Def Leppard never wanted to release live albums. At least that is what I remember them saying years and years ago. Was it something like “a band only releases live albums when they’ve run out of ideas”. Don’t quote me on that, that is something I swear I heard them say a very long time ago. And for 31 years, Def Leppard never officially released a live album. A live video, yes. But never an album until around 2011 with ‘Mirrorball’. And it would be another 9 years before we ever got a live show from their Early Years! But thanks to the box set ‘The Early Years’, we finally had a live show from 1980. It doesn’t get much earlier than that for them. It was recorded at New Theatre in Oxford on April 26, 1980. The show is completely unedited and as is (so they say) and I would believe it.

But it wasn’t my first early show of Def Leppard. I have a bootleg from a show at BBC’s Paris Theatre, London, England, 22nd August 1979 and some recorded at the Reading Festival, Reading, England, 24th August 1980 and it was called “Live at the Top”. That was my first taste of early Lep and what a taste it was. This show is even better and sees a hungry, raw Def Leppard giving it their all. There are four historical pieces on here as we get a liver version of Good Morning Freedom which the band had never released, an early version of Lady Strange from an album that hadn’t come out yet and two songs that would wind up completely different when they were finally released on two different albums. The show was first released in that box set, then they decided to release a vinyl of the show as well which I have both versions as you can see in the last picture.

It is a 16 song set and they basically play the entire ‘On Through the Night’ album and then some.  It is the ‘and then some” part that is most interesting to me. The show sounds untouched and as you would’ve heard it and damn, that is awesome. First let’s go through the set list. The opening track, “When the Wall Came Tumbling Down”, starts off with the cheesy apocalyptic intro from the album before turning it up a notch and rocking out. The tempo is fast and furious and without taking a breath, they go straight in to “It Could Be You” and what a groove young Mr. Allen lays down. The guitar duo of Pete Willis and Steve Clark shred their way through in total brilliance. And again, with a quick “thank you” and no hesitation they go in to “Rock Brigade” and for the first three tracks, Leppard are the most metal they will ever be. A helluva an opening salvo.

“Satellite” is up next and while not as heavy as the opening trio, it is still a rocker and the boys don’t disappoint. Then we get to the first really treat with “Medicine Man”. You will recognize this one when you hear it as in a few years down the road it become “Rock, Rock (til you Drop)” in 1983 on the ‘Pyromania’ album.  Here thought the lyrics are totally different but musically you can hear the ‘Pyromania’ song in its very early stages and it is awesome!!You get a very early taste of this song here and getting these early nuggets is what is most cool abou tthis release.

They go in to “Answer to the Master” and the guitars again are stellar ripping through that familiar riff and a brief little drum break by Rick Allen shows the kids has the chops to play with the big boys. Then, that guitar solo will leave you breathless and ready to bow down to the master. Another really cool track is “When the Rain Falls” as this one would later turn in to the song “Let it Go” on the album ‘High ‘N Dry’ thanks to the help of Mutt Lange. Again, musically sounds similar just listen to that opening riff, but vocally totally different. Mutt would help them refine some of these early songs and make them so much better, but it is pretty cool here for sure. They end the first half o the album with “Sorrow is a Woman”. It sticks to the album pretty closely so with maybe a slightly heavier edge and a quicker tempo. Another great guitar solo as both Wilis and Clark are so great together.

Another cool track is the opening song on the back half and that is “Good Morning Freedom” which is an early Lep song that never made it on an official album.  And it is a shame as what a killer track it is. It was the B-Side of their single “Hello America” though so there is a studio version. What I love about this song is the guitar break as the two play off each other and battle it out. It makes the song really stand out and totally rock. They go in to “It Don’t Matter” and it is great, but it is “Overture” that I am excited to hear. It is so serious sounding and isn’t your typical rocker. I love Sav’s bass on this one during the slow opening and when the song kicks in…damn! hold on tight. The band the shows their chops and that they can be more than a straight up rock and roll band. They show their musical talents and song writing ability here as this is one of the coolest.

You also get “Lady Strange” before the ‘High ‘n Dry’ album was done.  Thankfully, this one was in good shape and Mutt didn’t have to change much to it at all.  One of my favorites from the “High & Dry” album and same here. Yeah, the lyrics are different in places, but it is pretty much all there. They rock it out and if I heard this back then, it would make me excited for what was to come with their music. “Getcha Rocks Off” is totally brutal and brings the metal back. It is hard and heavy and damn is it fast. Joe spits out those lyrics with taking a breath it seems. The highlight is that dynamic duo of Willis and Clark. Man those two were great together. This is a guitar heavy band and you can tell they are destined for great things.

The final trio of songs starts off with “Hello America”, the band’s big single. It is as you expect as they have been basically flawless up to this point so why would this be any different. If this wasn’t killer enough, then we get “Wasted” and I love the live opening on this one. More fantastic guitar playing as it is this album that makes the duo my favorites. This is straight up rock, maybe even a little metal, but all totally awesome. The last really cool song on here is “Ride into the Sun” which is off the band’s E.P. that came out in 1979.  Cool to get a live one of this song. This thing is fast and I mean quick as Rick speeds up the tempo. They still have a ton of energy after such a rocking show. Why did they sit on this for so, so long!

The show itself is pretty incredible. For such a young bunch of guys, all 20 or less (and Rick Allen only being like 16 or 17), the band is tight.  There is a little Prog, a little glam and a lot of rock & roll in this set.  What I really love about this show is that it has Pete Willis on guitar. Pete was such an amazing player and when you butt him up with Steve Clark, you have some massive guitar playing and these two play off each other so well.  They seemed like seasoned vets.  Rick’s playing is solid, but it is fast.  The tempo on the songs are all little faster, but that is okay as it works live.  Joe sounds young and pretty confidant for a kid. He doesn’t talk much, but he does have the pipes and really shines throughout the show. And it is a beast of a show. My Overall Score is a 5.0 out of 5.0 Stars! It don’t get better than this.

NEXT UP: ‘HIGH & DRY’ (1981)

THE DEF LEPPARD COLLECTION SERIES

1. Def Leppard E.P. – 7″ Single (1979)
2. First Strikes 1978-1979 (Bootleg CD)
3. Girl – Sheer Greed (1980)
4. On Through the Night (1980)
5. When the Walls Came Tumbling Down (April 26 1980) (2020)
6. High & Dry (1981)
7. Too Many Jitterbugs – B-Sides And Rarities (2020)
8. Raw – Early BBC Recordings (2020)
9. Girl – Wasted Youth (1982)
10. Pyromania (1983)
11. “Photograph” 7″ Single (1983)
12. “Too Late For Love” 12″ Single (1983)
13. Live at the L.A. Forum 1983 (2018)
14. Seattle, August 3, 1983 (Bootleg CD)
15. Pyromania TV Collection (Bootleg DVD)
16. Hysteria (1987)
17. “Animal” 7″ Single (1987)
18. “Women” 7″ Single (1987)
19. “Pour Some Sugar on Me” 7″ Single (1987)
20. “Hysteria” 7″ Single (1987)
21. “Armageddon It” 7″ Single (1988)
22. “Love Bites” 7″ Single (1988)
23. “Rocket” 7″ Single (1989)
24. Animal Instinct – The Def Leppard Story – Book Review (1987)
25. Rarities – Volume One (2018)
26. Live in Mountain View – August 17, 1988 (Bootleg DVD)
27. Historia – DVD (1988)
28. Live: In the Round, In Your Face (CD Video / DVD) (1989)
29. Adrenalize (1992)
30. “Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad” – Cassette Single (1992)
31. “Tonight” CD Single (1993)
32. Live Shefield 1992 (Bootleg DVD)
33. Retro Active (1993)
34. Visualize DVD (1993)
35. Hard Rock Café – Singapore, Malaysia October 26, 1995 (Bootleg DVD)
36. Vault: Def Leppard Greatest Hits (1980-1995) (1995)
37. “When Love & Hate Collide” – CD Promo Single (1995)
38. Video Archive (1995)
39. Slang (1996)
40. Montreal: The Classic 1996 Broadcast (Bootleg CD)
41. Live Bites: FM Broadcast (Bootleg CD)
42. Live in Argentina 1997 (Bootleg DVD)
43. Euphoria (1999)
44. Rarities – Volume Two (2019)
45. Rarities – Volume Three (2019)
46. Tokyo 1999 (Bootleg CD)
47. Cybernauts – Live (2000)
48. X (2002)
49. Hysteria: Classic Albums DVD (2002)
50. Best of Def Leppard (2004)
51. Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection (2005)
52. Yeah! (2006)
53. Songs from the Sparkle Lounge (2008)
54. Man Raze – Surreal (2008)
55. B-Sides (2021)
56. Yeah! II (2021)
57. Yeah! Live (2021)
58. CMT Crossraods – Taylor Swift & Def Leppard (2009)
59. Down ‘N’ Outz -My ReGeneration (2010)
60. Man Raze – PunkFunkRootsRock (2011)
61. Down ‘N’ Outz -The Further Adventures of… (2014)
62. Def Leppard (2015)
63. The Lost Session (2018)
64. Personal Jesus 7″ Single (2018)
65. Down ‘N’ Outz -This is How We Roll (2019)
66. Hits Vegas: Live at Planet Hollywood – Vinyl (2020)
67. Hysteria: Live – Vinyl (2020)
68. Def Leppard Acoustic Vegas – 10″ Vinyl (2020)
69. Down ‘N’ Outz – The Music Box E.P. (2020)
70. Diamond Star Halos (2022)
71. High & Dry – Picture Disc (RSD) (2022)
72. Drastic Symphonies (2023)
73. Drastic Symphonies – Picture Disc (2023)
74. Definitely: The Official Story of Def Leppard (2023)

PREVIOUSLY POSTED:

1. The Def Leppard E.P. (1979/2017)
2. Def Leppard: Interview Picture Disc (1982?)
3. “Bringin’ On the Heartbreak” – 12″ Promo Single (1984)
4. Live at the Top (Bootleg) (1987)
5. “Pour Some Sugar on Me” –  5″ Shaped Picture Disc (1987)
6. Hysteria U.S. Tour 1988 – Tour Book (1988)
7. “Make Love Like a Man” – 12″ Single (1992)
8. “Let’s Get Rocked” – 12″ Single (1992)
9. Adrenalize: The 7 Day Weekend Tour (1992/1993)
10. X: World Tour (2003)
11. Mirrorball – Live & More (2011)
12. Def Leppard: The Definitive Visual History – Book Review (2011)
13. Viva! Hysteria (2013)
14. And There Will Be A Next Time…Live from Detroit (2017)
15. Hysteria: 30th Anniversary Box Set (2017)
16. The Story So Far – The Best of (2018)
17. The Collection, Volume 1 (2018)
18. Hysteria: The Singles Box Set (2018)
19. Live at Abbey Road Studios (2018)
20. Def Leppard: Concert Review – Charlotte, NC June 9th 2018 (2018)
21. The Story So Far – The Best of Volume 2 (2019)
22. The Collection, Volume 2 (2019)
23. London to Vegas (2020)
24. Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 29 March 2019 (2020)
25. The Early Years ’79-’81 (2020)
26. The Collection, Volume 3 (2021)
27. Def Leppard Funko Pop!