DEF LEPPARD's VIVIAN CAMPBELL: Why I Don't Have Any Tattoos

November 26, 2017

On November 11, DEF LEPPARD and LAST IN LINE guitarist Vivian Campbell was interviewed by Gerry Kelly of BBC Radio Ulster. You can now listen to the chat below.

Asked how he has managed to avoid getting any tattoos after playing in rock bands for more than three and a half decades, Vivian said: "I just don't like that kind of thing. I've never been too image-focused, as you can probably tell. [Laughs] It's always been about the music to me. I've never felt comfortable with being called a rock star. I do think of myself as a musician, but I know that, ultimately, I'm an entertainer. That's what we do — when we go out with DEF LEPPARD, we play songs and we make people happy, I suppose, by reliving their youth, to an extent.

"I do like to keep challenging myself as a musician and keep growing as a musician, and that's why I play in so many different projects," he continued. "So I keep very, very busy, because I generally believe you are what you do, and I always wanted to just be a guitar player in a rock band, so I've been very fortunate that I get to do that. And the different projects that I get involved in, they scratch different itches for me."

Although he personally doesn't have any tattoos, Vivian did reveal that his "teenage brat daughter just got one. 'Cause she went to college. She's 18 and I can't stop her," he explained. "She started Boton University a couple of months ago, and she casually mentioned on the phone a couple of weeks ago: 'Dad, oh, by the way, I got a tattoo.' And she sent me a picture of it."

Campbell received this year's Oh Yeah Legend Award. The award recognizes the exceptional contribution of a musician or music industry figure from Northern Ireland.

The 55-year-old musician was honored at an event at the Mandela Hall in Belfast on November 11 which ran alongside the NI Music Prize.

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