Eddie Van Halen‘s musical talent and guitar mastery established him as a cult figure on the rock scene. So, when Van Halen gave a piece of advice about guitars to Def Leppard’s Phil Collen, he couldn’t just ignore it. Collen recalled the first time he met Eddie while chatting with Guitar Player and disclosed the musical advice the guitarist gave him.
Collen recalled the recording process of the act’s hit, ‘Pour Some Sugar On Me,’ while discussing the guitar he had used to play his parts. Then, the rocker opened up about his first encounter with Van Halen and shared the advice the guitarist gave him regarding his old guitar.
“I’d met Eddie Van Halen on Van Halen’s first tour of the U.K.,” said Phil and continued by sharing what Eddie told him about his old guitar. “He’d said to me that I’d never be happy with the sound unless I changed that pickup. So I thought, ‘If Eddie says I should do it, I’m going to try it.'”
However, the Def Leppard guitarist is not the only one who has appreciated Van Halen’s innovative approach to his instrument. The Darkness’ Justin Hawkins recently stated that Eddie could never be surpassed as a guitar player. So, it looks like the Van Halen legacy will continue to live on through Eddie’s musical and guitar genius.
As for Phil Collen, the 64 years old musician continues to rock the stage with Def Leppard. The band embarked on a co-headlining tour with Mötley Crüe, which was postponed to the summer of 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Clearly, their fans were genuinely excited to see them back on stage as the Stadium Tour became the most profitable tour of both bands’ careers.
It was already known that Joe Elliot was determined to expand their tour, and Def Leppard recently announced the dates for their co-headlining 2023 World Tour, which will kick off in February. Leppard will tour Latin America and Europe with Mötley Crüe.
