PHIL COLLEN On His DEF LEPPARD Bandmates: 'We' Still 'Like Hanging Out With Each Other'

In a new interview with Larry Mac of Tucson, Arizona's 96.1 KLPX radio station, DEF LEPPARD guitarist Phil Collen spoke about the great personal friendship which still exists between him and the other members of the band. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah. Well, that's the main thing. We have one dressing room. A lot of people who come and see us, they go, 'Uh, why are you all in one room?' It's, like, 'Because we like hanging out with each other.' It's like being a child. You can still hang out with your buddies at school. It's that kind of thing. No, we love that.

"We've been through so much together — births, deaths, marriages, divorces, family members going, all of this stuff, pets, dogs, you name it," Phil explained. "We've all been there with each other, for each other, and I think that that has a massive effect on that thing. And we all have the same goal. It's interesting, everyone changes through the years, but you remain friends and you have a similar goal — well, an identical goal — so that really keeps it together, and then you just get excited about it."

Collen also talked about DEF LEPPARD's desire to constantly improve the band's live show, complete with a spectacular new visual and lighting design created by Montreal-based Luz Studio. Luz was brought on board to produce a completely fresh live performance environment for the band, which involved delivering a full visual package, including a stage set and striking video content.

"Our new production is brand new," Phil said. "It's this company called Luz, who are from Montreal, and they've done a lot of the stuff in the Sphere in Vegas. The Sphere raised the bar — you've gotta actually kind of keep up to it. If you see — like a couple of years ago, a Taylor Swift show or Beyoncé, it kind of really elevated. So you have to keep doing that — you have to elevate if you wanna stay valid. So, we do. And this new thing is the most amazing set we've ever had. So, yeah, you constantly keep upgrading, updating, and getting better. We really sing our vocals live. And, again, so many artists out there don't do that. But to be able to pull that off, that means you've gotta rehearse and warm up and do all that stuff for hours and hours every day. It's worth it, though. It's real."

Asked how the new stage design came together, Collen said: "[Luz] came to see us and then we said, 'We've really gotta upgrade, update,' and gave them a few suggestions. And then they came back and they were absolutely amazing. And even then, it doesn't do it justice when you look on a computer. You have to run it in a — not an arena, but a sound stage or somewhere where there's a stage and the lights and all of this stuff. And then you get the genuine kind of article. Otherwise, yeah, it's just writing it down. And we're very involved in that. And we had no bad comments whatsoever. It was, like, really good. And in the past, we have, with other companies. It's, like, 'Oh my God, this is really not working. This is terrible,' and everything. But with these guys, there's a guy called Matt [Matthieu Larivée] who kind of runs the thing, and it was, like, 'Wow, this is the best thing we've ever seen, so yeah, well done.' But you have to be involved in it."

DEF LEPPARD's third Las Vegas residency, "Def Leppard Live At Caesars Palace: The Las Vegas Residency", took place this past February. The 12-show run followed sold-out residencies in 2013 and 2019, marking the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductees' first time at the 4,300-seat capacity The Colosseum.

DEF LEPPARD's setlist for the band's third Las Vegas residency included the recently released single "Rejoice" as well as "White Lightning" (from 1992's "Adrenalize" album),which hadn't been played since the '90s.

In January 2025, DEF LEPPARD released a cover of Ben E. King's 1961 classic "Stand By Me". All proceeds from the song went to FireAid, which raises money for those impacted by the fires that swept through Los Angeles in January 2025.

DEF LEPPARD's version of the song is featured in the Netflix film "Bank Of Dave 2: The Loan Ranger", which was released in January 2025. The band can be seen performing the track before the credits.

DEF LEPPARD's "Just Like 73" single, featuring a guest guitar solo from RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE guitarist Tom Morello, was made available in June 2024.

DEF LEPPARD's 12th studio album, "Diamond Star Halos", came out in 2022. A year later, the band followed it up with "Drastic Symphonies", a collection of reimagining of some of DEF LEPPARD's greatest hits with London's Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Abbey Road. The album spent 15 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Current Classical chart.

DEF LEPPARD was finally inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in March 2019 — 14 years after the British rockers first became eligible.

Photo credit: Ross Halfin (courtesy of Ume)