Book Review: DEFINITELY: THE OFFICIAL STORY OF DEF LEPPARD

Genesis Publishing [Release Date 09.05.23]

Def Leppard’s profile is as high now as at any time since their eighties heyday. The Stadium tour travelled America and has hit the UK this summer, ‘Diamond Star Halos’ was released to general acclaim last year, followed by their ‘Drastic Symphonies’ project. On top of that, they have enlisted the renowned music publishers Genesis for this authorised coffee table style book. It looks great and retailing at £35 is very good value for money- after an earlier pricey special limited edition.

The text takes the form of an oral history in the form of quotes from the Band with minimal linking text. To keep a chronological narrative they have mixed up current reminiscences with contemporary quotes, which is openly acknowledged at the end of the book. There are quite a few archive comments from Steve Clark, but very few from Pete Willis, who could claim to be the founder alongside Joe Elliott and Rick Savage.

The presentation is immaculate and where the book really scores is the picture selection of photos reviews and memorabilia, many courtesy of Joe Elliott’s mother who meticulously kept cuttings. On some instances more captioning would have helped but that is a minor gripe.

The tales of their earlier years are particularly insightful and show not just their ambition and dedication, but also quite how young they were. Your only complaint would be if you are- like me- one of those old school fans who dislike Def Leppard dissing their heavy metal roots, as there are quotes more than once throughout the text boasting they are a pop band at heart.

All chapters of their career get equal coverage, not just their heyday, and reading it was like a personal journey back through my musical life which the band have been a big part of since 1984, and made me want to revisit the more recent albums which got less attention before being put on the shelf.

The whole project shares the slick professionalism and attention to detail that characterise both their recorded work and live shows. Part treasure chest of memorabilia, part tour programme and part oral history, it would be hard to better this opus as the definitive written and pictorial record of their long career to date. *****

Review by Andy Nathan

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Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections

Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2024 (Singer Songwriter)