A Nice Pair

Just days after Endlessly Rocking listed them as Coming Up In 2008, Def Leppard & Whitesnake have announced a co-headlining UK tour for June. An interesting pairing this…..

Although hailing from different generations, both were accused of selling their souls (and their hairstyles) to the almighty dollar in the 80’s. Whilst I have no particular axe to grind with either outfit I can certainly sympathise with this point-of-view.

Def Leppard were for many the great white hope of NWOBHM. Their early output suggested that their resemblance to Led Zeppelin may extend beyond a self-consciously stylised name. However, after an impressive debut album the band set off to conquer the USA….. and have effectively stayed there ever since. Whilst they successfully caught the mood of an America ripe for a new generation of soft rock, the British rock fan generally likes his/her rock served with a touch of grit. Only Leppard know why they chose the musical path they did and the level of success they achieved is staggering – albeit at the expense of a place in the hearts of UK rock fans.

Whitesnake provided grit galore as purveyors of good-old fashioned blues rock before front man David Coverdale elected to join the hair-metal brigade in 1987 with the admittedly awesome album of the same name. Out went the sartorially-challenged twin guitar attack of Mickey Moody and Bernie Marsden in favour of a succession of MTV-friendly pretty-boy shredders. Whitesnake still produced great rock music – it was just the cynical stink of marketing polish that caught in the throat.

Whatever misgivings there may be about the course both bands plotted during the ‘decade-that-style-forgot’, this tour (with the promising Black Stone Cherry in support) could well prove to be the Classic Rock event of the year. The tour visits the Odyssey Arena on 21st June, Endlessly Rocking is currently plotting how family commitments and finances can be juggled to allow a visit – fingers crossed!

Less encouraging news from AC/DC though which suggests their inclusion in the Strongly Rumoured category was a little optimistic. Following frenzied internet rumours of imminent tours/album releases/secret Swiss gigs, the band released an official statement denying everything. Between picking sharp shards of fence from his ar*e, Albert Records' Danny Keenan has been quoted as saying;"If you ask me if they're in the studio today, I can tell you they're not. If you ask me if they were in the studio last week, I can tell you they're not. If you ask me if they're in the studio next week, I can tell you they're not. We're pretty hopeful, but unfortunately there is no word of an album at this stage."