Phil collen def leppard biography
def leppard / Phil Collen's First Def Leppard Show
on this day - 9th February 1983
On this day in Def Leppard history Phil Collen made his live debut with the band at a 'Pyromania' tour warm-up show in London, England.
The first show of a tour that would take the band from an opening act to headlining stadiums.
This section looks at the 'Pyromania' tour warm-up show in London where Phil Collen made his live debut with Def Leppard. A venue he had previously played with Girl and Lucy.
"He's somebody that we all get on with."
Def Leppard played their first show with guitarist Phil Collen in London, England on this day in 1983.
The show which served as a warm-up for the main Pyromania world tour took place in London at the legendary Marquee Club. A venue played twice by the band in January 1980.
Phil had joined the band in July 1982 during the making of the Pyromania album.
He had also taken part in the filming of the first two promo videos from the album in December 1982 (Photograph/Rock Of Ages).
Quotes from a 1983 interview are shown below with the band giving their opinions about then 'new' member Phil and the show story from the 'Animal Instinct' biography book.
Phil had played his last show with Girl at the Zig Zag club in mid 1982. A show attended by Joe and Steve. The Marquee Club had been played by Phil as far back as 1976 with his band Lucy.
This show featured the debuts of four new Pyromania songs - 'Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)', 'Photograph', 'Billy's Got A Gun' and 'Rock Of Ages'. The first time anyone had heard these songs outside of 'Photograph' which was the current single. ROA featured Sav playing a Moog keyboard on stage for the first time. Brian Roberston of Motorhead and ex-Thin Lizzy guested with them on the encore of 'Travellin' Band' which would become a tradition during the tour.
This show could well have been the debut of 'Bringin' On the Heartbreak' a
Friday, 12th July 2019
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37 Years Ago Guitarist PHIL COLLEN Joined DEF LEPPARD In London
Phil Collen joined Def Leppard as their co-lead guitar player in London 37 years ago on this day in 1982.
Phil turned up to Peter Mensch's house on 12th July and took over from Pete Willis who had been fired at the same house the day before.
He helped to finish off the 'Pyromania' album including adding some now famous guitar solos on 'Stagefright' (in one take), 'Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)' plus 'Photograph', 'Rock Of Ages' and 'Foolin'' all of which would become hit singles.
He also formed a partnership with Steve Clark that would see them become known as the Terror Twins.
Phil is shown above photographed on stage at the Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs, CO on 29th May.
Shown below are various quotes from the band about Phil and extracts from the official Animal Instinct biography from 1987.
Def Leppard 1983 Interview Quotes
Steve Clark
"We expect better things for the future now that Phil's in the group because he's going to contribute a lot more. Playing with him on stage every night is a pleasure."
Rick Savage
"He's somebody that we all get on with."
Joe Elliott
"We're so pleased with the addition of Phil Collen. Phil's been just great to work with...able to contribute a lot to Pyromania and he's been a joy on tour. His addition has made us stronger than ever."
1987 Animal Instinct - Biography Excerpts
The same day that Pete Willis got his fateful phone call, Phil Collen also received one from Joe Elliott. Joe told him Pete was out of the band. Would Phil mind coming down and helping out with the new album? Joe had already heard through the British rock grapevine that Phil's band Girl was on the verge of breaking up. And from what he knew of Phil and his guitar playing, he was perfect for the Leppard job. Indeed, Peter Mensch claims that no other candidates were seriousl 8 December 1957 Hackney, London, England Hard Rock Guitarist, songwriter Guitar, vocals, bass 1974–present Mercury Lucy, Tush, Dumb Blondes, Girl, Def Leppard, Cybernauts, Man-Raze, BB Steal http://www.philcollenpc1.com/ Philip Kenneth "Phil" Collen (born 8 December 1957) is the co-lead guitarist and one of the backing vocalists for English rock band Def Leppard. He joined the band in 1982 following the departure of Pete Willis. Collen was born in Hackney, London, England. He got his first guitar from his cousin David Pilley, who said "he used to just sit in his bedroom just playing it". Then, at the age of 16, Phil got his first guitar (a red Gibson SG), taught himself how to play, and left school to pursue a career in music. He then joined a line-up of early bands including Lucy, Tush, Dumb Blondes, and Girl. TBA TBA Dumb Blondes originally featured Phil Collen, but continued for some time without him. During his tenure at Girl, Collen's career began rising, spurred by the relative success of the Girl albums Sheer Greed and Wasted Youth, which allowed Collen the opportunity to play at more significant venues. Before Collen's entrance to Def Leppard, he had been previously asked to consider joining the band by Steve Clark and Joe Elliott, whom he knew at the time. Despite this invitation, there was no need to replace Pete Willis, and as a result, Collen stayed as a member of Girl. After W For the drummer/singer of Genesis, see Phil Collins. For other people with similar names, see Phil Collins (disambiguation). British guitarist (born 1957) Musical artist Philip Kenneth Collen (born 8 December 1957) is an English musician who is best known as the co-lead guitarist for the rock band Def Leppard. Collen joined the band in 1982 during the recording of the Pyromania album. Before joining Def Leppard, Collen had performed with a number of bands in the burgeoning British glam metal scene. Outside of Def Leppard, he has been involved in a number of side projects; those projects include the trio Man Raze, with which he is the lead singer and sole guitarist. Collen was born in Hackney, London. He got his first guitar, a red Gibson SG, on his 16th birthday, and taught himself how to play. He played with several bands including Lucy, Tush, and Dumb Blondes. He left school to work as a motorcycle dispatch rider for a typesetter until his band Girl got their first record contract. During his tenure with Girl, Collen's career began rising, spurred by the relative success of the albums Sheer Greed and Wasted Youth, which allowed him the opportunity to play at more significant venues. A young Collen can also be seen on the back cover of Deep Purple's live album Made in Japan as the live photo was actually taken at the Rainbow Theatre in London, a concert Collen attended, and not in Japan. In an interview, Collen revealed that he was approached by Steve Harris to join Iron Maiden replacing guitarist Dennis Stratton. Before Collen joined Def Leppard on 12 July 1982 during the recording of Pyromania, he had previously been asked to consider joining the band during the 1981 tour for High 'n' Dry by Joe Elliott and Steve Clark, whom he knew at the time. Despite this invitation, there was no need to replace Pet
Phil Collen Birth name Philip Kenneth Collen Nicknames: none Born Genres Occupation Instruments Years active Labels Associated Acts Website Biography[]
Early years[]
Lucy[]
Tush[]
Dumb Blondes[]
Girl[]
A young Phil Collen can also be seen on the back cover of Deep Purple´s classic live album Made in Japan as the live photo is actually taken at the Brixton Academy in London, UK, a concert Collen attended, and not in Japan. Def Leppard and Side Projects[]
Phil Collen
Early life
Def Leppard