Official Def Leppard Book Follows Limited Editions With Full Publication
The limited editions of the book, described as the ultimate record of Def Leppard’s career, became the fastest sellers in the publisher’s history.
Genesis Publications has announced that Definitely: The Official Story of Def Leppard, previously announced last October in limited edition formats and the first anthology on the band, will also be available as a hardback edition on May 9, priced in the UK at £35.
Shop the best of Def Leppard’s discography on vinyl and more.
The limited editions of the book, described as the ultimate record of Def Leppard’s career, became the fastest sellers in the publisher’s history. The Collector’s and Deluxe editions were fully subscribed within days of being announced.
The volume is part memoir and part scrapbook, telling the band’s remarkable story through hundreds of photographs capturing various recording locations, at promo shoots, on tour in planes, trains, cars and Holiday Inns, backstage and performing their celebrated live shows worldwide, from 1978 to the present day.
Via extensive new text contributions and in-depth archival interviews, every member of the band is represented. The book has introductions by Queen co-founder Brian May, a longtime friend and champion, and seasoned journalist and senior editor of Rolling Stone, David Fricke. May gave the speech for Def Leppard’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2019, and Fricke has written about them from early days.
Definitely contains more than 1,300 items of memorabilia and photography, spanning four decades of the band’s history. These include handwritten correspondence, rare vinyl pressings, tour memorabilia, set lists, lyrics, stage clothing, music video storyboards, draft album artwork, and press cuttings.
Many of these come from the band’s early days, presented in a “wallpaper sample” scrapbook compiled by frontman Joe Elliott’s mother, Cindy Elliott. There are photographs from the personal archives of band members and fans worldwide, along with those taken by top rock photographers such as Ross Halfin, Mick Rock, and Anton Corbijn.
Def Leppard and Mötley Crüe are currently continuing their co-headlining The World Tour, the current leg of which opened on February 18 at Foro Sol in Mexico City. After their Latin American dates, they head to Europe in May, including a date at Wembley Stadium on July 1, before they conclude at Hampden Park, Glasgow on July 6.
