Def Leppard play superb, intimate hometown gig at Sheffield Leadmill

Def Leppard – Sheffield Leadmill Friday 19th May 2023

Words and Pictures: Diamond Dave

There are some rock bands that have definite link to the cities they were formed in, Black Sabbath and Judas Priest with Birmingham, London brought us the Sex Pistols and The Clash while my home city of Belfast that with the Troubles brought you  Stiff Little Fingers. Def Leppard were formed in Sheffield in 1976, a city that is named the Steel City, being the epicentre of steel production in the UK. The band’s links with Sheffield are strong, it is in their very DNA and when it was decided that the band were going to play a special charity warm up show before their European Tour with Motley Crue, this really was a must see!

The band come on to the stage to a roar that you wouldn’t feel a crowd of this size could muster, and the track Action is greeted like a long lost friend. Fire It Up follows and again, although a new song this crowd sings every word! Singer Joe Elliot has a smile on his face that does not dim the whole night and it is obviously as pleased to be playing such an intimate show as the fans are! The singer informs the crowd that it will be a very different set from the one that fans will hear at Bramhall Lane which I think is a great thing. 

That doesn’t mean there won’t be classics of course and with Too Late For Love from Pyromania follows and with an encore later featuring songs from Hysteria (including it’s title song) and one of the great rock songs to dance to, Pour Some Sugar On Me which even had this 51 year old rocker shaking his booty in a way Beyonce can only dream of (I may be exaggerating my dancing prowess slightly but you know what I mean).

A totally blistering Wasted from On Through The Night bringing the night to a close, I defy anybody not to feel that the band had not got their money’s worth on a night where you can say….. Def  Leppard played a tiny club in their hometown of Sheffield and I was there!

Roll on Bramhall Lane where I can only feel that with fifty times more people, Def Leppard in their home town will be insane!!!