In an amusing act of defiance, 1980’s English rock/pop act Def Leppard have decided to re-record the band’s entire back catalogue after a disagreement over royalties and payment for digital downloads with longterm record label Universal.
As reported by NME, Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott said the dispute has led to the decision to cut Universal out of the picture entirely by re-recording the band’s expansive discography in what Def Leppard are dubbing as ‘forgeries’. Although eager to re-record their old material, Elliot said it’s not as simple as turning up and plugging in.
“We’ll just replace our back catalogue with brand new, exact same versions of what we did”, Elliot said.
“You just don’t go in and say: ‘Hey guys, let’s record it’, and it’s done in three minutes… Where am I gonna find a 22-year-old voice? I had to sing myself into a certain throat shape to be able to sing that way again. It was really hard work, but we did have a good laugh over it here and there”, he said.
Def Leppard have already re-recorded hit singles Rock of Ages from 1983 and 1987’s Pour Some Sugar on Me to coincide with the currently in cinemas Rock of Ages movie, in which Tom Cruise covers Leppard’s Pour Some Sugar on Me.
