DEF LEPPARD's 'High 'N' Dry' 35 Years Later: New Audio Interview With JOE ELLIOTT

As DEF LEPPARD celebrates the 35th anniversary of its “High ‘N’ Dry” album — originally released on July 11, 1981 — the band has uploaded a special new audio interview with vocalist Joe Elliott in which he talks everything “High ‘N’ Dry”, including album title, artwork, the songwriting and recording process, touring and promoting the album. Enjoy and share your favorite song or memories from this album and tour period with the hashtag #HighNDry35

“High ‘N’ Dry” charted at No. 38 on The Billboard 200 and No. 26 on the U.K. albums chart. Following the success of “Pyromania”, the LP re-entered the Billboard chart and reached No. 72 in 1983.

“High ‘N’ Dry” was reissued on May 31, 1984 with two bonus tracks: “Bringin’ On The Heartbreak” (Remix), and “Me & My Wine” (Remix). Videos for both were made, featuring guitarist Phil Collen (who was not in the band at the time of the album’s recording). Both bonus tracks were omitted from the mid-1990s re-releases of the album.

Elliott talked about how DEF LEPPARD‘s approach to making “Pyromania” was different from the way “High ‘N’ Dry” was recorded. He said: “When we worked with [producer] Mutt [Lange] on ‘High ‘N’ Dry’, it was done in three months, and we did it as quickly as we could. He also insisted that we do it his way. When we did ‘Pyromania’, we came to the conclusion we could make another ‘High ‘N’ Dry’, or we could utilize the new technologies that had come available. He was really excited about that. He told us we could try to make an album no one else had ever made, which appealed to us. We were always turned on by QUEEN, for example, who took their arrangements to the extreme.”

defleppardhighndrylp