Simon RushworthDef Leppard return to the UK this week for a series of sold-out arena shows. And while all the talk is of a new studio album in 2027, the band has gone back to the future with a brand new Tour Edition of their Greatest Hits. June’s Vinyl Of The Month pick packs a predictably powerful punch.
Despite Def Leppard’s enduring appeal and remarkable work ethic, the most recent of the 10 Greatest Hits included here was released more than 30 years ago.
When Love And Hate Collide hit number two in 1995 — the last of the band’s singles to bother the UK’s top 10.
And while many fans might argue that Let’s Get Rocked, Two Steps Behind and even Now deserve to be in the mix, this is very much a case of the best of the best where Sheffield’s finest are concerned.
In fact, all three of those controversial omissions — and many more — appeared on 2018’s The Story So Far — The Best Of. That comprehensive catch-all was the career-spanning collection Lepps die-hards craved.
Greatest Hits better reflects the core of the band’s gold standard live show and completists will love the alternative Tour Edition.
Pressed on marbled red vinyl and featuring this summer’s UK, European and Middle East dates plastered across the back of a specially designed sleeve, it’s a timely reminder of what Joe Elliott and co. serve up night after night, nation after nation.
In fact, nine of the 10 tracks here featured in the band’s June 23 show at Dortmund’s vast Westfalenhalle — only Foolin’ failed to make the cut that night.
And all 10 might well make their presence felt by the time the band rolls into Belfast this weekend.
Of course, Greatest Songs, rather than Greatest Hits, might have been a more transparent title for this latest reboot of stadium classics.
Bringin’ On The Heartbreak can hardly be described as a ‘hit’ — the ultimate early 80s power ballad was released twice and failed to chart on either occasion. Foolin’ was another single that famously failed to shift any significant numbers.
By contrast, Let’s Get Rocked (number two), Two Steps Behind (12 in the US) and Now (UK 23) can all lay claim to being bona fide ‘hits’.
Clearly choosing 10 tracks to celebrate 50 years at the coalface of rock was never going to be easy but let’s be honest — at least half simply had to come from Hysteria.
That monumental 80s hair metal behemoth set the standard for MTV wannabes and Greatest Hits benefits from five of the seven singles culled from that colossal testament to Leppard’s career-defining Mutt Lange collab.
And they all hung around the Billboard Hot 100 for weeks!
Pour Some Sugar On Me, Hysteria, Love Bites, Animal and Armageddon It soundtracked the back end of a decade that didn’t disappoint.
All five will feature at the band’s Belfast, Glasgow, Sheffield, London, Birmingham and Manchester shows this summer.
And a collection that’s all about quality over quantity can lean on a quintet of tunes that perfectly reflect the polished production and pop sensibility of peak Elliott, Clark (RIP), Collen, Savage and Allen.
Looking for a quick hit — or hits — of quintessential Leppard this summer?
Look no further. Greatest Hits is like the vinyl version of your favourite tour shirt and you’ll likely wear this out too.
