I am sure you have a few questions… Like, who are the Cybernauts? The Cybernauts are a Mick Ronson/David Bowie tribute band and they play all the hits they had together. David might have wrote the songs, but Mick was the guitarist and what a player he was and what life he gave those songs. And, why is this part of the Def Leppard series? Well, that is because two members of this cover band are none other then singer Joe Elliott and guitarists Phil Collen from Def Leppard. The rest of the Cybernauts are Trevor Bolder (bass) and Woody Woodmansey (drums) both from David Bowie’s band Spiders from Mars. Also, to round it out on keyboard is Dick Decent.

Trevor and Joe meet way back in 1983 and had been friends ever since. When Trevor was asked to put together a band for a Mick Ronson memorial service, he found out Joe and Phil were asked to play as well so they teamed up for the event and performed. A few years later they were asked to do it again, but this time they decided to actually do a small tour with the band and finish it at the Mick Ronson memorial show. Joe had the idea of recording the Dublin show and they did. That was August 7, 1997 in Dublin, Ireland at the Olympia Theatre. And three years later in 2000, the CD was released and only released in Japan.

My copy though was released in 2001 and was a 2 CD set with the original show, plus a 2nd CD of studio recordings. The E.P. was called The Further Adventures of the Cybernauts…which we will discuss later. For now, we will focus on disc 1, the live show they recorded which consisted of 18 tracks that will take you back to those critical years of David Bowie and Mick Ronson and you are reminded of what an amazing catalog the two had together.

The show kicks off with “Watch That Man” from Bowie’s album ‘Aladdin Sane’ and the band stay true to the essence of the original. “Hang onto Yourself” is fast and frenzied with a slight punk edge to it. “Changes” sees some great keyboards from Decent and Joe attacks the lyrics and there are some great harmonies on the chorus. A little messy, but still a fun song. “The Superman” opens with some acoustic guitar then goes electric and is a little heavier then you might remember, but I don’t mind, I still dig it.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Zxc6TX3k0g0%3Fsi%3DHpEyvFFTEOdBGZoK

“Five Years” is up next and I have to say, it is killer. Joe does a great job in his delivery of the lyrics and the groove and rhythm of the song is handled perfectly by Trevor and Woody. Hell, they were on the original so why wouldn’t the slay it. Then we get to a personal favorite of mine with “Cracked Actor” and they have some fun with this one, rock it out and is that harmonica…nice! The real highlight of this album for me is “Moonage Daydream” and Phil’s guitar work. If I didn’t know this was Phil, I wouldn’t have known that was him playing. This could be one of the best solos he’s played. He doesn’t do his normal fast, frenzied fret work, no it is tasteful, technical and totally brilliant.

Next up, we get an actual Mick Ronson solo cut and not a Bowie song. “Angel No. 9” and Joe kills it and he is helped with some fine backing vocals as well. Listen to the bass on this one as Trevor is nailing it as it gives the song a little something extra. “Jean Genie” stomps in and marches along to perfection. “Life on Mars” sees some stellar playing from Decent and Elliott’s vocals are sincere and elegant especially on that chorus. Great job sir!!

“The Man Who Sold The World” opens with that wicked guitar riff from Phil doing his best Ronson and some more of Trevor’s superior bass work. Another great rhythm section here. “Starman” is an all out blast as the guys let loose and enjoy themselves with this one. “Width of a Circle” is another must hear track as they go all epic with this one as it goes on for over 10 minutes. A song I’m less familiar with, but enjoyed immensely. “Ziggy Stardust” is a classic and the boys don’t disappoint here either. One Leppard fans are familiar with as well as Leppard have covered this one so no wonder Joe nails this one. The album would be lesser if this wasn’t included.

Then we get a Velvet Underground hit with “White Light, White Heat”, but to be fair, Ronson did cover it on his second solo album, “Play Don’t Worry”. Oh yeah, Bowie covered this one a lot live so all makes sense. This song is one the band seems to enjoy as they have a blast with this one and you will too as you sing along. That seems to be the end, but don’t forget we have encores to do and first is “Rock N’ Roll Suicide” and is laid back, acoustic and Joe sings it matching the tone of the music. “Suffragette City” turns it up a notch and the band goes full force. The backing vocals are killer. What a fun song to get the crowd and the band moving. The final track is “All the Young Dudes” and is a Mott the Hoople song written by Bowie. And even though, not a Ronson song, seems appropriate to end the show with this one. A classic rock singalong song on that chorus. Nicely done.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=kdH3oCnRPj4%3Fsi%3D92s535OxyOLx-zXu

And that is the main show. A brilliant live show by a group of talented musicians that absolutely love this music and give it the respect it deserves. Joe’s vocals are in prime shape and Phil plays the songs as they should and his talent shows through for that reason. Trevor & Woody were on most of these songs so of course they are the rhythm section that gives these songs life and makes this all worth while. Dick Decent’s keyboards are perfection at times and the added umph these songs need. It is an incredible live show and any Leppard fan will love. Hell, any Mick Ronson/David Bowie fan should love too. For me, My Overall Score is a 5.0 out of 5.0 Stars as I don’t ever tire of this release. It is pure talent from start to finish. Grab this one if you can!!

NEXT UP: CYBERNAUTS – ‘THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF THE CYBERNAUTS’ (2001)

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 Sheffield 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. Cybernauts – The Further Adventures of the Cybernauts (2001)
49. X (2002)
50. Hysteria: Classic Albums DVD (2002)
51. Best of Def Leppard (2004)
52. Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection (2005)
53. Yeah! (2006)
54. Songs from the Sparkle Lounge (2008)
55. Man Raze – Surreal (2008)
56. B-Sides (2021)
57. Yeah! II (2021)
58. Yeah! Live (2021)
59. CMT Crossraods – Taylor Swift & Def Leppard (2009)
60. Down ‘N’ Outz -My ReGeneration (2010)
61. Man Raze – PunkFunkRootsRock (2011)
62. Down ‘N’ Outz -The Further Adventures of… (2014)
63. Def Leppard (2015)
64. The Lost Session (2018)
65. Personal Jesus 7″ Single (2018)
66. Down ‘N’ Outz -This is How We Roll (2019)
67. Hits Vegas: Live at Planet Hollywood – Vinyl (2020)
68. Hysteria: Live – Vinyl (2020)
69. Def Leppard Acoustic Vegas – 10″ Vinyl (2020)
70. Down ‘N’ Outz – The Music Box E.P. (2020)
71. Diamond Star Halos (2022)
72. High & Dry – Picture Disc (RSD) (2022)
73. Drastic Symphonies (2023)
74. Drastic Symphonies – Picture Disc (2023)
75. Definitely: The Official Story of Def Leppard (2023)
76. Def Leppard – ‘One Night Only: Live at The Leadmill’ (RSD) (2024)

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!