Def Leppard deservedly claws into India’s rock audience
Widely regarded as one of the leaders of the ‘80s new wave of British hard rock / heavy metal movement, Def Leppard – originally named by founder-vocalist Joe Elliot as “Deaf Leopard” while designing band posters in art class, but the spelling was modified to make the name appear to be less like that of a punk band – was formed in Sheffield in 1977.
However, the band could well be leaders of the 2020s hard rock scene too, as they rocked Mumbai on March 27, 2026 at the Jio World Garden, precisely at 8pm. The proceedings commencing with the 11-minute melodramatic exercise of “Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding” – a rendition of Elton John’s 1973 effort at prog sounds – opening the band’s activities before the members – consisting of Elliot (vocals), Rick Savage (bass), Rick Allen (drums), and guitarists Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell – strode onto the stage that had a platform built onto it where the drum kit was set-up with each member standing within a glowing, Hysteria-shaped triangular set-up before four of the members walked down onto the main stage and took their classic (rock) positions. As the more familiar magnetism of “Animal” opened the band’s vocal initiatives, it was followed by “Let’s Get Rocked” in close pursuit.
Def Leppard – on stage (pic courtesy: Atwood)
A pause in crowd anticipation occurred immediately thereafter with Def Leppard’s cover of electro-pop’s Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus” from 1990 with its stiff, arcane funk/hip-hop beat that the audience were not particularly familiar with as well as with the three subsequent songs, “Bringin’ On The Heartbreak”, a shift to the instrumental of “Switch 625” (while Elliot went off stage), both from 1981’s ‘High ‘n’ Dry’ album, and the glam rock of “Just Like ‘73”, before the proceedings momentarily took off again with “Rocket” (when Elliot spoke about forming the band in August 1977, 49 years ago, “with me and him; the him being, on bass guitar, mister Rick Savage”). The song was followed by yet another string of comparatively unfamiliar selections, such as a rendition of David Essex’s “Rock On”’, “White Lightning”, “Foolin’”, “Slang” (that featured an interlude from David Bowie’s “Fame”), and “Promises”.
The final seven songs that appeared on the set list thereafter was a stream of hits that had made Def Leppard a household name, initially perhaps due its sensational spelling before music took over the band’s reputation, commencing with “Armageddon It”, U.S. no.1 hit “Love Bites”, “Rock Of Ages”, and one for memory, “Photograph”, which had stills and moving pictures of the band’s history earnestly depicted as backdrop on the LED screen, following which, thanks were provided to the audience for their presence as the band strode off stage at 9.37pm.
Where you would typically find people slowly filing out at this time, opting to lose a song or two as part of the encore to save time on either searching for transport home or finding a table for a meal, this time around it appeared that everyone remained unmoved in hope that more of Def Leppard’s hits would be packed in before the event’s inevitable end.
Vocalist Joe Elliott
Two minutes later, “Walk away if you want to, it’s okay if you need too”, Elliott sang, as he appeared on stage, solo with an acoustic guitar. This song was certainly not on the set list, but “Two Steps Behind”, versions of which appeared on the band’s ‘Retro Active’ compilation and on the soundtrack of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ‘Last Action Hero’, totally stunned fans as they were not expecting to hear it, as they sang along, later showing off that Mumbai received something that Def Leppard’s previous gig in Shillong did not. For many, “Two Steps Behind” was arguably the highlight of the gig.
As the rest of the band members returned, it was time for mass “Hysteria”, followed by the ever sweetened “Pour Some Sugar On Me” which, as it began, the audience erupted with cheers and screams.
With an unbelievable sound, intricate stage design, fabulous lighting, and exceptional backdrop imagery, along with an unexpected and unusual ease of entry-and-exit for attendees (the other side of organisational planning from Mumbai’s Mahalaxmi Race Course), Def Leppard’s Jio World Garden gig stands as a testament of both a celebration of their nearly five decades enduring career, consisting of mishaps ranging from accidents to deaths that would have otherwise torn apart any other band. The concert ended at 9.55pm, concluding after some 105 minutes of finer rock sounds that India has heard since another British band Hawkwind’s 1970 concert in India, many thanks to the top-notch performance of each band member and Elliot’s vocals still being held in good stead.
The manner in which founder-vocalist Elliot kept repeating that Def Leppard had existed for 49 years, there is little doubt whatsoever that it sounded like a precursor to the band embarking on a 50th anniversary global tour and, witnessing the euphoric reception that they received from the three shows that they undertook in India during March 2026 – encompassing Shillong, Mumbai, and Bangalore – Def Leppard are almost certain to visit India again, probably performing in cities that they skipped this time around…along with an Indian hope that this Leppard will not change its spots!
