the twin guitars of Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell truly shine on this and instrumental Switch 625. It is hard to find a guitarist duo that fits together this well, truly allowing one another to shine.

For something new, we get Just Like ’73, and this is the point where, if you had any doubt, you realise that Def Leppard never forgot how to write very catchy and that their recent output lives up to past glories. With this nice nod to the glam rock era that they love so much, of course.

They get back into the classics and Hysteria’s Rocket, with appropriate visuals, followed by David Essex cover Rock On, preceded by a very good solo bass moment by Rick Savage. Not before the frontman talks about how he and Savage met, some 39 years ago, and they have done alright.

In the meantime, as we listen to Mr Savage’s bass, the singer pops up high in the stands, because that is where you should be singing that song from. White Lightning’s long intro is, presumably, so he can actually get back on stage.

It is followed by the title track of a record that some people only warm up to now. I am talking, of course, about Slang and it has a surprise appearance from Extreme guitarist extraordinaire Nuno Bettencourt. Joe decided, yet again, that taking a walk through the crowd would be a good idea, at the end of which he mentions that someone grabbed his arse.

And he would like to thank them for it.

We get to the last part of the show and, since I mentioned those vocal harmonies, the band plays an a cappella intro to Promises. Just in case anyone even imagined that there are any pre-recorded vocal tracks. It sounds amazing, and so does Armageddon It.

I even end up doing something I would not recommend. I take out my ear protections, “just to see what it sounds like”, as well as to feel the atmosphere. I generally would not do this in a place like The O2 Arena, as the echoey tendencies of such venues, as well as the sheer volume, make proper quality earplugs a better idea sound-wise, not to mention the little issue of protecting your hearing.

However, in tonight’s case, I am absolutely shocked at how perfect it all sounds, and also how loud that crowd is throughout. And it is, for the record, really loud, but their sound technician deserves all the plaudits. I do not think I heard a band sound this good here.

They end with Rock of Ages and Photograph, both sounding fantastic.

Some things you cannot avoid, so they come back for an encore of When Love And Hate Collide, Hysteria and, of course, a Pour Some Sugar On Me that, if you were not voiceless by this point, definitely rendered you that way. 

The conclusion? If there were a university degree in playing arena shows, these guys would be tenured professors. And one more thing. Despite playing so many absolute bangers over the course of almost two hours, they have so many more of those left out that you will inevitably g: “I would have also liked X and Y songs”.

In my case, Two Steps Behind and Heaven Is. But those are for next time.

Because, as Joe Elliott puts it at the end of their shows, “there will be a next time”. 

Extreme: The More Than Worthy Special Guests

First of all, if you are reducing Extreme to “the More Than Words” band, I am happy for you. Because you will now go to whatever streaming service you use, and listen to at least all of Extreme II: Pornograffitti in full.

Come back after you have done that, although by this point you are most likely checking out everything else.

I will bow my head to Def Leppard, and no, I am not in the wrong section of the article. Having a band as good as Extreme as a special guest takes some balls. Because the Gary Cherone and Nuno Bettencourt outfit are simply a phenomenal live act.

They have a very sparse stage set compared to tonight’s headliners, with just the huge back screen showing visuals and some stage lights and LEDs. But that does not stop them from giving an energetic performance.

Their set goes from tracks of their newest album, 2023’s SIX, to some of their classics, including Decadence Dance or Get The Funk Out. What I always loved about Extreme was their funkiness, evident on tracks like the latter.

Cherone is a livewire, going all over that stage, and Bettencourt is, without doubt, one of the best guitarists out there. He was one of the most important parts of Ozzy’s farewell concert at Villa Park, and Extreme pays tribute to the great man with a medley of I Don’t Know, Bark At The Moon, and Crazy Train.

While that great bit is what ends their set, they play More Than Words as well, sung by the whole arena.

The only less fortunate part is the fact that, not being shown on the big screens at the sides of the stage, it is slightly difficult for them to properly reach the further parts of the huge space.

Even with that, a very good performance.