With nearly 40 years in the music business, British rockers Def Leppard know a thing or two about what makes a band stay united.
"We can turn it on and off. We’ve always said, ‘Leave your ego in the dressing room,’" lead singer Joe Elliott told People magazine of the group's ability to check themselves.
"We play rock stars on stage, but when everybody’s at home, it’s got nothing to do with it. That’s a major part of our longevity."
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"I think it’s really important that you are actually two different people," Elliot added.
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Guitarist Phil Collen said he becomes an avatar for the crowd, comparing the experience of performing his music to acting.
"It’s almost like method acting. The person that goes on stage has got so much more swagger than I do. I never get stage fright or any of that stuff. Never," he explained.
"I actually checked my heart rate once just as we went on to do Rocking Rio, which is like, 100,000 people. I thought, ‘Let me just test this to see if it changes.’ And it didn’t. That is the god’s honest truth, because the avatar goes on and does his thing. He’s got swagger."
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Currently on a joint tour with fellow rock band Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard's additional members are Vivian Campbell, Rick Savage and Rick Allen.
The men of the band, which originally formed in 1976, also give credit to their families for keeping them grounded, sharing that they are constantly humbled and reminded that they're regular people in disguise as rockers.
"[Lyla], on a regular basis, says, ‘Dad, you might be a good singer, but you can’t dance,’" Elliot notes of his daughter. "And it’s the same thing with the wife—it’s two different lives. We get up there and do our thing, and then when you’re at home, you’re in your jammies, and that’s what it is."
