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Def Leppard - Manchester Apollo - Sunday 23rd February 2003 - review by Laura
I was at the gig in Manchester on Sunday night with my mates Michelle and Mick etc and had a great time. I have been to the Apollo many times and knew how great a venue it is, but it was my first time seeing Def Leppard.
The support started well on time, due to the previous shows over running. Ricky Warwick was great and Rick Savage could be seen at the side of the stage throughout giving him some support. He only sang about 5 songs from his debut album Tattoos and Alibis and he was very well received by the crowd.
The secomd support act was The Darkness. I personally wasn't impressed by them. They were good and everything, but wasn't my cup of tea so to speak.
Had to laugh when I came back from the loo and the lead singer was on someone's shoulders being carried through the audience.
In the break, as I was sitting front row of the balcony, I had a nosey over the edge to sum up the crowd. A range of ages were present and all seemed to be really excited at the thought of the guys appearing on stage. Apart from the idiots who started fighting,it all looked great.
The lights went down, and there I was ready with the camera to take some cracking photos due to the good position of the seats... but oh no.... the battery failed. I was gutted. Anyway, just got on with enjoying the show.
The guys appeared on stage at around 9pm as scheduled and opened with Let It Go, followed by Action and Foolin. The crowd went wild. They slowed things down during the first half of the set and played classics as Hysteria, Long Way To Go, Two Steps Behind etc. Loved it when they played Long Way to go as it is one of my faves.
Was great to look from above, down on the crowd to see them all enjoying the show so much. By half way through, it was too much and I could no longer wait. There was hardly anyone on the balcony standing but by Photograph, Animal and Pour Some Sugar, I was up on my feet giving it everything I had along with my gig buddy Shell....lol.
Overall,it was a cracking show. Joe's voice was a bit bad due to the sound etc but that aside, a really great rock show. Shame they didnt play twice.
Next time though maybe..???
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Go to Album Reviews***HUGE thanks to Laura for sharing her experiences of the gig!***