Def Leppard might be gearing up to hit Aussie shores in just a few months, but it now sounds like they might have another song to treat fans with at these upcoming shows, dropping a cover of a Depeche Mode classic.
Hitting up Spotify’s studios recently, the English rock legends cut two tracks for an exclusive single release on the ubiquitous streaming service. After first laying down a note-for-note rendition of their classic track ‘Hysteria’, the group decided to delve into the Depeche Mode back catalogue for a unique cover version.
Yes, turning their attention to Depeche Mode’s 1990 album Violator, Def Leppard delivered an immersive version of ‘Personal Jesus’, often considered to be one of the band’s most popular songs. With cover versions of the track having been done by Marilyn Manson, Mindless Self Indulgence, and even Johnny Cash in the past, there’s a pretty high standard to meet, but it sounds like Def Leppard pulled this one off pretty effortlessly.
Notably though, the group’s decision to perform ‘Hysteria’ brings to mind their efforts from a few years back where the band decided to re-record a bunch of old tracks to spite their record label.
Back in 2012, the majority of Def Leppard’s back catalogue was not available digitally, and their former record label wasn’t prepared to pay the group the appropriate amount of money for the tracks to be put online. So what were the band to do? Well, they hit the studio to record “forgeries” of their old hits.
“Our contract is such that they can’t do anything with our music without our permission, not a thing,” explained frontman Joe Elliott to Billboard. “So we just sent them a letter saying, ‘No matter what you want, you are going to get “no” as an answer, so don’t ask.’ That’s the way we’ve left it. We’ll just replace our back catalog with brand new, exact same versions of what we did.”
“You just don’t go in and say, ‘Hey guys, let’s record it,’ and it’s done in three minutes,” he continued. “We had to study those songs, I mean down to the umpteenth degree of detail, and make complete forgeries of them.”
Time-wise it probably took as long to do as the originals, but because of the technology it actually got done quicker as we got going. But trying to find all those sounds…like where am I gonna find a 22-year-old voice? I had to sing myself into a certain throat shape to be able to sing that way again.”
“It was really hard work, but it was challenging, and we did have a good laugh over it here and there.”
Def Leppard are set to hit Aussie shores in November for a headline tour which will see them play their 1987 album Hysteria in full. With the record often considered to be one of the greatest of all time, this is one you definitely won’t want to miss.
Check out Def Leppard’s re-recorded version of ‘Hysteria’:
Def Leppard 2018 Australian tour
Tickets on sale through Live Nation
Friday, November 2nd
Perth Arena, Perth, WA
Sunday, November 4th
Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide, SA
Tuesday, November 6th
Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane, QLD
Thursday, November 8th
Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, VIC
Saturday, November 10th
ICC Sydney Theatre, Sydney, NSW
