Def Leppard’s Vivian Campbell talks British metal

• Courtesy Press Here Publicity
• Def Leppard: Rick Allen (from left), Rick Savage, Joe Elliott, Phil Colleen, Vivian Campbell

Irish rock guitarist Vivian Campbell sports an impeccable rock ‘n’ roll resume: from his humble yet influential beginnings in Sweet Savage to his formative period with Dio that constituted the classic era of that band. He even did a stint with Whitesnake, as well as some recent touring with Thin Lizzy. It was Def Leppard, however, who would give Campbell a permanent gig after the passing of the late, great Steve Clark in 1991. Recently Campbell has been fearlessly battling Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and he is still hitting the road this summer, despite his ongoing treatment. This transmission was dispatched pre-show from Austin, Texas, on the Heroes Tour that Def Leppard is co-headlining with KISS.

How’s the tour going?
It’s pretty warm, it’s getting warmer, yeah. It’s been great, actually. We’re only about a week or two into it, so far so good. The KISS guys have been very professional. Both bands get along, so that’s always a plus.

How are you feeling, personally?
I’m a little worse for wear this week. I just did another chemo all day Monday. We were in Southern California, so we scheduled my next and last chemo appointment for this trip. I must admit I’m feeling worse for wear after that, but every day is a little better. That was the worst of it. The last couple of shows have been pretty tough for me, but we just arrived in Austin, Texas this afternoon and tomorrow is a day off, so I’m going to be sleeping a lot.

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How’s the new Def Leppard album coming along?
We’re kind of doing that in installments. We started in February, there was a second installment in May, and there are plans for a third and final installment later in the year, probably November or December. We essentially will have it done and have it out by springtime next year. That’s our plan. We plan to follow it up with a full year’s worth of touring and not just America this time. We’ll take it overseas to Asia and Europe. So it’ll be good. We’ve got a bunch of songs on the go. You know, starting them is the easy part. Finishing them is always a lot more difficult laughs. So if you’re a betting man, you might want to put twenty bucks on whether or not we deliver on time. We’ll see how it goes.

That’s funny because I talked to Joe Elliott a few month ago, and he said the same thing. I’ve read that you’re the “close enough for rock ‘n’ roll” guy in the band and that you try and encourage the band to get on with it in the studio.
Leppard, it just is what it is. It’s a very unusual, very unique band, so the way the band creates is not like other bands. I’ve had experiences recording with other bands in the past and doing more of the traditional method. I tend to think that there’s a window of time when you can create something, and then after awhile you’re just looking up your own asshole, or flogging a dead horse. Trying to find perfection, I mean, it’s not always something that’s attainable. Nothing is perfect. I get very frustrated in the studio with the band in the studio and I think they know it. It’s no secret. But I don’t expect that they’ll ever change. That’s the way the band has created records for decades. The first part of the record came together really quickly because we played as a live band to cut the backing tracks, which I think was very important for us to do because that also makes us write more rock songs when we create that way. There’s a lot more energy. We got a good part of that covered at the get-go, so I think we’re ahead of the game. The band has a tendency to write to order rather than just go in and record songs that we have, or write in the studio. We tend to do a certain amount of that, but then there’s a tendency in the band to think, “Ok, we need to do this kind of a record, so we’re gonna need this kind of a song, and then when we have that we’re gonna need this kind of a song.” So that’s the process that really frustrates me is trying to reverse engineer songs. I am not aware of other bands that do that and I’m not really aware of its merit in this day and age. But then again, you could argue that there’s very little merit in having a full-length album in this day and age either. I mean, I personally don’t think that there is. I think Phil kind of agrees with me. I think Joe still believes in the album, Phil believes it, that that’s what our fans want. More power to them, if that’s how it goes. If you think we can sell a record, then let’s make a record. Let’s make it quick.

You were just a kid when you were in Sweet Savage. What did you think when you heard the Metallica cover of “Killing Time?”
I was very flattered when Metallica covered Sweet Savage. I couldn’t believe how much Metallica sounded like Sweet Savage when I first heard Metallica. Even James Hetfield sounds a lot like Ray Haller, the singer in Sweet Savage, the way he sings. I guess they were influenced by a lot of bands from that movement. But yeah, it was pretty flattering, gotta say.

The NWOBHM (new wave of British heavy metal) bands are the descendants of ’70s hard rock, but the speed and aggression almost seems to spring from out of nowhere. What was inspiring all those bands to play so much faster?
It was a lot to do with the punk movement. We were still listening to classic rock bands of the era like Thin Lizzy, UFO, and AC/DC, and whatever, we were still into heavy rock. But the energy that punk had, we were still listening to punk music as well. Sweet Savage was probably as much influenced by Thin Lizzy as we were by Motorhead. Motorhead was one of those bands, you didn’t know where to place them. They were basically a thrash band. And also, a lot of it was youthful exuberance. I mean, we were really young at the time and we were really just kind of amped up on cigarettes and coffee. Our drummer was particularly nervous, and if we would rehearse a song at 75 beats per minute, he’d play it at 100 when we were on stage. So everything was just kind of accelerated. It wasn’t a conscious effort by any means, but I think ultimately it was the punk movement that ignited the energy.

What was it like to play with Thin Lizzy?
Oh man, that was so much fun. I mean, they were such an influential band for me. And the guitar parts, the guitar players, the classic Lizzy era of Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson on guitar, they were guitar parts I knew inside and out when I was a teenager, so I had such a great time playing those parts. Probably my biggest guitar influence was Gary Moore. He was in and out of Thin Lizzy through the years. Getting to play songs like “Black Rose” and to play Gary Moore’s parts, it was a real thrill. I was just a real fanboy, you know? It was short lived, but it was sweet.

Enjoy the rest of the tour. Get better!
I will. Feeling better everyday.

KISS and Def Leppard play Aaron’s Amphitheatre at Lakewood on Fri., July 18. $46.50-$202. 7 p.m. 2002 Lakewood Way. www.aaronsamphitheatre.com.