Phil Collen was never asked to join Def Leppard
After playing with the group for over four decades, Phil Collen has opened up about never being asked to join Def Leppard. Collen joined on the album Pyromania, replacing original guitarist Pete Willis.
When discussing his introduction to the band, Collen mentioned being asked to come down to Leppard’s studio to lay down some solos, telling SiriusXM, “Pete Willis wasn’t doing great. And um, Joe says to me, ‘Do you wanna come down, play some solo, some lead guitar on the new album?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah.’ I knew the guys, so I was just helping a buddy out”. After providing solos to songs like ‘Photograph’, Collen joined Leppard on tour as their new guitarist.
Pyromania would go on to become one of the most popular records of Leppard’s career, spawning singles like ‘Rock of Ages’ and ‘Foolin’ while being kept off the number one spot on the American charts behind Michael Jackson’s Thriller. Collen remembered the first shows of the tour being amazing, continuing, “It was definitely a pinch yourself moment. We still had that mindset. We’re playing, you know, arenas selling them out. And we actually never stopped from that moment on. I wasn’t asked to join the band. We were just out and on tour”.
Further on in the interview, singer Joe Elliott did say that the band eventually asked Collen to join the band ten years ago, having already made classic albums like 1987’s Hysteria.
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