Drastic Symphonies

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Fast forward to spring 2023. A little over a year since the session at Abbey Road Studios – a year in which everyone in and around Def Leppard has kept Drastic Symphonies a closely guarded secret – Joe and Sav are finally free to talk in depth about the album and its creation. Both connect via Zoom from their homes – Joe in Dublin, Sav in Sheffield. What Sav reveals first is that the idea for this album did not come from the band. Some of the songs – “Hysteria” and “Bringin’ on the Heartbreak,” in particular – seem like obvious choices to get the orchestral treatment. How did you decide which songs worked? Plus the bass line originally done by Herbie Flowers. Same guy who played Walk On The Wild Side funnily enough.

But Steve was completely on board. And when Phil came in he was like well yeah that makes total sense But also Ronan McHugh done amazing. hHe actually sonically changed everything. He changed the bass sound. Then I watched “Bank Of Dave” on Netflix. The last scene is Leppard belting some tunes out and you think: man these boys are alright you know. As they’ve proved, yet again by playing a gig to stop a venue in their hometown closing. Def Leppard released a teaser video featuring band members promoting Drastic Symphonies (and the “Animal” Director’s Cut music video release):So there wasn't really a great deal to take away so there didn't seem to be any point to try and change I think it was suggested by our record company,” he admits. “And record companies being record companies, they just wanted our greatest hits with strings on. But once the seeds had been sown, it really started taking off in true Def Leppard style. You throw yourself into it a hundred per cent.” Question: Even with all that Def Leppard has accomplished in 40-plus years, how surreal was it to have the Royal Philharmonic playing your songs?

Def Leppard are resurgent right now. Less than a year after releasing the best album they’ve produced since ‘Adrenalize’ with ‘Diamond Star Halos’, the band have conjured up a brave and unique re-working of some of their biggest hits and deepest cuts with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in ‘Drastic Symphonies’. Even the new Diamond Star Halos material gets a polish; both Angels (Can’t Help…) and Goodbye (For Good…) being prime selections. The nylon guitar on the latter right at home with the orchestra, evoking images of a Mediterranean vista. Not quite in the ‘essential’ but more obvious selections that fit the spec. And making sure the whole Leppard spectrum is n’t ignored, Bringing On The Heartbreak from the early days is prime orchestra fodder although much more interesting is Switch 625 – often given enough ‘swing’ to rename it Swing 625. In the latest guise, it comes over as a potential new Bond or Tom Cruise/Mission Impossible theme. Certainly,” Joe says, “there were times when I was listening to the orchestra playing these songs and it brought a lump to my throat.” Yeah. It's maybe ten, fifteen seconds long. When we originally recorded it was massively longer. But it was just a bit

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Frankly, if Def Leppard want to go in the studio and record orchestral versions of 16 of their songs, they don’t have to answer to anyone. They just have to pass the Bon Jovi test.