DEF LEPPARD's PHIL COLLEN Says Newer Rock Bands Are Lacking 'Star Power'

In a new interview with Listen Next!, Phil Collen was asked which artist or artists DEF LEPPARD will "pass the baton to" once he and his bandmates decide to retire. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I don't know. I'm still waiting, actually. You hear a lot of stuff out there, but it's few and far between.

"There's a problem, I think, and I think it's the TikTok and YouTube crowd.

"When bands or artists would write before, it would be because they wanted to an artist and wanted to express themselves and write songs and share them and go, 'Wow. Check this out', as opposed to, 'Wow. Look at me. Please love me,'" he continued. "I don't wanna sound like an old dude, but that's what I noticed. And I'm still waiting for someone like Prince or [LED] ZEPPELIN or something that has a bit more something to it. There's very little stuff.

"METALLICA's great; when you see 'em, there's a big difference," Phil said. "GUNS N' ROSES are awesome. I don't see that anymore; I don't see that star power. I don't see that kind of thing. So that's what I'm waiting for. There hasn't been any of that. NIRVANA was… Obviously, FOO FIGHTERS is an offshoot of NIRVANA. And I love the FOO FIGHTERS; I think they're great. But when NIRVANA came out, I was, like, 'Woah, this is amazing.' The SEX PISTOLS — amazing. But I'm just waiting — still waiting."

When the interviewer noted that the rock scene is lacking the future festival headliners, Phil said: "That question comes up quite a bit. People go, 'What about this?' And I don't hear anything. I hear derivative stuff and stuff that's not inspired. You wanna get inspired. So, yeah, I'm still waiting. It's like in every genre of music. In hip-hop, it's the same deal. You're waiting to hear… Or R&B. You listen to the old R&B — you listen to Stevie Wonder, you listen to Marvin Gaye and stuff like that — nothing is like that anymore and that kind of soul and vibe and everything. I think we've kind of comfortably got into something else that doesn't really demand that kind of excellence. It's rare that that kind of talent comes along."

DEF LEPPARD's "The Stadium Tour" kicked off on June 16 in Atlanta, Georgia. The veteran British rockers are co-headlining the trek with MÖTLEY CRÜE, with support from POISON and JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS.

DEF LEPPARD's set on the tour includes some of the band's biggest hits, such as "Pour Some Sugar On Me", "Photograph" and "Rock Of Ages" — as well as songs from the group's latest album, "Diamond Star Halos", among them "Kick" and "Fire It Up".

DEF LEPPARD's long-delayed North American trek was originally planned for 2020 and later moved to 2021 and then to 2022. "The Stadium Tour" will conclude on September 9 in Las Vegas, Nevada.