In 1982, Phil Collen was appointed Def Leppard’s newest electric guitar player following the departure of Pete Willis. That same year, he was put straight to the test as the English rock icons set about recording their third studio album, Pyromania.
Widely considered one of Def Leppard’s finest albums, the diamond-certified LP is seen as a turning point in the band’s discography, and one that would allow them conquer the US. It has also been tipped by some as one of the greatest guitar albums of all time.
That is in part thanks to Collen and his starring guitar work, which can be heard in the form of blinding guitar solos on Photograph, Rock of Ages, and Stagefright.
Indeed, the lead effort that Collen contributed to Stagefright is one of the virtuoso’s most famous guitar solos – but it turns out it was also the first thing he ever recorded for Def Leppard. Not only that, he did it all in one take.
Discussing his standout guitar moments in Pyromania in the new issue of Guitarist, Collen recalls. “The first one I did was Stagefright. Mutt Lange, our producer, said, ‘Take this cassette home and see if you can come up with something for this song.’
“This was my first recording with the band and I literally plugged the [Ibanez] Destroyer straight into the Marshall. It was the only first take on the album. I just plugged in and that’s what came out. That was really exciting.”
Collen’s Stagefright turn is well-documented. In Definitely: The Official Story of Def Leppard (via MusicRadar), singer Joe Elliott recalled how it was at that exact moment that he and the rest of the band “felt like we’d found our Eddie Van Halen.”
Though it was a trial by fire, Pyromania was a huge learning experience for Collen, and it ended up changing his outlook as a guitar player.
“Mutt Lange taught me that there’s a rule,” he reflects. “A lot of rock guitar players don’t really listen to the rest of the band, which is a very self-absorbed approach, so what I learned from him was how to play in time with the rest of the band.
“You can place your focus anywhere on the beat, but Mutt’s whole thing was to delay it a bit, which gives more groove and makes it more sexy. I really brought that aboard to my playing.”
Visit Magazines Direct to pick up the latest issue of Guitarist, which features the full interview with Collen.
