The tour for Def Leppard’s ‘Pyromania’ album started on February 9th, 1983 in London, England and would go on for 11 months, travel the world on and on December 18th, 1983 in Dortmund, West Germany. The tour was massive and a huge success. They even recorded the show at the L.A. Forum on the September 11th which was released as Live at the L.A. Forum which we reviewed last week. But being a such a fan of the band, I like to collect as many shows as I can get and I found one from a month earlier that was recorded in Seattle, Washington on August 3, 1983. Yes, it is a bootleg, but it is a radio broadcast so they sound is going to be pretty good…and it isn’t bad.

The show as recorded at the Seattle Center Colesium and it is the EXACT same setlist as the LA Forum show the band released. But the show is slightly different and the sound doesn’t sound the same as the other show so it does sound like a different show despite no variations in the setlist. First off, Joe Elliott’s voice is super high in this mix and the guitars are pushed a little to the back. Some songs I notice the bass is even higher then the guitars. The crowd noise isn’t as prominent so sometimes you forget they are there except when Joe interacts with them. The set I have was released in 2022 and on a 2 CD set split identical as my vinyl splits the LA Forum show.

The show kicks off with the air raid sirens, bombs bursting in the background and machine guns firing and it sounds way better and clearer then the Forum show. There is a gap in the track and and it makes it feel like the intro was not even a part of the show. Then the band goes in to “Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)”, Joe’s vocals are a little rough and super loud along with the background vocals while the guitars don’t have the crunch or power you’d hope. But the energy is high and the tempo is really quick. “Rock Brigade” is up next and it sounds a little muddy and again, Joe’s a little rough around the edges and is sounds a little shot. The solo is ripping and they stick to the original song with not much extra added.

“High & Dry (Saturday Night)” is next and the guitars don’t have the power you’d want for this heavy song, but it still kicks ass nonetheless. Then we get to “Another Hit & Run” and this one goes on for over 9 minutes while the LA Forum show was only around 6. The big difference was the crowd participation. At the part in the song where is slows down and Joe speaks to the crowd for a second and then the band jams out. Not a wild & crazy jam and not sure what is going on on the stage at this point. They do this for several minutes with some cool riffing and the Joe screams to stand up, but you can’t really hear the crowd over the music so it seems weird. It goes on way to long for me.

Then for the rest of the disc 1 you get basically the same show as the LA Forum with “Billy’s Got a Gun”, “Mirror Mirror”, “Foolin'” and “Photograph” so no need to really walk though them individually as you can just read the other post. Side 2 kicks off with “Rock of Ages” and the band goes nuts on this one as it goes well over 12 minutes while the LA Forum show was under 5 minutes and I’m sure cut down for length. Why is this one 12 minutes, After the famous opening line, the song is has Rick on drums laying down the beat and Joe is trying to the crowd fired up and then the song kicks in. After 3 minutes of rocking out it is back to the drum (with an electronic clang as well) and Joe turns over the song to the crowd which I can’t hear very well. This goes on for over 8 long and agonizing minutes since the crowd isn’t mic’d so it is painful to sit through and really only her Joe and then that what becomes annoying drum beat.

Then the band goes in to the classic song “Bringing on the Heartbreak” and of course naturally they flow in to “Switch 625” which I love every time I hear it. This one sounds a little different as there is a lot of bass on it that I normally don’t remember hearing. The biggest difference between the two shows is on this one we get a Phil Collen solo. Phil’s solo has some weird electronic sounds that are surprising, but then he gets in to just him and the guitar. It isn’t overly flashy or even real shreddy, just a simple solo and not bad.

The band closes out the main set with “Let It Go” and “Wasted” and you get what you’d expect. Pure rock & roll. They come back on the stage and play “Stagefright” which I will say this again, this is an opening track and not a closing one. Then we get the CCR cover of “Travelin’ Band” but you don’t get Brian May from Queen on this one. The big difference here is that Phil switches to bass and Rick Savage takes over guitar duties on this one and the song goes on for 9 minutes while it was 6 on the LA Forum. There is a long intro as the band gets ready and comes back on stage which is the why it goes on long and the song doesn’t kick in until over 4 minutes in. Once they get in and rock out and they throw in a little Led Zeppelin in to the mix, it is awesome and they are having a good time and the next thing you know, the song and the show is over.

As far as bootlegs go, the sound is good overall, but the vocals are too highin the mix, the guitars are too low and this is a guitar band so you need that guitar. The crowd noise is minimal and at times takes away from sounding like a live show and lacks some of that energy. The show is unfiltered and no cuts as it is the full show where the LA Forum recording cut out a lot of the mess to streamline the show. The LA Forum show is better for sure as it has been cleaned up but if you want a show all wrarts and all, then you’ll like this one. I do have some nitpicky things on this one and I fell rightfully so, so My Overall Score is a 3.0 out of 5.0 Stars. This set is for the diehard fan, if you are a casual fan, the LA Forum show is the one you want if you need a Pyromania Tour show.

NEXT UP: DEF LEPPARD – ‘PYROMANIA TV COLLECTION′ – BOOTLEG DVD

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!