Def Leppard: X Factor.

X is in stores now.

In 1987 Def Leppard were undoubtedly one of the biggest bands in the world. They could do no wrong. Their fourth release, Hysteria, went on to sell almost 17 million copies worldwide. Pretty much everyone knows a track or two from the disc, maybe even owns a copy of the album - even if they won’t admit it now. Def Leppard really didn’t have a whole lot left to prove.

Their new release, X, finds a band whose intentions are not to recreate their past. For Def Leppard, X is more about making a record that represents who they are as musicians, rather that setting out to write hit after hit.

“If we’d wanted to make a record where every song was a hit track we would have spent another two and a half years on it,” drummer Rick Allen laughs. Indeed, Hysteria was almost three years in the making.

Rick Allen joined the band shortly after his fifteenth birthday. A year later Def Leppard were supporting AC/DC at the Hammersmith Odeon. Not a bad sixteen birthday party…

“That’s right,” he laughs. “I got to meet Bon Scott as well. He brought in this huge bowl of Smarties and wished me a happy birthday, and I managed to have a drink with him. It was really good. They were, to me, the most powerful rock band I’d ever heard. They were just mind-blowing. We’ve got to try and get up to that standard. It was a challenge. It really fires you up when you’re inspired like that by another band. It ads to the hunger, if you know what I mean.”

Are there any other moments for you that really stand out as highlights through the band’s career?

“Actually after I lost my arm, coming back and playing that Donnington Festival show was probably the most memorable experience. They crowd really made it special, because they wanted me to succeed. You could feel the energy coming from them. It’s something I’ll never forget. It was one of those special moments where everybody was so behind me. The band wanted it to work, my family were there.”

After your car accident, did you think that your music career was over or that you wouldn’t play again?

“After the accident I didn’t really want to do anything at all,” Rick recalls. “I really wanted to just shrivel up and go away. It wasn’t so long after that I realised I had everything to live for. My family and the band were really strong and it just carried me to the point where I am now.”

Your accident happened during the writing process for Hysteria. Are you still surprised by how strong the album was considering all the events within the band that lead to it’s release.

“Yeah, I am actually. You know, we made some of our best albums during our darkest times, and I guess for some musicians that is a formula that works. You would think it would be the other way around. We were really fortunate going through this experience in a way, because it really made us want to succeed as a band. We’ve been kind of fortunate with that.”

X is less a hard rock album than Def Leppard albums past, the band exploring more pop dimensions throughout the records thirteen tracks.

“It was really how it came together,” Rick explains. “It might have been good to have some harder tracks on there, but it’s a collection of songs that go together right. That was the most important thing, to present a whole idea.”

The band have even worked with Swedish producers Andreas Carlsson and Per Aldeheim, better known for their work with Britney Spears, Five and the Backstreet Boys than rock albums. But never fear. There’s not real threat of hearing Def Lep cranking up their own version of Oops I Did It Again…

“That was fun,” he muses. “It seems strange, but a good song is a good song. You can make any song sound like you want it to. It’s up to how you produce the thing. You could make Whitney Houston sound like Metallica if you want to. It’s all about intention. They’re just really talented; they’re very good at what they do. The fact that they work in the circles they do just makes them more money than working with us.”

I remember reading an interview done around the time of Hysteria saying the band looked at other acts that were successful and went for a similar production style to keep current. Was that part of the reasoning behind heading to Sweden

“I think part of it is that. I just think if you want a certain sound that fits in with something contemporary, these people sit there and get that sound every day. For us it doesn’t really come naturally, because that’s not where our roots are.”

Is there still a lot of pressure to repeat 17 million copies?

“I think it’s more pressure from within the band just wanting to make something really good. When you’re making something new, in the back of your mind you’re thinking that you want to make the best record you’ve ever made.”