In the new video below, Def Leppard singer Joe Elliott discusses how life and the grunge era influenced the band's 1996 album, Slang.

On June 1st, Bludgeon Riffola/Mercury/UMe fires the first salvo in Def Leppard’s projected four-volume career-spanning box set series, when the appropriately dubbed Volume One appears in multidisc LP and CD collections.

This first volume of the band’s complete recorded output comes in both limited-edition 180-gram heavyweight vinyl and CD box sets, each featuring Def Leppard’s first four studio albums - along with some choice bonus live and studio material - all spread across 8LPs and 7CDs, respectively.

The Volume One collection includes bonus material including Live At The LA Forum 1983, originally released as a bonus disc in the deluxe CD version of Pyromania, making this the first-ever vinyl offering of the complete show. This 2LP version comes with a new sleeve and inner bags.

Rarities Volume 1 has been specially compiled by Joe Elliott, containing rare B-sides and recordings from Def Leppard’s early years, all in a newly commissioned sleeve. Finally, rounding out this collection is the 7-inch vinyl single and 3-inch CD of Def Leppard’s original, self-titled EP.

The fiery Volume One collection contains all of Def Leppard’s iconic 1980s recordings with reproductions of the original packaging in both formats, plus the added bonus of a replica 7-inch single and 3-inch CD of the band’s original independent EP, the self-titled The Def Leppard E.P.

Each album in the box set was mastered by longtime band producer/soundmaster Ronan McHugh and cut by Greg Moore.

Housed in rigid boxes, the Volume One collection also contains a hardback book with rare photos by longstanding band confidant Ross Halfin and liner notes by Classic Rock’s Paul Elliott.

Def Leppard bandmembers Joe Elliott, bassist Rick Savage, drummer Rick Allen, and guitarist Phil Collen have all also contributed their personal introductions to the collection.

Volume One is an extraordinary early chronicle of a band whose global impact only continues to grow. Def Leppard have a cumulative sales tally of over 100 million albums worldwide, not to mention putting on consistently sold-out world tours. Def Leppard recently authorized their entire recorded catalog for access on streaming and download platforms, a move that resulted in a nearly 400 percent surge in catalog sales on the first day alone, as well as appearances in the iTunes Top 10 charts in over 30 countries worldwide.

Volume One kicks off with Def Leppard’s 1980 debut album On Through The Night, which immediately put the rock world on notice that the band were destined for big things, having charted at #15 in the UK and #51 in the US. Produced by Tom Allom (Judas Priest, Black Sabbath), On Through The Night features many of the band’s live favorites (“Rock Brigade,” “Hello America”), along with updated versions of early singles (“Rocks Off”). The album achieved platinum status in 1989, and the version included here is the rare Australian gatefold-sleeve version.

Released in 1981, High ’N’ Dry was Def Leppard’s second platinum album and the first to be produced by Robert “Mutt” Lange (AC/DC, Foreigner). It reached #26 in the UK and #38 in the US, having garnered much impactful FM airplay with the propulsive “Let It Go” and one of the band’s most popular signature tunes to this day, “Bringin’ On The Heartbreak.”

Pyromania, released in 1983, saw the band become indisputable rock legends. It was the first record to feature guitars by Phil Collen, who had replaced Pete Willis. The album contains massive MTV hits “Photograph” and “Rock Of Ages,” as well as fist-pumper “Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop),”. Pyromania reached #2 in the US and went Diamond, with over 10 million album sales.

Def Leppard released Hysteria in 1987, the band’s best-selling record to date having sold over 25 million copies worldwide. It went to #1 in the UK, US, and Australia, and is also the band’s second album to achieve Diamond status in the US. Notes Collen, “Not many people even get Platinum albums anymore! Going Diamond is going 10 times Platinum in America, which is a huge deal - and we’ve got two of those. We’re really pleased that we got them. It’s pretty cool that we’ve achieved that.”

Produced by Mutt Lange, Hysteria took over three years to make, ultimately featuring seven charting singles (including #1 smash “Love Bites” and “Pour Some Sugar On Me”), and has been rightly nicknamed as “heavy metal’s Thriller.” Clocking in at just over 62 minutes, Hysteria was then one of the longest albums ever issued on a single vinyl record - but for this special box set release, it has been made into a double LP for maximum sound-quality purposes.

Def Leppard’s collective vocal prowess is but one of the many things that helped cement their unparalleled standing in rock history, as Joe Elliott explains: “The way we did our harmonies was based on the multitracking abilities of a band like Queen, but we took what they did to the next level. Queen maybe tripled or quadrupled their backing vocals - but we did it like 20 times! We wanted it to sound like the quality of Queen but have the size of Slade. The way we did it gave us a unique sound. And that’s the whole point of an album, really - capturing a band’s unique dynamics.” Adds Phil Collen, “The American bands had beautiful vocals, with all those wonderful harmonies. But we added a bit of a punk ethos in there with ours, where it became a bit more charming and anthemic with screaming and shouting. And that was a very British thing, I think, that made us different from a lot of the American bands.”

Def Leppard’s Volume One is but the first hot, sticky-sweet taste of an impressive career that remains ever on the rise. Can you feel it, do you believe it?

Pre-order The Vinyl Box Set: Volume One here. Pre-order The CD Box Set: Volume One here. Full tracklisting here.

UMe has announced details for Def Leppard - Live At Abbey Road Studios, an exclusive, limited edition vinyl release for Record Store Day 2018, taking place on Saturday, April 21st. Limited to 4,000 copies, the 12" single includes three tracks recorded at Abbey Road in 2008 and never before released.

 
Tracklisting:

Side 1:
"C'mon C'mon"
"Rock On"

Side 2:
"Rocket"

Visit RecordStoreDay.com to find your local shops.

Def Leppard / Journey dates:

May
21 - Hartford, CT - XL Center**
23 - Albany, NY - Times Union Center
25 - Hershey, PA - Hersheypark Stadium
26 - Buffalo, NY - KeyBank Center**
28 - Cleveland, OH - Quicken Loans Arena
30 - Cincinnati, OH - U.S. Bank Arena

June
1 - Toronto, ON - Rogers Centre
2 - Pittsburgh, PA - PPG Paints Arena
5 - Raleigh, NC - PNC Arena
6 - Knoxville, TN - Thompson-Boling Arena
8 - Bristow, VA - Jiffy Lube Live
9 - Charlotte, NC - Spectrum Center
11 - Philadelphia, PA - Wells Fargo Center**
13 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden
15 - Newark, NJ - Prudential Center
16 - Baltimore, MD - Royal Farms Arena

July
1 - Atlanta, GA - SunTrust Park
3 - Noblesville, IN - Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center
4 - Milwaukee, WI - Summerfest
6 - Memphis, TN - FedExForum
7 - North Little Rock, AR - Verizon Arena
9 - Tulsa, OK - BOK Center
11 - Louisville, KY - KFC Yum! Center
13 - Detroit, MI - Comerica Park
14 - Chicago, IL - Wrigley Field**
16 - Wichita, KS - INTRUST Bank Arena
18 - Sioux Falls, SD - Denny Sanford PREMIER Center
19 - Lincoln, NE - Pinnacle Bank Arena
21 - Denver, CO - Coors Field
23 - Des Moines, IA - Wells Fargo Arena**
25 - Kansas City, MO - Sprint Center**
27 - Minneapolis, MN - Target Field
28 - Fargo, ND - Fargodome**

August
11 - Boston, MA - Fenway Park**
13 - Virginia Beach, VA - Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
15 - Columbia, SC - Colonial Life Arena
17 - Ft Lauderdale, FL - BB&T Center
18 - Tampa, FL - Amalie Arena
20 - Birmingham, AL - Legacy Arena @ The BJCC
22 - Columbus, OH - Schottenstein Center
24 - St. Louis, MO - Busch Stadium
25 - Nashville, TN - Bridgestone Arena
27 - New Orleans, LA - Smoothie King Center
29 - Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center
31 - San Antonio, TX - AT&T Center

September
1 - Houston, TX - Toyota Center**
5 - Albuquerque, NM - Isleta Amphitheater
7 - Phoenix, AZ - Talking Stick Resort Arena
8 - Las Vegas, NV - T-Mobile Arena**
21 - San Francisco, CA - AT&T Park
23 - San Diego, CA - Petco Park
25 - Salt Lake City, UT - Vivint Smart Home Arena
26 - Nampa, ID - Ford Idaho Center Arena
28 - Portland, OR - Moda Center
29 - Seattle, WA - Gorge Amphitheatre

October
1 - Vancouver, BC - Rogers Arena
4 - Sacramento, CA - Golden 1 Center
6 - Los Angeles, CA - The Forum

** Not ticketed by Ticketmaster