To hear Phil Collen tell it, he joined Def Leppard almost by accident. He had loaned the band one of his amps, and when they asked him to play some leads on their upcoming record Pyromania, Collen thought he was just doing his friends a solid. The rest is history.

In the video below, courtesy of Premier Guitar, Collen and Shifty talk through Phil’s formative years on guitar, where he soaked up the scorching playing of classic guitar heroes: Jimmy Page, Ritchie Blackmore, Mick Ronson, Michael Schenker, and Gary Moore, who all played a hand in Collen’s high-flying fretwork.

Collen’s solo on “Photograph” is a perfect example of the sort of “ear candy” that producer Mutt Lange encouraged the band to chase in the studio—and yes, he did record individual notes to build a single guitar chord on Pyromania. But there weren’t many tricks to Collen’s sound on the solo. His Ibanez Destroyer and a 50-watt Marshall were all he needed to get the job done for the slick, Johnny Thunders-inspired solo. Tune in to see how he worked that two-piece setup to record one of the most influential guitar solos of the ’80s.

Check out the official lyric video for “Photograph”:

Def Leppard and Journey are teaming up for the Summer Stadium Tour 2024 with Steve Miller Band, Heart, and Cheap Trick. The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame icons are once again coming together for a night of hits.

General tickets for all dates are on sale here.

Tour dates:

July
6 - St. Louis, MO - Busch Stadium ^
10 - Orlando, FL - Camping World Stadium ^
13 - Atlanta, GA - Truist Park *
15 - Chicago, IL - Wrigley Field *
18 - Detroit, MI - Comerica Park *
20 - Nashville, TN - Nissan Stadium *
23 - Philadelphia, PA - Citizens Bank Park *
25 - Hershey, PA - Hersheypark Stadium *
27 - Pittsburgh, PA - PNC Park *
30 - Cleveland, OH - Progressive Field +

August
2 - Toronto, ON - Rogers Centre +
5 - Boston, MA - Fenway Park +
7 - Flushing, NY - Citi Field *
12 - Arlington, TX - Globe Life Field *
14 - Houston, TX - Minute Maid Park *
16 - San Antonio, TX - Alamodome *
19 - Minneapolis, MN - Target Field *
23 - Phoenix, AZ - Chase Field *
25 - Los Angeles, CA - SoFi Stadium *
28 - San Francisco, CA - Oracle Park *
30 - San Diego, CA - Petco Park *

September
4 - Seattle, WA - T-Mobile Park ^
8 - Denver, CO - Coors Field ^

* with Steve Miller Band
^ with Cheap Trick
+ with Heart