DEF LEPPARD's PHIL COLLEN On ROCK HALL Induction: It's 'Not A Big Deal For Me At All'

DEF LEPPARD guitarist Phil Collen recently spoke to the Grand Haven, Michigan radio station 93.1 WMPA about the band's upcoming induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. He said: "[It's] not a big deal for me at all — actually, any of us in the band — 'cause we didn't expect anything like that. It's done in different ways — it's like an electoral college vote thing; it's a panel. And they did, over the last eight years, start having one vote — a collection of all the fan votes — and what was really cool about it is our fans overwhelmingly had more votes than any other artist in the history of it. So that was cool."

He continued: "I guess earlier on, people weren't so upset… Our fans were really upset that we weren't in, so, over the years, they've been getting almost hostile towards it. So that was great; to me, that was the best part about it — just hearing that. And, obviously, that influenced the panel, I guess. If you see these numbers every day, you go, 'Wow!' It's actually great for the band. That means, for whatever reason, people pay more attention towards it. And that's it, really. It moves you into a different bracket, apparently."

Collen added: "Like I said, I'm not really a fan of award shows. I'm not really fond of having birthday parties, personally. But there you go. It's what it is."

One of the top-selling rock acts of of all time, DEF LEPPARD has been eligible for the Rock Hall since 2004.

The 2019 nominees had to release their first recording no later than 1993.

The 34th annual Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony will be held March 29 at Brooklyn, New York's Barclays Center.

HBO will broadcast a truncated version of the ceremony on Saturday, April 27 at 8 p.m. EST.