Phil Collen Talks Sharing a Bill with The Who
You would think Def Leppard would be over being starstruck, but even after their decades-long career, there’s still room for being in awe of certain musicians.
Guitarist Phil Collen recently chatted with 96.3 KKLZ’s The Mike & Carla Morning Show and shared this story, along with what it meant to play London’s Royal Albert Hall for the Teenage Cancer Trust benefit concert, which is a charity founded by The Who:
“It’s a 150-year-old building. It’s got such a history. Kings and queens and god know what have been through there. We had just done an amazing thing with the Teenage Cancer Trust [benefit concert.] We had toured South America last year, and a couple of those shows we did with The Who. I was just an honor to play with them, and they asked us if we’d step up and do that, and we were totally honored. It was amazing! It was one of the best show’s we’d ever done…We were just about to go on stage, and this was kinda weird. There was a knock on the door, and all of the guys had just left, and there was this other door. It opened up, and it was Pete Townshend. He goes, ‘Hello there, Phil! You alright?’ And I’m like, ‘What?! It’s Pete Townshend, and he knows my name!'”
Collen and Def Leppard are gearing up for their big tour with Journey that kicks off May 21 in Hartford, Conn. A complete list of tour dates can be found at DefLeppard.com.
To listen to this interview in its entirety, head to 963KKLZ.com.
Erica Banas is a rock/classic rock blogger that loves the smell of old vinyl in the morning.
