Def Leppard May Not Be a Must See This Year
I woke up this morning conflicted about whether or not I would log on and buy my Def Leppard concert tickets for the summer. I thought I had made up my mind the other night when I talked to Steph and she said that tickets would be inflated this tour. I knew it was bad enough that this wasn’t a tour in which they would be in every state and some travel would be involved - but to price gouge too? It’s not that we couldn’t afford it. It’s the principal. Def Leppard hasn’t put out an album this year… let alone a chart topper. Team up with Mutt Lange again, put out a hit album and maybe I’ll shell out $125 a ticket… well, let’s be real… Joe Elliott still has to be good looking to be absolutely worth it.
However, with Joe Elliott telling Blabbermouth that they likely won’t be touring next year, I start worrying about whether or not I can go a year without seeing my baby rock out on stage. I understand that they plan on spending next year working on a new album so it would be worth seeing their concert but it’s hard to come to terms with the fact that not only would I boycott this year but there would be no option of seeing them next year.
I took a stroll around some old Def Leppard blog sites that I hadn’t been to in a while to check up on some old friends. I discovered this fall Lorelei Shellist wrote a biography called “Runway Runaway”. I couldn’t care less what Ms. Shellist has done with her life… I’m just not interested. However, I hear there’s a good chunk of the book that is about her relationship and engagement with Steve Clark (so I could just skip to the parts about him). Apparently there are mixed reviews about the book. One of Ms. Shellist’s friends, a photographer, says that she confided in him that the Def Leppard fan base didn’t like the book and didn’t want to believe what she wrote about him. I have yet to find this ‘fan base’ that bashed the book. Most of the base either never heard of the book because it was a rather small distribution or read it and liked it. Where is this supposed base that didn’t want to believe what happened between she and Steve Clark?
Let’s get one thing straight, the fans remember what Steve was like. There was never any doubt that Steve had some demons. He drank to fight the pain of depression. He just couldn’t deal. I’m sure he was a real ass when he was drunk and I’m sure he did a lot of mean and hurtful things when he drank - which is typical and expected. Although I have not read the book, we need to remember that Steve is not here to defend himself or to confirm or deny anything Ms. Shellist detailed in her book.
Anyway, if I don’t attend this year’s concert it will leave a great big void in my summer. I knnow I have my celtic music concerts and festivals coming up but nothing beats a hot summer night and an 80’s hair band! Def Leppard - I love ya but you either have to lower your ticket prices or put out another album. Until then, you aren’t likely to find me at your shows.
