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Def Leppard's home triumph - PICTURES



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Published Date: 24 June 2008
PUNK could not wither them nor acid house stale their infinite variety. Def Leppard and Whitesnake - two of the real monsters of rock - took to the stage at Sheffield Arena last night.
Between them the bands have more than 60 years of live performances under their belts, and have weathered the change in trends over the last 30 years - Leppard are one of the city of steel's major metal exports.

Formed in 1977 by pupils from Sheffield's Tapton and King Edward's schools the band are rock legends.

Click here to hear an exclusive interview with superstar Rick Savage about playing in his hometown.

One of the top selling acts of the 80s, shifting more than 65 million albums, they became one of only five rock acts to have two original albums sell more than 10 million in the US.

The other four are The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Van Halen.

And, playing a home fixture, they gave the punters what they wanted - and hits like Animal and Pour Some Sugar on Me were greeted with open arms by committed fans.

And their hits from through the ages were greeted with rapturous applause from the devoted metalheads.

Were you at the concert last night? Let us know what you thought of it by adding your comment below.

Whitesnake also formed in 1977 - though they had more of a known pedigree when they first took to the boards. Put together by former Deep Purple frontman David Coverdale their early career was dogged by accusations of sexism - Lie Down, I think I love You being a typical song title. But they hit the heights in the late 80s with huge hits such as Is This Love and Here I Go Again. In the last 30 years their line-up has boasted 34 members.

At the Arena last night the band boasted only one original member - Coverdale himself.

But they're pros - Coverdale above all others - and the retinue of biggies were there in full effect. At times the poodle rock teetered into self-parody, but the faithful didn't notice - fists were punched and heads were banged as expected.

It may be a tried and tested formula but a bucketful of ballsy blues from both bands meant everyone went home happy.

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The full article contains 412 words and appears in Sheffield Star newspaper.
Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 24 June 2008 8:58 AM
  • Source: Sheffield Star
  • Location: Sheffield
 
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snowhead,

rotherham 24/06/2008 13:22:54
was at concert last night. Great to see the boys again along with Whitesnake - what a showman. But unfortunately I felt there was a problem with sound where I was standing especially about 1/2 an hour before the finish. It sounded distorted at times.

Unlike the previous concert of theres there. where I felt the sound was as good as on there records. My sister felt the same. I thought the stage extension was a brilliant idea. Never seen place so packed though.

2

Bolton Blade,

Bolton 24/06/2008 18:43:22
Thought they were fantastic. Atmosphere electric especially from where we were stood - not far from the stage runway. Well worth the trip. Roll on next time - can't wait to get rocked again!!!!
3

Seasoned Rock Fan,

Deepcar 24/06/2008 19:17:00
Seen Leppard many times from pyromania days.
Last night they were suberpb with great back catalogue,stage show and delivered a power house performance. Probably the best I've seen them and the guys really appreciated and deserved the home coming welcome. Whitesnake however were very poor deciding to show their new material more than their earlier material and to be honest Coverdale was like a bad inmpressionist of himself often stopping singing to let the crowd sing and leaving the stage for long periods. Whitesnake heavy metalised versions of their classics did not do the original versions justice. I love Whitesnake and was v.v disappointed. All came good when Leppard hit the stage and saved the day and showed Coverdale how to balance maturity with style.
4

garry c ,

sheffield 24/06/2008 19:22:39
Got to say,that was the best performance by leppard i have ever seen and have seen plenty of them. whitesnake should take a leaf out leppards book and give the fans what they have really come to see.ie . all the classics and the odd new song.BRILLIANT.
5

Dave Allen,

Sheffield 24/06/2008 21:46:25
LEPPARD opened with Rocket, to launch the show.
Animal and Hysteria, made the feel good factor grow.
C'mon C'mon, a live classic by now.
Such a polished delivery, left you wondering how!
Musical craft, video screenshow in pace.
It was Leppard's destiny, to headline this place.
Great vocals and sound, appreciated by the crowd.
An assortment of classics, for the boys you felt proud.
A standing ovation, that will do fine.
Looking forward to Joe's promise, THERE WILL BE A NEXT TIME!
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Mason Storm,

Sheffield 24/06/2008 22:18:11
What a great classic rock night out, support group black eyed cherry realy good hard rock, Coverdale at 56 still knows how to get the crowd going and great new tracks from new album Good to be Bad, plus the calssics... Def Leppard great show, Rick's bass solo was excellent leading into Rock On... Yes the same Rock on by David Essex.
Never seen the arena so full and so hot, air con realy needs to be better... have to agree the sound did get a bit distorted a little but when its that loud hey what do you expect... BEST NIGHT OF THE YEAR.
The Sheffield boys home concert WELL DONE see you again soon.
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