Pyromania

DEF LEPPARD guitarist Phil Collen has revealed to Billboard.com that the band is planning a "Viva Pyromania" residency in Las Vegas at the end of 2014. DEF LEPPARD's breakthrough 1983 album, "Pyromania", was certified at the RIAA's (Recording Industry Association of America) diamond level (10 million copies shipped) in 2004. Produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange, "Pyromania" benefited greatly from MTV's relentless airing of the album's first two singles, "Photograph" and "Rock of Ages". The birth of MTV would definitely aid in fueling the success of DEF LEPPARD's third album, which lit the fuse for the pop metal bands so successful throughout the remainder of the decade, but as Elliott reveals to "In The Studio" host Redbeard, it was a challenge throughout the recording sessions to ignite those soon-to-be anthemic songs. "About halfway through the 'Pyromania' album, I first noticed that it was getting difficult to create something that was as good as the top-notch artists," he said. "We weren't that little band from Sheffield anymore, we had to be better and bigger than BOSTON, FOREIGNER… you name it." In an online post, Elliott commented on "Pyromania"'s 30th anniversary: "Wow... I can't believe it's 30 years since 'Pyromania' came out! It had been a labor of love to make (little did we know in comparison to 'Hysteria', it was a piece of cake!). Multiple studios in London, one guitarist out, one guitarist in, equipment breakdowns, tapes turning transparent because of the thousands of times they were rewound and fast forwarded for multiple overdubs, but we found our sound on this record with the help of a great producer in Mutt Lange, the new studio technology that we eagerly embraced (unlike many of our peers) and an incredible enthusiasm to 'make a record no one else had ever made. Whether we did or didn't isn't important. What is, is that we had made the record WE wanted to make, it had been percolating in our DNA for six years! We finally sounded like the 'us' we wanted to be!!!" DEF LEPPARD's first Las Vegas residency at the Hard Rock Hotel this past spring saw the band playing its classic album "Hysteria" in full each night. DEF LEPPARD "Pyromania" "In The Studio" interview (audio):