PHIL COLLEN Believes Singing 'With American Accents' Had 'Something To Do' With DEF LEPPARD's Massive Success In U.S.

In a new interview with Music Radar, DEF LEPPARD guitarist Phil Collen was asked if it's fair to say that he and his bandmates were much more commercially successful in America than they were in their native England. "Oh, absolutely," he responded. "Something dawned on me a few years ago — we sing with American accents. And that's because we learned from Mick Jagger. He would always sing with an American accent, and it wasn't put on — it wasn't like a thing. That's where he learned to sing it. He learned from Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, James Brown — that's how he learned to sing. So then we would learn it from them, [LED] ZEPPELIN… everyone would sing with American accents because they're copying American artform, if you like. So I think that may have something to do with it. And [longtime DEF LEPPARD producer] Mutt Lange was a student of American music."

He continued: "I definitely met people in America for years and they didn't know we were English. They thought we were American and sounded American. It may have something to do with that. But I think it was just it just lent itself to an American kind of style."

2022 saw DEF LEPPARD release their critically and commercially acclaimed 12th studio album, "Diamond Star Halos", which charted all over the world including a top 5 and top 10 in both North America and the U.K.. Early 2023, saw the band score a U.K. No 1 Netflix film with their cameo in acclaimed movie "Bank Of Dave". DEF LEPPARD singer Joe Elliott is also currently riding high in charts across the world with his guest vocal on the GHOST track "Spillways".

DEF LEPPARD also embarked on a sold-out stadium tour across North America with MÖTLEY CRÜE in 2022 — selling over 1.3 million tickets. February and March 2023 saw the tour wow audiences throughout Central and South America. In May, June and July the must-see tour of 2023 comes to Europe, including a stop at the iconic Wembley Stadium on July 1.

With more than 110 million albums sold worldwide and two prestigious Diamond Awards in the U.S., 2019 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductees DEF LEPPARD — Elliott, Collen, Rick Savage (bass),Vivian Campbell (guitar) and Rick Allen (drums) — continue to be one of the most important forces in rock music. Over the course of their career, the band has produced a series of classic ground-breaking albums that set the bar for generations of music fans and artists alike. The group's spectacular live shows and arsenal of hits have become synonymous with their name, leading DEF LEPPARD to be heralded as the world's greatest live rock band.

DEF LEPPARD's influential career includes numerous hit singles and ground-breaking multi-platinum albums — including two of the best-selling albums of all time, "Pyromania" and "Hysteria", capturing the group's legendary tracks, bringing together classic LEPPARD hits such as "Rock Of Ages", "Pour Some Sugar On Me" and "Foolin'".

For the first time, in January 2018 DEF LEPPARD debuted their full recording catalog worldwide via streaming and download platforms. As they did with the original release of their records, DEF LEPPARD dominated the worldwide charts again, which found their albums charting in the iTunes Top 10 in more than 30 countries, including "Hysteria" at No. 3 in the U.S., and No. 5 in the U.K. (36 years after the album had charted at No 1 in the Billboard charts). DEF LEPPARD also had the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 records on the U.S. catalog albums chart. The band have gone on to amass a staggering 5.5 billion streams since 2018, reaching a younger 18-44 demographic that now represents 58% of their fanbase. Additionally, the band have garnered an impressive 15 million followers across their social media platforms.

In May 2022, DEF LEPPARD released their twelfth studio album "Diamond Star Halos". The album debuted at No. 1 on the Apple and Amazon Music charts. The album also scored a Top 10 debut on North America's Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart, marking the band's eighth Top 10 album of their career, and garnered a No. 1 debut on Billboard's Hard Rock chart. "Diamond Star Halos" had numerous Top 10 chart entries globally including a Top 5 debut in the U.K.

DEF LEPPARD has just released "Drastic Symphonies", a brand-new album featuring the band's greatest tracks dramatically reimagined via a collaboration with London's iconic Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.