Rick Allen, Vivian Campbell, Phil Collen, Joe Elliott, and Rick Savage will be in conversation at the Royal Festival Hall, London, on 16 May 2023. The boys will be talking about their incredible life in music and their new book telling the tale. Definitely: The Official Story of Def Leppard, published by Genesis Publications, will be released on 18 May.
Definitely: The Official Story of Def Leppard
Priced £35 and released as a hardback, a signed limited-edition version became the fastest-ever title to sell out in Genesis Publications’ history after it was fully subscribed within days of its pre-order announcement.
In the summer of 1988 we shifted 4 million copies of Hysteria in the US alone. At that moment we were the biggest band in the world. JOE ELLIOTT
Part memoir, part scrapbook, the wide-ranging narrative from the band chronicles Def Leppard’s incredible story through hundreds of photographs showing the band recording in various studios, at promo shoots, on tour in planes, trains, cars and Holiday Inns, backstage and, of course, doing what they are best known for – performing their explosive live shows in front of global audiences from 1978 to the present day.
From extensive new text contributions to in-depth archival interviews, every member’s voice is present within the book, including Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Savage (bass and vocals), Rick Allen (drums), Phil Collen (guitar and vocals), Vivian Campbell (guitar and vocals), Tony Kenning (drums), Pete Willis (guitar) and Steve Clark (guitar).
Brian May
Definitely also features introductions by Queen founder and guitar maestro Brian May and renowned journalist and senior editor of Rolling Stone, David Fricke.
Coming up during the punk era helped us because there were only a couple of bands playing our type of music. People probably took more notice of us because we stood out. RICK SAVAGE
A long-time friend and champion of the group, Brian May delivered the speech for Def Leppard’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2019, while David Fricke has written about the band from their earliest successes.
With unlimited access to the Def Leppard Vault, Definitely presents over 1,300 items of memorabilia and photography spanning four decades of the band’s history. Included are handwritten correspondence, rare vinyl pressings, tour memorabilia, set lists, lyrics, stage clothing, music video storyboards, draft album artwork and press cuttings, including many from the band’s early days presented in a wallpaper sample scrapbook compiled by Joe Elliott’s mother, Cindy Elliott.
Def Leppard are original, inimitable and, well, I’m gonna say immortal. BRIAN MAY
Photographs from band members’ personal archives and fans across the world are featured alongside those taken by renowned rock photographers such as Ross Halfin, Mick Rock and Anton Corbijn.
Tickets are available from the Southbank Centre website. Copies of Definitely: The Official Story of Def Leppard that are bought in advance as an optional add-on are available at a reduced price of £30 and will come with an exclusive commemorative event poster featuring a new portrait of the band taken by the rock photographer, Ross Halfin.
Def Leppard – Drastic Symphonies
Def Leppard release a new album, Drastic Symphonies, on 19 May 2023 through Mercury.
