DEF LEPPARD's PHIL COLLEN Talks To MUSIC RADAR About His New JACKSON Signature Guitar

Joe Bosso of MusicRadar.com conducted an interview with DEF LEPPARD guitarist Phil Collen at this year's NAMM (National Association Of Music Merchants) show, a massive music-products convention that ran from January 13 to January 16 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. You can now watch the chat below.

DEF LEPPARD guitarist Vivian Campbell recently complained that his gig in the band is boring. Campbell, who's now doing double duty playing with THIN LIZZY, previously enjoyed stints in DIO and WHITESNAKE before replacing the late Steve Clark in 1992. Campbell was quoted by Gibson.com as saying, "I've been in DEF LEPPARD for 20 years and, if I'm honest, it's not a terribly challenging job for me as a guitar player. Phil Collen plays most of the widdly guitar parts and I do what I do."

During an interview with Guitar International, Collen responded honestly, saying, "It's all my [material]. Vivian joined a band that I helped create. He's coming into my house! It's not all the good parts, it's the DEF LEPPARD sound that me and Steve [Clark] created. We got together with [producer] Mutt Lange and there was already a sound in place. Also, we play all the hits live, which were written before Viv was in the band."

When pressed if he had any hard feelings for Campbell's critique on how the DEF LEPPARD's guitar parts are doled out, Collen said, "No, not at all. It's just the way it falls. I can't help that all my [expletive] sounds great!"

Phil Collen admitted to The Pulse Of Radio that after all these years, there are tunes that DEF LEPPARD is just sick of running through without the electric buzz of a live audience. "There's songs that we hate playing in rehearsal, like 'Pour Some Sugar On Me' or 'Rock Of Ages'," he said. "Y'know, obviously, in a rehearsal room, you're not getting anything back, and you're going, 'Jesus Christ, I've played this song a million times, and this is a drag!'"