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Philip Kenneth Collen (born 8 December 1957) [1] 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. [2] . Before joining Def Leppard, Collen had performed with a number of bands in the burgeoning British glam metal scene.
May 12, 2023 · The guitarist of Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Def Leppard talks about their latest collaborative album with the Royal Philharmonic, Drastic Symphonies, and how they adapted to the changing music scene in the 1980s. He also reflects on their recent tour, their role models and their legacy.
Oct 26, 2015 · In this exclusive extract from his autobiography, Adrenalized, Def Leppard's Phil Collen recalls the tragic death of Steve Clark, and reveals why he didn't go to the funeral.
- Phil Collen
- Collen is color-blind. The condition isn’t an occupational hazard in his current life as a rock star, but it was a disadvantage in his first job working at a burglar-alarm factory, where he would solder wires incorrectly because he couldn’t tell the colors apart.
- The guitarist has always taken the glam aesthetic literally. When Def Leppard started, Collen was in a glam-rock band called Girl. The two groups were friendly, and at one Girl gig, Def Lep guitarist Steve Clark and Joe Elliott joined them onstage — that night, everyone ended up crashing at Elliott’s mother’s house.
- Hysteria producer Mutt Lange’s aesthetic was anti-harmony, pro-scream. The Def Leppard mission statement, from genius producer Robert John “Mutt” Lange: “Def Leppard will be all about great pop songs that resonate with the punk ethos.
- MTV helped the Leps conquer Middle America. The band’s early success was hugely dependent on geography: specifically, on whether your town had been wired for cable television.
- Deep Purple - In Rock (1970) “There are so many great records for me. But this one is why I got into guitar playing in the first place. I was always into music, but my cousin took me to see Deep Purple at the Brixton Sundown – called the Academy now – on the Machine Head tour for my first gig.
- Prince - Purple Rain (1984) “Purple Rain has to be in this list; I just think it was just so against the grain. He didn't follow any rules on this one, and yet it was the most commercial album he had.
- The Police - Ghost In The Machine (1981) “My favourite Police album is Ghost In The Machine because it's a bit quirky, a bit weird and a bit reggae. It was a perfect moment in time.
- David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust (1972) “I think I might prefer Aladdin Sane, though this one had more of an impact on me growing up. I was 14 and my cousin had gotten me into Zeppelin, Purple, Hendrix, all of that great stuff.
Mar 26, 2024 · Def Leppard's Phil Collen tells UCR in a March 2024 interview how Mutt Lange helped them make Pyromania an album which became a timeless classic.
Sep 24, 2021 · Guitar Showcase 2021: It would be fair to say many great electric guitar players have helped build the Jackson brand into what it is today – though perhaps none more so than Phil Collen, who partnered up with the Californian company in the mid-'80s.
