A new Def Leppard album called Drastic Symphonies, featuring new classical renditions of some of the British rockers’ best hits and featuring the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of London, will be released on May 29. The 15-song album is currently up for pre-order.
Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott even dueted with his elder self from 40 years ago on one track; the singer said it was like “singing with a ghost that’s still alive.” The album includes fresh guitar and vocal recordings.
Listen to the Drastic Symphonies cover of “Animal,” a Def Leppard song from 1987’s Hysteria, near the bottom of this post. The “The World Tour” by Motley Crue and Def Leppard begins this spring — get tickets here.
“What we’ve done is we’ve reworked 16 of our most symphonic songs, and done them with the Royal Philharmonic,” Elliott explained in an interview. “We wanted to make sure that everybody knows this is not just the records from the past with an orchestra chucked on the top, like icing on a cake. We took these songs all the way back to the beginning.”
The lead singer for Def Leppard continued, “Some of them I had to re-sing because when you added an orchestra the original vocals didn’t fit. I therefore performed a duet with my former self from forty years ago on one of the songs, which is titled “Too Late for Love”.”
It was “the strangest thing I’ve ever done,” Elliott continued. “But it was a lot of fun. I had an instant sense of the appropriate timing and wording. That it was always a part of my Genes. Yet, that was one of my most bizarre actions. If that makes any sense, it was like singing with an active ghost.”
Below, see a teaser video for Drastic Symphonies followed by the album artwork, track listing and Def Leppard’s upcoming 2023 tour dates.
1. “Turn to Dust”
2. “Paper Sun”
3. “Animal”
4. “Pour Some Sugar On Me” (Stripped Version)
5. “Hysteria”
6. “Love Bites”
7. “Goodbye for Good This Time”
8. “Love”
9. “Gods of War”
10. “Angels (Can’t Help You Now)”
11. “Bringin’ on the Heartbreak”
12. “Switch 625”
13. “Too Late for Love”
14. “When Love & Hate Collide”
15. “Kings of the World”
Def Leppard + Motley Crue 2023 Tour Dates
May 22 – Sheffield, England @ Bramall Lane
May 25 – Monchengladbach, Germany @ Sparkassen
May 27 – Munich, Germany @ Koenigsplatz
May 29 – Budapest, Hungary @ MVM Dome
May 31 – Krakow, Poland @ Tauron Arena
June 2 – Prague, Czech Republic @ Prague Rocks
June 3 – Hannover, Germany @ Expo Plaza
June 7 – Solvesborg, Sweden @ Sweden Rock
June 9 – Hyvinkaa, Finland @ RockFest
June 11 – Trondheim, Norway @ Trondheim Rocks
June 14 – Copenhagen, Denmark @ Copenhell
June 18 – Dessel, Belgium @ Graspop
June 20 – Milan, Italy @ Ippodromo
June 23 – Lisbon, Portugal @ Passeio Maritimo
June 24 – Rivas-Vaciamadrid, Spain @ Auditorio Rios
June 27 – Thun, Switzerland @ Stockhorn Arena
July 1 – London, England @ Wembley Stadium
July 2 – Lytham, England @ Lytham Festival
July 4 – Dublin, Ireland @ Marlay Park
July 6 – Glasgow, Scotland @ Hampden Park
