Breaking all of the stereotypes, Phil Collen is an extremely likeable, but personally intense, rock ‘n’ roller with working class roots from Hackney, East London. I can’t help but think that today Phil is a wiser, gentler, more refined version of what he was early in his career; once nicknamed “The Terror Twins” along with fellow band mate and best friend Steve Clark, by fans around the world. Phil is frontline for one of rock music’s most popular and prolific music machines – Def Leppard. So here in quiet, suburban, dare I say sometimes boring South Orange County, I can’t help but feel a little bit as if I’ve stumbled upon “lightning in a bottle” when I sit and talk with Phil.
Phil Collen is best known for playing guitar in Def Leppard, a hugely popular hard rock band from Sheffield, England. Prior to joining Def Leppard Phil played in a number of British glam metal bands, most notably an up and coming group called Girl. In 1982, Phil joined Def Leppard, who’s popularity was on the rise and which shortly thereafter received a big boost in exposure when their “Bringing On the Heartbreak” song became one of the first hard rock videos ever played on MTV. Def Leppard’s 3rd album Pyromania, released in 1983, produced the hit single “Photograph” which quickly turned Def Leppard into a household name.
To make a long career short, Def Leppard has released 10 studio albums, filmed 33 music videos, has a “Guitar Hero” series, has album sales approaching 50 million copies, was nominated into the Rock Walk of Fame on Hollywood’s Sunset Strip, was the subject of one of VH1 Behind the Music’s most popular episodes “Hysteria – The Def Leppard Story”, is involved in music for movies and collaborations with various popular artist, such as playing the 2009 CMT Music Awards with Grammy Award Winning Artist Taylor Swift, were awarded VH1 Rock Honors, are working on their 11th studio album and planning a upcoming tour in 2011.
Phil was born in 1957 and grew up in an east-side suburb of London where he had fond memories of his working class upbringing and neighborhood. Phil, an only child, was raised by his mom who was a homemaker, his father who was a truck driver and his grandmother. There is no question, Phil is personally disciplined and ambitious, but you can’t help but notice the very down to earth way about him, which he attributes to his working class attitude which, he simply put, makes him work hard. When Phil was a child he says his first dream was probably to be a professional soccer player. He was introduced to music by his cousin who, as Phil put it, totally educated him on the then current bands; music from Jimmy Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, and Pink Floyd. His cousin took him to his first live music show where he saw Deep Purple on their Machine Head tour. Phil said that a lot of kids these days don’t understand things and that can be frustrating. Having a creative outlet like music had a lot to do with protecting him while growing up in a rough part of London. He believes that having some creative outlet whether it is music or art can be very important for kids, especially those that aren’t fortunate enough to live in such ideal surrounding.
When Phil started touring with Def Leppard, he visited many places. For example, in a single tour of the United Stated, they would literally visit every state. During these travels, Phil would often think about where he wanted to live. Because of the band’s geographically diverse touring, Phil could have literally lived anywhere and the band currently does with members spread across two continents and three countries. Phil’s first home in the States was in New York, but shortly after the birth of his first son, he sought out a place that was not as claustrophobic as a large city. He had been introduced to the Orange County area by his family who had relatives that lived locally and he really thought it was cool and family oriented. When asked why he picked Nellie Gail, Phil said that he was looking for someplace sunny with great weather, outside of the city which offered more open space (sound familiar?). Interestingly, Phil’s current home in Nellie Gail, where he has now lived for 19 years, was the first home he looked at.
Today, Phil leads a very active and healthy lifestyle. Phil started doing karate in the early 90’s and kickboxing shortly thereafter. His main fitness regimen today is Must Thai kick boxing, which he has been doing regularly for about 5 years, along with weight lifting, both at his home gym. When he is on tour, Phil exercises with his trainer up to three times a day (yes a day). It’s quite obvious Phil pushes himself very hard physically and he tells me that he has never been fitter in his life and he discounts it as a myth that he should ever need to slow down his training with age. Phil does not eat meat and described himself as “virtually a vegan”. He enjoys visiting local restaurants like The Stand and Taco Loco in Laguna Beach, Native Foods in Aliso Viejo and The Wheel of Life in Irvine. Phil no longer drinks alcohol and hasn’t for 23 years, realizing early in his career the toll drinking was taking on him personally. One harsh reminder of the seriousness of this lifestyle was the alcohol related passing of his best friend and fellow band mate Steve Clark, who had developed a very serious alcohol addiction. Phil mentioned that it is very real how drugs and alcohol are used by the musicians and unfortunate how it is glorified by the media.
In addition to his work with Def Leppard, Phil has started a new band called Man Raze. Man Raze is a three piece band with Phil singing and playing guitar, former Girl band bassist Simon Laffy and Paul Cook one of the founding members of the Sex Pistols on drums. Phil described Man Raze and a great creative outlet and chance to experiment and try new things musically. Phil indicated that one reality of being in a band like Def Leppard is that your fans come to expect a certain type of music and to some extent you have a “box” that you have to work within. Man Raze’s sound is not so defined with songs ranging from rock to reggae, with punk and glam-rock influences. As Phil put it, “Man Raze is edgy, lyrically they can go wherever they want and artistically go completely all over the place, and it’s very expressive”. Man Raze just finished up a tour with Alice Cooper in England and is currently writing songs.
An interesting local connection is that Phil has long used, and endorsed, Jackson Guitars which have a long history in the Southern California area, originally manufactured in Glendora and now in Corona. For 30 years Jackson guitars have been the hard rock “guitar of choice”. In 2010, Jackson Guitar celebrated their 30th Anniversary. Phil was invited to memorialize the event by helping design and paint 30 original Jackson Guitars at the Corona manufacturing facility.
Phil shared that he feels like his life is very full these days, spending time with his writing partner in Los Angeles, Def Leppard responsibilities, Man Raze, personal life and as a result he just doesn’t get out too much. Phil is currently writing some country songs for use by popular country artists and spends a bit of time in Nashville, Tennessee, which he feels is one of the best music scenes in the country today due to its extreme diversity.
I asked Phil a bit about his home which he described as Mediterranean style and decorated in a very casual way, including areas where he rehearses. On a very personal note, Phil is currently engaged to his girlfriend Helen and they are planning a wedding this coming July. Helen works in New York as a costume designer for movies and theatre, as well as a specialty entertainment company called “I Love All Access, VIP concert packages”, which is where Phil and she met. If you would like more information about Phil, upcoming concerts and events, you can go on line to www.defleppard.com or www.manraze.com.
