Def Leppard bandmates open up on baffling ‘anxiety dreams’ before tours

Appearing for a one-night-only In Conversation event in London earlier this week, Def Leppard’s Joe Elliot, Phil Collen, Rick Allen, Rick Savage and Vivian Campbell thrilled fans with an inside look on their rockstar lives over the past 46 years.

In the run-up to performing in their home county tomorrow, Rick Savage, 62, known to the band and fans as Sav, revealed he and Phil, 65, have shared the same “anxiety dreams” for the past three decades.

The bassist shared: “Before a tour starts, specifically when we used to spend three or four years off the road, we would have anxiety dreams.

“They were always; you get on stage and there’s nobody out there or you start the song and those few people that were in start to leave.”

Sav noted that “luckily they were just dreams”, and this worst-case scenario is yet to happen at a Leppard concert.

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Phil quickly added: “The worst one is you’re sitting on stage with an audience in front of you and you’ve got no instruments.

“Then the other one is you forget what the song is so you’re on stage like; ‘S**t!’.”

The band’s drummer Rick Allen, 59, who lost his right arm in a serious car crash in 1984, also weighed in on the topic revealing his fears take root as they’re about to perform.

He shared: “I don’t know whether it’s because of going through trauma or whatever but the thought of going on stage, sometimes it terrifies me.

“But there’s a few people on the crew that’ll come up, give me a hug and that really helps.

“Interesting thing is, once I get on stage and count to four, as soon as I get to that point I forget everything I was thinking about and go into this wonderful zone.”

Vivian, 60, who Rick amusingly refers to as “the new kid”, joked: “I have anxiety dreams all the time about getting fired.

“I have a bit of a reputation, it’s been 31 years and I’m getting away with it.”

This week marks a sensational time for the iconic Sheffield band, aside from a sold-out tour, as their new book, Definitely: The Official Story of Def Leppard, is now finally available to purchase while their latest album, Drastic Symphonies, releases tomorrow.