Kazyo Horie

Def Leppard will play Pour Some Sugar On Me until the day they die, lead singer Joe Elliot says.

When I confide in Def Leppard's lead singer Joe Elliot that I might remember dancing on table-tops when I was 16 to their smash-hit Pour Some Sugar On Me, he tells me: "It has a tendency to bring out the beast in a lot of people."

And no doubt it will do the same this November when the rock icons make their way to New Zealand, performing their hits from Hysteria, as well as some of their other popular songs.

Hysteria is the fourth studio album from UK's 80s rock stars, released in 1987, and is considered their crowning achievement, dripping with rock anthems like Animal, Pour Some Sugar on Me, Love Bites, Armageddon It and Rocket.

Supported by German rock legends Scorpions for their debut show in New Zealand, Elliot won't call it a concert. He prefers: "an event".

READ MORE:
* Def Leppard includes one New Zealand show on Hysteria + More tour
* Review: Def Leppard
​* The Def Leppard interview

"If you like that kind of music, you turn up and the band that plays before us plays 70 minute of classic hard rock, or whatever you want to call it, and it really makes for an event. We always like to think that every gig we do is an event," he said.

It'll be the first time the two rock legends have played together since 1983, and Elliot expects it to be "one hell of a show". 

Jovan Nenadic

German rockers Scorpions will open for Def Leppard, in their debut performance in New Zealand.

"We've always played every gig like it's the last one we are ever going to do. We don't ever get on stage in a blase situation, or with a frame of mind like, 'oh, it's just another gig'. It doesn't work like that for us, it never has," he said.

"Probably one of the reasons we're still around is that we don't ever want to let ourselves down, and we don't ever want to let our audience down, so we have to keep it at 110 per cent or we can't really do it."

Last time Def Leppard poured their hits on us in a live arena was 2011 with Heart as their supporting act at Spark Arena (known then as Vector). They also performed here in 2007, just after Vector Arena opened.

Elliot's memories of New Zealand consist of a very windy beach and a "funny as hell" barbecue.

"The barbecue was hilarious because it was so windy nothing would stay in its place. We ended up with lots of sand-covered sausages and stuff like that. Things just kept getting blown over," he recalled.

Here's hoping it won't be the same this time around, but in truth what will be? Even for rock legends, time takes its toll.

Def Leppard has a packed schedule with more than 70 shows locked in across the US and the UK, before they head down under to play in Australia, Japan and New Zealand.

It's a mighty time schedule for the 58-year-old rocker, and he's careful to ensure his health is in check for every show.

"We don't finish until Christmas, so it's going to be a hell of a year," he said.

"But travelling is travelling, you've got to get from A to B if you're on the tour.

"If it's a long way, we fly and if it's a short distance, we've got these very nice buses with beds in them and bars and TVs and Netflix. You need that, you've got to have a few home comforts.

"We paid our dues, we did our apprenticeship sleeping on the back of a Marshall cab and I don't want to do that anymore. I need my sleep, of course I do."

For a show as big as this one, there's no doubt Elliot needs his rest to perform the likes of Sugar.

But does he get tired of playing the same hit over and over again?

"Why? The crowd just lap it up. That's like saying Paul McCartney is sick of playing Live And Let Die. If it goes down fantastic, or Enter Sandman for Metallica, or pick any one song for any one band – there are some artists no doubt who can't stand doing a song anymore, but our mantra has aways been, if you can't handle the responsibility of a hit, then don't write one."

"I'm OK doing that song until the day I die because it's a great song.

"I still, to this day, think its a great song – it hasn't got old as far as I'm concerned. It has remained a hit because it still gets played all over the world and when we play it live, the crowd absolutely go mental. So you know, why not?"

Tickets go on sale on Friday, May 4 at 1pm for the concert on Monday, November 12. For complete tour and ticket information, visit Live Nation.

 - Stuff