Credit: Ross HalfinOn Friday, Def Leppard made its entire catalog available worldwide on all major streaming and download platforms, while also announcing a major North American co-headlining tour with Journey that kicks off May 21 in Hartford, Connecticut.
Explaining why Def Leppard took so long to join the digital party, frontman Joe Elliott tells ABC Radio, “Our [record] deal was so old, there was no digital when we signed [it in] 1979. So…it was in a black hole and needed sorting out.”
He adds, “What we needed to do was get all our ducks in a row and make sure that the whole thing came out all in one go. We didn’t want it coming out in dribs and drabs, different labels all fighting over who owns what. So…those things take time…And then we held it off for this year because we wanted to make a big announcement with this tour.”
The group’s digital catalog spans from 1979’s The Def Leppard EP through the band’s 2015 self-titled studio album, and includes the Diamond-certified classics Pyromania and Hysteria. Def Leppard also has made available a special digital-only archival EP called The Lost Session.
“[It’s] a six-track session that we did in 2007 or 2008 that we never broadcast,” Elliott notes. “I found it sitting around on my shelf and went, ‘Well, we might as well put this in there too.'”
Meanwhile, Elliot tells ABC Radio that he’s excited to hit the road again with Journey, with whom Def Leppard previously toured in 2006.
“Well, you’re looking at two bands that were literal hit factories,” he declares. “So, you put the two together and it’s rock ‘n’ roll heaven, really, for a fan.”
Here’s the full list of Def Leppard releases now available digitally:
The Def Leppard EP (1979)
On Through the Night (1980)
High ‘n’ Dry (1981)
Pyromania (1983)
Hysteria (1987)
Adrenalize (1992)
Retro Active (1993)
Vault (1995)
Slang (1996)
Euphoria (1999)
X (2002)
Yeah! (2006)
Songs from the Sparkle Lounge (2008)
Mirror Ball — Live & More (2011)
Def Leppard (2015)
The Lost Session EP (2018)
Here’s the track list of The Lost Session:
“Let It Go”
“Rock On”
“Foolin'”
“Promises”
“When Love and Hate Collide”
“Bringin’ On the Heartbreak”
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