VIVIAN CAMPBELL Says There Will Be A New Studio Album From DEF LEPPARD

In a new interview with Joe Rock of Long Island's rock station 102.3 WBAB, DEF LEPPARD guitarist Vivian Campbell spoke about the band's latest single, "Just Like 73". The official lyric video for the track, which features a guest guitar solo from Tom Morello, can be seen below.

Regarding the inspiration for the "Just Like 73" title, Vivian said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We're all of a similar age, within a few years. And [the year 1973] was the time when we all came of age musically. That was our musical awakening. For me, it was Marc Bolan and T. REX. It was also the start of the 'Ziggy Stardust' era. I mean, '73 was an exceptional year for music. Some stunning albums were released that year. So, it was a great time to become aware of the magic of music, and we all share that in common, we all have that frame of reference in DEF LEPPARD, because we all sort of blossomed through that era of music. And 'Just Like 73' is just this tongue-in-cheek homage to that era and that time in our life. The drum beat of the song that that opens it is reminiscent of the glitter band or something. And then everything else, like the huge vocals, is typical DEF LEPPARD. And it's a catchy song, so it fits right in there. We've been playing it [live] right from day one. You can tell that only a certain amount of people in the audience are immediately familiar with it, but it has a familiarity. By the time you get to the second chorus, people are, 'Oh, yeah, here we go.' So it's it fits right in there."

He continued: "We don't wanna burden people with new music, per se, in this day and age. It's very, very difficult to get that across. You've gotta to be very strategic about how and when, where you place new music. For us, it's just the one new song this year. So it's not a big problem. We've slotted it in there. But we realize there's a fine balance to walk between playing new music and playing deep album cuts and playing the huge hits that most people know. But we've gotten very good at that. We've had a lot of practice."

When Rock noted that DEF LEPPARD likely doesn't have plans to release a new studio album, based on what Vivian just said, the guitarist clarified: "Well, there is [a plan to release an album], actually. I mean, 'Just Like 73' was actually left over from [DEF LEPPARD's latest album, 2022's] 'Diamond Star Halos'. The song just wasn't quite finished a few years ago. Plus we had an abundance of songs for 'Diamond Star'. And yes, we are constantly writing music, and yes, there will be another record."

Elaborating on what keeps him and his DEF LEPPARD bandmates motivated to keep creating new music, Vivian said: "We do it for ourselves. I mean, we make albums and record new music and write new music for selfish reasons. I mean, we sort of have to do it. That is what we do, and it keeps a relevance to DEF LEPPARD. Even if we have no expectations whatsoever that we're gonna have a hit song or anyone's gonna buy an album — that's a bonus if any of that happens — but there's a percentage, a core of our audience that craves us doing new music, and that's great, we absolutely appreciate that, but we do it for ourselves. We're a bunch of selfish bastards. But it keeps it relevant. We don't wanna just be a nostalgia act. And yeah, we realize that the great majority of people who come to DEF LEPPARD shows in this day and age wanna hear 'Animal', 'Hysteria', 'Rock Of Ages', 'Photograph', '[Pour Some] Sugar [On Me]', all these great, great songs. They're not necessarily coming to hear 'Just Like 73', but when we present it to 'em, they're going, 'Oh, okay. Yeah, that's good. I can hang with that.' You've gotta keep exercising the muscle. We are creative musicians and that's how we started and that's how we intend to end. So it's an ongoing journey."

Last month, DEF LEPPARD guitarist Phil Collen told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" about "Just Like 73": "We started it when we were doing 'Diamond Star Halos', and anyone who doesn't know, that's a line from a Marc Bolan song [from] T. REX. He says 'hubcap diamond star halo'. And me and Joe [Elliott, DEF LEPPARD singer] have always used that phrase to describe the time that we got really baptized into music. I remember seeing [David] Bowie on 'The Old Grey Whistle Test' and 'Top Of The Pops' and was, like, 'Oh my God. This is my guy.' I was, like, 14 or 15. I'd already seen DEEP PURPLE; it my first concert, which was amazing. So, then all of a sudden this glam stuff came out. So we would always describe that as 'Diamond Star Halos'."

Phil continued: "I was writing a song with Dave Bassett, who I wrote 'Kick' with. And the same deal — I really want to put a SLADE slant on the backing vocals and just make it very much about '72 or '73. And Joe heard the demo and he's, like, 'Why can't you have both?' So we did, and then Joe started writing some lyrics because he's obviously really tapped into that, and all the verse lyrics and all the imagery from exactly that 'Diamond Star Halos' period ends up on this song. We actually hadn't finished it, so the rest of the band hadn't even heard the demo, and we played it to everyone and they all loved it. They all put their stuff on it. Viv [guitarist Vivian Campbell] played guitar, Sav [Rick Savage] did [his bass tracks], Rick [Allen, DEF LEPPARD drummer] put his part on and then we had some vocals — everyone had sung on it — and before you know it, it came out like this. So, we're really thrilled. It actually sounds better than the stuff on 'Diamond Star Halos', to my ears. So I'm really excited about that. And it seems that everyone really digs it as well."

Asked if this is a one-off single or the seed of another DEF LEPPARD full-length album, Phil said: "Oh, it's absolutely the seed of another DEF LEPPARD record. I mean, it was a leftover from the album before, but it was also the start of a new album. So, without a doubt. [Joe and I] write all the time. We send each other things. Sav gets in on there. Just between the three of us, there's just a lot of stuff floating around already. So we've, yeah, got a bunch of stuff. It's really exciting. And it's a great place to be. It's never that thing where, 'Well, we've got to sit down and write an album.' It's, like, 'Wow, I can't wait to play this to the guys and see what the reaction is.' And we keep pushing the boat out even further."

Regarding whether he envisions a new DEF LEPPARD full-length album coming out this year, Phil said: "This year would be pushing it, I think this year. But once we kind of get into the groove, I think — yeah. Who knows? Next year [or] early the year after. But you know how these things go. We have these tours and everything, but we've got a new song. So that's really exciting. So that'll be on the go pretty soon."

"Just Like 73" will arrive on seven-inch vinyl on August 2, 2024 and will be available in a special color variant only through the band's D2C store and in black at all retailers.

"Just Like 73" notably marks the first collaboration between the iconic rock titans and the legendary guitarist, sonic innovator and co-founder of RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE and AUDIOSLAVE. The single revolves around a classic DEF LEPPARD stomp fueled by a robust stadium-size beat, thick riffing, and a signature chant, "Rock with me, just like 73!" Meanwhile, a knockout gang vocal gives way to a signature fret-scorching solo from Morello. The instantly recognizable whammy bar wheezes as he shreds at lightspeed into one last head-nodding hook.

Of the collaboration, Elliott previously shared: "It encapsulates a time that burned deep into our DNA. We wanted to celebrate that very important and glorious time."

Morello said: "I had a blast rocking a solo on 'Just Like 73'. I played 'Rock Of Ages' in my college cover band almost 40 years ago and here DEF LEPPARD are still killing it in stadiums with a brand new tune that's one of their best."

DEF LEPPARD teased "Just Like 73" on social media in June, sharing an image with two different phone numbers for U.S. and U.K. fans to call.

"Light up the fuel. Just Like 73. Hotline Now Open," the band wrote in an accompanying caption.

Fans who called the phone numbers were able to hear Elliott singing lyrics from the song, which marks the band's first new original music since "Diamond Star Halos".

DEF LEPPARD's 23-city trek with JOURNEY is kicked off on July 6 in St. Louis, Missouri and will continue through September 8 in Denver, Colorado. Along the way, the two Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductees will bring their show to stadiums in major cities like Chicago, Nashville, Boston, Toronto, New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco and more.

Elliott previously shared that DEF LEPPARD's set on the 2024 tour will celebrate specific parts of the rockers' history. "We may even have a surprise or two up our sleeves," he said in a statement.

The DEF LEPPARD/JOURNEY tour is being promoted by AEG Entertainment.

Both bands are offering VIP packages through their respective web sites.

DEF LEPPARD's VIP experiences include a premium seat, personal photo with the band, exclusive merchandise and more.

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's 2022 stadium tour across North America with MÖTLEY CRÜE reportedly sold more than 1.3 million tickets.

Photo credit: Ross Halfin