DEF LEPPARD's VIVIAN CAMPBELL: 'We're Very, Very Good At What We Do'

August 14, 2006

Brandon Griggs of The Salt Lake Tribune recently conducted an interview with DEF LEPPARD guitarist Vivian Campbell. An excerpt from the chat follows:

The Salt Lake Tribune: There's been so much drama and tragedy in the band's history. Does that ever overshadow the music and become a distraction?

Campbell: Not at all. We in the band don't concern ourselves with any of that stuff. It's absolutely not an issue. We don't consider ourselves cursed or unlucky. If you take any group of people and track them over 27, 28 years, there's gonna be some good times and some bad times.

The Salt Lake Tribune: I would think that playing in a band with Rick Allen would be pretty inspiring.

Campbell: It is. Rick's an absolute marvel. He may be a better drummer now than when he had two arms, in terms of his timekeeping. He's so locked into the groove. He's very, very inspirational to us and to a lot of people in the audience. We're very lucky to have him.

The Salt Lake Tribune: DEF LEPPARD has been going for more than 25 years now. You've survived when a lot of bands from that time have faded away or broken up. Do you have any explanations for the band's longevity and popularity?

Campbell: When you think about bands from the '80s, you think of bands like MÖTLEY CRÜE and you think of Nikki Sixx and Tommy Lee and Vince Neil. They were all sort of bad-boy characters. Or you think about VAN HALEN and David Lee Roth. But when you think about DEF LEPPARD, most people really didn't know the guys in the band. LEPPARD has always been more about the music. It's the quality of the songs. We're very, very good at what we do. We work very hard.

The Salt Lake Tribune: And now you're all sober and in shape.

Campbell: Yeah, that's the other thing. We go to the gym. In any hotel in any city, you can find us at the gym. And nobody's got any drinking or drug problems. We're such a family band now — everyone's got kids. It ain't the '80s anymore, you know?

Read the entire interview at www.sltrib.com.

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