Adrenalized
Page 19
As for religion (I know, I know. Never talk about religion. Who made that rule anyway?), don’t fear God. Fear the devil. Ironically, it seems most people worship the devil, thinking he’s God, but God should be about love, right? I definitely notice there’s not a lot of love around, and that’s the problem. I could never really understand why someone would proclaim to be a devout Christian and break the hallowed rule of Christianity and go and kill innocent animals for fun or pleasure. If you’re starving and you’re eating that animal for survival, that’s one thing. But torturing one of God’s creatures and making it suffer in death for your ego’s enjoyment is yet another sin, if I’m not mistaken. As we get older and, I like to believe, more experienced, we ask ourselves questions that we wouldn’t have even heard before because we were buzzing around being totally distracted. The question is usually, “Is there a greater power?” or, “Is Darwinian theory the way to go?” I like to think there’s an answer that’s ethereal and clean but the best way I’ve heard it described is that there’s an energy source linked to a collective consciousness.
I’ve personally followed an Eastern philosophy called Sant Mat for about twenty-five years that goes along with this train of thought. But then again, who knows what’s out there? I’m not freaked out about dying—in fact, I welcome it. As I tell my daughter Samantha, “Dying is as natural as being born, and we have to do both, so don’t sweat it.” I also think this level of humanity and acceptance of the inevitable is the way it’s supposed to be. The only escape is via some spiritual enlightenment, which is the soul’s equivalent to Captain Kirk’s “Beam me up, Scotty” ideology. I always view this place as the earth plane, one rung up from hell. That all makes sense spiritually, but so does “You die, you’re dead, and that’s it.” With our biggest enemy being our minds, our egos can make us see and believe things that aren’t actually there. We are the masters of our own illusions. So the bottom line is that we each have to take our own path. We are all “works in progress,” different stations on the same train line.
In closing, I’d like to say that I hope I am way further up the line than I was when I started experiencing this earth plane almost fifty-eight years ago. Although I’ve got a way to go, I have inherited some amazing philosophies and experiences along the way, onstage and off. If I can manifest them positively before I die and show that the lessons actually stuck, then and only then will my microscopic pinpoint of existence in this universe have really mattered.
All photos courtesy of Phil Collen.
Personal photos unless otherwise indicated.
Jane.
Tarzan.
Ken and Connie’s wedding.
Mum and Dad with some weird-looking baby.
Me and my dad at 223 Boundary Road in the late fifties.
I fell off this apple tree a few years later and tore a bloody hole in my groin.
Me in a pram.
Me and Nan.
I still have this guitar in London. I didn’t start playing until I was sixteen.
I have no idea why I am holding this monkey.
Pocket pool.
Flexing my abs at Jaywick On Sea.
Me getting older in the back garden at Boundary Road.
My dad’s van. Many an adventure and holiday was had in this Austin van.
My dog Coffee and a couple of invincible superheroes in the back garden at Boundary Road.
The swim team. Front row, right to left: my buddy David Cole; me; and my swim coach, Giles Brown.
Martin Blackman and me at fourteen.
My mum’s oldest sister, Dorothy. We’re still in touch. She’s ninety-three now.
Warick Boys football team. The boy holding the ball next to me in the front row is Chris Green. Whenever we had sporting events at other schools, they thought we were cheating by using a grown man, but we were actually the same age.
My first appearance at the Marquee Club in London with Lucy. I was seventeen.
Jeff Hepting (left) and me at a Dumb Blonds gig.
Me jamming with Ritchie Blackmore at the Marquee Club in London. How fucking cool is that?
Me and my mum. Pyromania tour, California, 1983.
Left to right: Steve’s mum, Beryl; Rick Allen’s mum, Kath; me; and my mum.
Me and Steve. Contrary to popular belief, not a couple.
Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego, 1983. I love this shot. It’s one of my favorite Ross Halfin shots with my Ibanez Destroyer. (Ross Halfin)
Left to right: me, the top of Malvin’s head, Mensch, Steve, and Joe. Bangkok, Thailand, 1984.
Liz. (Denis O'Regan)
Me and Steve. Happy Hour somewhere in the world, 1983.
Me with Scott Smith on my birthday.
Rory, Woofie, and my mum. Christmas in Laguna Hills, 1990.
Me and Rory. (Ross Halfin)
Rory in Trafalgar Square, London.
Me and Rory on a Def Lep private plane during the Adrenalize tour in 1993.
Me and Anita.
Three generations of Collens: me, Rory, and my dad. San Clemente, CA.
My dad’s last home. His caravan.
Me, Viv, and Rick Allen in a village in Ecuador.
Cybernauts Japanese tour. Left to right: Dick Decent, Trevor Bolder, and Woody Woodmansey.
Vivian, Sav, and me in a Guatemalan jungle, hanging with children outside a bullring just before going onstage.
Hang gliding to Copacabana Beach. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Me bungee jumping off the Kawaru Bridge. South Island, New Zealand.
Helen and me having some fun at Laguna Beach. (Mike Steele Photography)
Jumping the broom with Helen in Brooklyn, NY, August 12, 2010. (Kerika Fields Photos)
Dumb Blonds reunion, London, 2011. Left to right: Pete Webb, me, Freddie Ball, and Jeff Hepting. (Helen L. Collen)
Me and Helen’s grandmother, Hattie Simmons, July 16, 2010, on my and Helen’s wedding day in West Palm Beach, Florida. Ms. Hattie passed away March 4, 2015. (Helen L. Collen)
After a workout on tour. Fifty-four years old, 2012. (Helen L. Collen)
Manraze. Shepherd’s Bush, London, 2011. (Helen L. Collen)
Getting in a light workout with UFC Light Heavyweight World Champion Jon Jones in Albuquerque, New Mexico. (Helen L. Collen)
Me with Rory all grown up and Shaq (left) and Jackson (far right). (Helen L. Collen)
Me with C. J. Vanston in his studio. (Helen L. Collen)
Me and Helen at an event in New York City. (Kerika Fields Photos)
A test shot in my garage. (Helen L. Collen)
Getting pumped for the stage. Canada, 2015. (Ross Halfin)
I present the wonderful Charlotte Gerson with an auctioned guitar.
PHIL COLLEN is the lead guitarist of the legendary rock band Def Leppard. He has been a vegetarian for thirty-one years, alcohol-free for twenty-eight years, and vegan for more than four years, busting the myth of the classic rock star stereotype.
CHRIS EPTING is the author of many books, including Led Zeppelin Crashed Here, All I Really Need to Know I Learned from KISS, and Hello, It’s Me—Dispatches from a Pop Culture Junkie.
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INDEX
A note about the index: The pages referenced in this index refer to the page numbers in the print edition. Clicking on a page number will take you to the ebook location that corresponds to the beginning of that page in the print editio
n. For a comprehensive list of locations of any word or phrase, use your reading system’s search function.
ABC, 50
Absolute Beginners (MacInnes), 77
AC/DC, 34, 60, 66, 70, 83, 102, 109, 113
Adams, Bryan, 171
Adrenalize album (Def Leppard), 127, 134–38, 144–47, 199
Adrenalize tour, 137, 140–44
Aerosmith, 98, 161, 172
Airfix, Andie, 112
Aladdin Sane tour (Bowie), 13
Alex (girlfriend of Phil Collen), 143–44
“All About Believin’,” 159
“All Night,” 155
“All the Young Dudes,” 140
Allen, Rick, 47, 59, 71, 91, 95, 96, 99–106, 108, 112, 124, 133, 139, 150, 165, 175, 180, 194–95, 197. See also Def Leppard
Allen, Robert, 71, 86, 175
Allman, Duane, 15
Allman Brothers, 72
American Bandstand, 25, 75–76
Andretti, Victor, 28–29, 34
“Animal,” 107, 114–15, 122–23
Animals (Pink Floyd), 61
Anka, Paul, 193
Appleton, Scott, 173–74
Arden, Don, 37, 44
Area Code 615, 9
Atlantic Crossing (Rolling Stones), 90
Back in Black (AC/DC), 109
Backstreet Boys, 155
Ball, Fred, 27
“Bang the Lid,” 196
Barnacle, Pete, 52
Battersea Power Station, London, 61–63
BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation), 6, 9, 26, 41
Be-Bop Deluxe, 145
The Beach Boys, 7, 110
“Beat It,” 74
The Beatles, 6, 7, 19, 61, 76, 138, 156, 173
Beck, Jeff, 107
Behind the Music (documentary), 159
Belfort, Vitor, 207
Berman, Howard, 149
Billboard charts, 70, 85, 121, 124, 137
“Billie Jean,” 74
“Billy’s Got a Gun,” 53
“Black Coffee,” 193
Blackman, Martin, 13, 17
Blackmore, Ritchie, 11–14, 16, 35, 39, 44, 84
Blackwell-Cook, Debbi, 177, 186, 192, 196–98, 200
Blitz, the, 4
Bob Marley and the Wailers, 10
Bolan, Marc, 9, 50
Bolder, Trevor, 145, 146
Bolton, Murray, 191
Bon Jovi, 136
Bonham, John, 132
“Born to Be Wild,” 45
Bowie, David, 8–11, 13–14, 21, 30, 37, 49, 63, 140, 145, 173, 199
Boy George, 91
“Breathe a Sigh,” 148
Brooksie (road crew), 88
Brown, James, 198, 201
Brown, Steve, 198
Browne, Jackson, 159, 179
Bublé, Michael, 191
Burnstein, Cliff, 45, 80–81, 129, 131, 133, 158
Bush, George W., 161
Campbell, Vivian, 138–139, 147, 178, 195, 198
The Cars, 98, 99
Cheap Thrills, 27
China Study, The, 188
Chomsky, Noam, 162
Clark, Barry, 135
Clark, Beryl, 135
Clark, Dick, 25, 75
Clark, Steve, 34, 47, 48, 51, 53, 65, 67–72, 76, 86–88, 91, 93–98, 100, 102–4, 112, 118, 121, 124, 127–29, 131–35, 137, 150, 151. See also Def Leppard
The Clash, 20, 51, 136, 171
Classic Rock, 69
“Closer to Me,” 186
Cobain, Kurt, 136
Coffee (dog), 2
Coldplay, 185
Cole, Justine, 69
Collen, Anita, 144, 148, 151, 152, 154, 157, 161, 163–65, 167–69, 178, 181
Collen, Connie Wheeler, 1–5, 13, 15, 16, 18, 21–22, 29, 32–33, 39, 41, 44, 83, 89, 91, 141, 146–47, 149, 152–53, 160, 164, 166, 191, 198
Collen, Grace, 146–47, 152–53, 164
Collen, Helen, 2, 177, 180–84, 186, 189, 191, 192, 196, 198, 200, 204, 209
Collen, Jacqueline Long (Jacki), 126–28, 143–44, 148, 152, 181, 194
Collen, Ken, 1–3, 5, 13, 15, 21–22, 33, 41, 83, 153, 164–68, 169, 198
Collen, Phil
alcohol and drug use by, 43–44, 52, 72, 75, 85–88, 96–97, 100, 111–12, 121, 129, 140, 188
Scott Appleton and, 173–74
asthma of, 2, 3
birth of, 1
birth of daughter Samantha, 168
birth of daughter Savannah, 180
birth of son Rory, 126
breakup with Jacki, 143–44
cars and, 53, 89, 176–78
childhood of, 1–12, 22
Steve Clark and, 59, 71–72, 93–94, 121, 127–29, 131–35
in The Cybernauts, 145–46
death of father and, 167–68
death of mother and, 153–54, 160
in Def Leppard. See Def Leppard
in Delta Deep, 173, 179, 191–93, 196–98, 200, 201
diet of, 3–4, 59, 87, 88, 188
divorce of parents and, 21–22
dogs and, 2, 161, 178
in Dumb Blondes, 28–25
early jobs of, 16–17, 21
early musical influences on, 8–20
education of, 16, 17
Joe Elliott and, 48–50, 53–55
as father, 144
father, relationship with, 164–68
first band of, 17–18
first concert attended by, 11–13
first guitars of, 15–16
first live performance by, 18, 21
first tour by, 38, 40
Gerson Institute, donation to, 190–91
in Girl, 10, 16, 28, 34–45, 47–49, 51–52, 54–58, 69, 140, 169, 183
girlfriends of, 8, 41–42, 91, 94–95, 111, 126, 143–44, 148, 152, 164, 169, 178, 180, 181, 182
Halfin on, 188–89
hand injury of, 196
in India, 111–12, 171
influence of radio on, 6–7
Gerry Laffy and, 34–35
Simon Laffy and, 38–40, 169–71
in Lucy (band), 21
as lyric forgetter, 170
makeup and, 30, 67
in Manraze, 169–71, 173, 180, 182–86
marriage to Anita, 157, 163–64
marriage to Helen, 182, 184
marriage to Jacki, 126
Gary Moore and, 79
Malvin Mortimer and, 58–59, 66–68
in Paris, 93–94, 100
pre-show warm-up by, 67
Rudi Riviere and, 29–30, 203
September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and, 161–63
Liz Shorts and, 40–41, 56–58, 94–95, 111–12, 126, 152–54, 161, 166, 169
Scott Smith and, 120, 151–52, 160
sports and, 2–3
as teenager, 23
as Terror Twins, 72, 100
in Tush, 26–28
C. J. Vanston and, 159
visit to America, 23–26
Pete Webb and, 31–33
Dave Wheeler and, 7–8
Collen, Rory James, 126, 144, 151, 154, 161, 165, 167, 181
Collen, Samantha, 168–69, 178, 181, 183, 210
Collen, Savannah, 180, 181
Collins, Edwyn, 185
Collins, Phil, 104–5
Coltrane, John, 207
“Comin’ Under Fire,” 66
Connery, Sean, 176
Cook, Hollie, 186
Cook, Jeni, 170, 186, 190, 193
Cook, Paul, 169–71, 183, 185, 186, 190, 193
Cooper, Alice, 182, 185
Cornelius, Don, 25
Coryell, Larry, 16
Costello, Elvis, 34
Coverdale, David, 179
Cream, 7
Creedence Clearwater Revival, 69
Crossley, Steve, 27
Crossroads, 175
Crowded House, 138
Cruise, Tom, 187
The Crusaders, 197
The Cybernauts, 145–46
Daltrey, Roger, 145
The Damned, 20, 34
David Bowie and the Spiders from Mars, 8, 13
Dean, Janie, 132, 133
Decent, Dick, 145, 146
Ded Flatbird, 194
Deep Purple, 8, 11–13, 21, 32, 37
Def Leppard, 1, 12, 19, 21, 30, 37, 43, 45. See also individual songs
accents of, 47
Adrenalize album, 127, 134–38, 144–47, 199
Adrenalize tour, 137, 140–44
Rick Allen’s accident and rehabilitation and, 100–106
American reaction to, 70, 71, 74–77, 88, 115, 120–23
Behind the Music documentary and, 159
camouflage clothing and, 82–83