"We're at a time in our career when we wanna make albums for us."

Less than two months before the historic concert of Def Leppard and Whitesnake in Sofia, Bulgaria on July 4, 2008, Tangra Mega Rock managed to get in touch with Leppard's guitarist Phil Collen and find out some intriguing facts about the upcoming tour and the British hard rock stars' new album, “Songs from the Sparkle Lounge”...

Danail Tzonkov: Hi Phil, it’s great to have you with us today! Where are you now?

Phil Collen: I'm in California.

D. T.: In Los Angeles?

P. C.: Just south of LA actually, in Orange County.

D. T.: How was the American leg of your current tour?

P. C.: It was great, except that we got really sick - me and Joe Elliott got really ill... Then when we went to London, Rick Savage had this weird kind of flue, so we had to cancel some of our shows in Canada. However, the shows that we did do were pretty amazing.

D. T.: Response to the new album has been great, even from the British music press. How would you describe “Songs from the Sparkle Lounge” to someone who hasn’t listened to it yet?

P. C.: If you're familiar with Def Leppard stuff, it sounds like a refreshing, youthful, more rock version of Def Leppard. It still sounds like us, but it's got a more rock edge to it.

D. T.: You did it to get new fans, or more like a gift to your old adorers?

P. C.: It's actually not for any fans at all - it's really for us. We've done the same thing when we did the "Yeah!" album. A lot of people said, "You wanna make a record for the fans?", and we said, "No." We're at a time in our career when we wanna make albums for us, and that's really what we did.

D. T.: So we can say that this is the real Def Leppard sound?

P. C.: Well, at the moment it is. We probably sound different - I think every record you do you sound a little bit different than before, because you've experienced something different. Right now I really like the way we sound.

D. T.: I see Mutt Lange on the cover of “Songs from the Sparkle Lounge”. Can we say he was the sixth member of Def Leppard back in the 80's?

P. C.: Definitely. He’s got great ideas, and... We actually started a song with Mutt for this record, but we didn't get it finished in time, so maybe on the next album...

D. T.: Do you know what he's up to now?

P. C.: He's traveling a lot. He's obviously very busy, so I don't know what he's doing right now.

D. T.: Now that you all have much more experience with executive producing, what are the benefits and disadvantages of producing yourselves compared to working with Mutt Lange?

P. C.: Mutt Lange is a different story, but I think most producers don't like working with us, because they don't really know what we're about, whereas Mutt Lange took part in creating our sound. He's more like a member of the band.

D. T.: Some of you have side projects - Vivian made a blues record and also plays with Clock, you have Man Raze, Joe did some things with Ricky Warwick... To you personally, what does Man Raze give you that you can’t have in Def Leppard?

P. C.: Man Raze is an alternative band, you know, and that's the great thing about it - we can do a reggae song or a punk song, and that we can never do in Def Leppard, because it's a different type of music. Also lyrically - in Man Raze we can write lyrics that are just different, while in Def Leppard it has to be of a certain type. With Man Raze it's a bit more open, I think.

D. T.: What is your inspiration to keep playing and composing?

P. C.: There's so much out there! The more experience you get, the more you do. It's just so - it's fun, you love it, it's expressive... Compared to something else, for example if you're a painter - you just wanna get more and more and more. It's the same with music.

D. T.: Do you still play kick box?

P. C.: It's thai box actually - Thai kick box. And yeah, I still do it - I'll be doing that in about an hour.

D. T.: Is this the way you keep fit?

P. C.: Absolutely.

D. T.: The European leg ofВ your tour starts in Norway on May 21. You will play many European countries, including Bulgaria. What are your expectations?

P. C.: We've never played a lot of places, including Bulgaria, so we're really excited. One of the things typical for Def Leppard is that we're a touring band, and one of the most important things for us is to go to places we've never been before. On this tour we're gonna do loads of places, so I'll bring my camera. I really look forward to it.

D. T.: There are countries, including Bulgaria, that you will play for the first time and the fans will be very happy if you play some material from the very first Def Leppard albums. Will you modify your setlist to answer those expectations?

P. C.: I think so, yes. We usually do that. When we go to Japan, for example, there are different singles to what comes out in England or America, so if we know there's a song that everyone loves, we'll definitely do it.

D. T.: So there's a chance for you to play "Wasted" and "Let It Go" in Bulgaria?

P. C.: Yeah, I think we may do that...

D. T.: How did you team up with Whitesnake for this tour?

P. C.: They were just available. Whenever you go on tour, you get a list from the promoters - these guys are available, these guys are gonna be touring... For example, in America we'll have Billy Idol opening for us in the summer, and in Europe it will be Whitesnake.

D. T.: Do you know which band - Def Leppard or Whitesnake - will be the first to go out on stage in Sofia?

P. C.: Yes - Whitesnake. We close the show.

D. T.: As a band that has seen the good and bad sides of music business, what do you think of the record industry today - is it going to eventually die or it will evolve somehow?

P. C.: It will be evolving in something else - it already is actually. We're the first band to use the game "Guitar Hero" to get out a new single - you can download the song on "Guitar Hero", and that's never been done before. I think there's a lot of different ways that are gonna be out there for us. That's pretty exciting.

D. T.: Finally, what is your message to your Bulgarian fans?

P. C.: Thanks for waiting! I know it's been so long, but we really look forward to it. It will be great and worth the wait!

Copyright: Tangra Mega Rock