PHIL COLLEN Says Producer 'MUTT' LANGE Was Responsible For 'Probably About 99%' Of DEF LEPPARD's Success In 1980s

In a new interview with Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station, DEF LEPPARD guitarist Phil Collen spoke about the band's collaboration with Robert John "Mutt" Lange, considered by some to be one of the greatest music producers of all time. Lange's big break came with the success of his work with AC/DC, specifically on the 1979 album "Highway To Hell" and the 1980 classic "Back In Black", before he started his relationship with DEF LEPPARD on 1981's "High 'N' Dry", and continued working with the latter band on 1983's "Pyromania" and 1987's "Hysteria". He also helped executive produce "Adrenalize" for DEF LEPPARD in 1992.

Asked how responsible Lange was for DEF LEPPARD's success in the 1980s, Phil said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Probably about 99%. [he taught us] everything. He taught us how to sing, he taught us how to play guitar. He sings on every song we've ever done [with him]. He does backing vocals. He's got the best singing voice out of all of us put together. And he sings on everything he does. I mean, I even hear him on, 'I'm on a highway to hell.' His backing vocals are on that, and all the Bryan Adams stuff, Shania Twain stuff. Obviously, all of our stuff. And, yeah, you hear him on FOREIGNER, I think on THE CARS. He's just got a great voice. It's just amazing."

After Meltdown noted that some record producers tend to be very hands off in the studio, unlike Lange, Collen said: "[Mutt did] everything. He's the best producer in the world, [and a] songwriter as well. You'd come to him and you go, 'I've got this chorus.' He'd go, 'Okay, well, that's not strong enough for a chorus. We could use that for a middle eight or a bridge or something like that, but, yeah, we need a stronger chorus.' And he'd come and he'd write with us as well. So that was a great thing."

Reflecting on the songwriting and recording sessions for what became "Hysteria", Phil said: "We'd got 11 songs, and [Mutt] heard Joe [Elliott, DEF LEPPARD singer] play an acoustic, and he goes, he's, like, 'What's that?' He goes, 'I don't know.' He's going, 'Pour some sugar on me,' and it's, like, 'Whoa, stop.' So we, we went in, took about 10 days to do that song. We stopped everything, and Mutt just kind of orchestrated the whole thing. So he was very active in everything we did. And most of the bands that he worked with, he did that kind of thing with everyone.

"Mutt does everything," Collen repeated. "Everything. And he'll play stuff. He'll play something on a guitar. He'll go, 'Well, play this.' And you hand him the guitar and it's, like, 'I can't play that.' It'd be insane. Or at singing. 'So sing this.' He'd be, like, 'Hey, hey, hey, hey.' And whatever, and you're, like, 'Really?' And he does it just, like, one take. It's amazing."

During a 2024 appearance on FOO FIGHTERS lead guitarist Chris Shiflett's "Shred With Shifty" podcast, Collen was asked about the impact of Lange on the DEF LEPPARD's sound.

"Mutt realized he could work with these guys; they would be malleable," Collen said at the time. "They wouldn't be going, 'I ain't doing that!' And just even working with him was like a beautiful learning experience. I loved sitting next to him for hours, weeks, years on end, just going, 'Well, why is that cool and why isn't that cool?'

"It was just great to work with him, and we put so much faith in him, and I think with 'Pyromania', it was the band's own sound," Phil added. "The earlier albums had some of their own thing going but it wasn't big enough. 'High 'N' Dry', yeah, you could hear the AC/DC thing, but with 'Pyromania', it only sounded like DEF LEPPARD, and it was bigger."

DEF LEPPARD's recent European dates — with EXTREME as the support act — marked the first headline solo shows from the Sheffield rock giants since their sold-out tour in 2023 alongside MÖTLEY CRÜE.

DEF LEPPARD's 2026 European tour kicked off in Sweden on June 13, and continued with shows in Finland, Switzerland and Germany. DEF LEPPARD played a total of six U.K. gigs, including a homecoming show on June 30 at Utilita Arena in Sheffield.

DEF LEPPARD's current lineup — which has played together since the 1990s — includes Joe Elliott (lead vocals),Phil Collen (guitar),Vivian Campbell (guitar),Rick Savage (bass) and Rick Allen (drums).

This past January, DEF LEPPARD released a new single, "Rejoice". The dynamic track came ahead of DEF LEPPARD's triumphant return to Las Vegas for their "Def Leppard: Live at Caesars Palace The Las Vegas Residency" that kicked off on February 3 and ran through February 28. "Rejoice" is available via UMe on all streaming platforms.

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