VIVIAN CAMPBELL: DEF LEPPARD Are 'A Pop Band Disguised As A Rock Band'

January 13, 2003

DEF LEPPARD guitarist Vivian Campbell, a former member of DIO, WHITESNAKE and the NWOBHM (New Wave Of British Heavy Metal) pioneers SWEET SAVAGE, has sensationally revealed to The Oakland Tribune that he believes that DEF LEPPARD are nothing more than "a pop band disguised as a rock band."

"I don't think that DEF LEPPARD has ever been a heavy metal band," Campbell said. "Certainly in the early days, it was part of that movement and it got lumped in with that whole new wave of British heavy metal.

"And, fair enough, there was a lot of spandex and leather jackets and guitar riffs. Since then, certainly from (1983's) 'Pyromania' onward, DEF LEPPARD has been a song band.

"[DEF LEPPARD has] been a pop band disguised as a rock band," Campbell said. "You could take away all the bombast from the DEF LEPPARD productions — all the big drums and all the big guitars — and underneath all that there is a song that you could play on an acoustic guitar."

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