Slang World Tour

Slang World Tour

World tour by Def Leppard
Promotional poster for the tour
Location	Southeast Asia North America Europe South Africa South America
Associated album	Slang
Start date	27 May 1996
End date	27 April 1997
Legs	4
No. of shows	127
Def Leppard concert chronology

The Slang World Tour was a worldwide concert tour by English hard rock band Def Leppard in support of their album Slang, which was released in May 1996. Although Slang was the first Def Leppard album to feature new material with guitarist Vivian Campbell, this was his second tour with the band. Campbell joined Def Leppard just prior to their Adrenalize World Tour in 1992.^[1]

Musically, Slang was considered a radical departure from the band's signature sound of highly polished 1980s hard rock. Introspective songwriting, minimal studio production and Rick Allen's return to acoustic drums resulted in a more raw and organic sound.^[2] In a 2016 interview, Vivian Campbell reflected on the influence that 1990s grunge era bands such as Soundgarden had on the band's songwriting.^[3]

Concert production was also a radical departure from previous tours. The Slang World Tour introduced a completely revamped concert stage design. This was the first Def Leppard tour since the early 1980s to only employ "end stage" production design. Previous tours (Hysteria World Tour, Adrenalize World Tour) often employed "in the round" stage design.^[4] Rather than getting a 360-degree view of the band's performance with "in-the-round" staging, the "end stage" format created an atmosphere where all spectators faced the performance from one side. The new simplified configuration consisted of a rectangular stage with a wall of Marshall amplifiers positioned on each side of Rick Allen's drum kit. Also, in contrast to previous tours, the Slang World Tour featured a minimalist light show without laser effects.^[5][6]

Opening acts

• Tripping Daisy^[5]
• Terrorvision^[5]

Set list

Wings Stadium, Kalamazoo, Michigan (26 June 1996)

1. "Gift of Flesh"
2. "Another Hit and Run"
3. "Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)"
4. "Foolin'"
5. "Animal"
6. "All I Want Is Everything"
7. "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad"
8. "Deliver Me"
9. "Hysteria"
10. "Work It Out"
11. "Slang"
12. "Bringin' On the Heartbreak"
13. "Switch 625"
14. "Two Steps Behind" (acoustic)
15. "Photograph"
16. "Rocket"
17. "Armageddon It"
18. "Pour Some Sugar on Me"

    Encore

19. "Love Bites"
20. "Let's Get Rocked"
21. "Rock of Ages"

Tour dates

Date	City	Country	Venue
Asia / North America
27 May 1996	Bangkok	Thailand	Hua Mark Indoor Stadium
30 May 1996	Singapore		Singapore Indoor Stadium
1 June 1996	Jakarta	Indonesia	Jakarta Convention Center
4 June 1996	Kuala Lumpur	Malaysia	Stadium Negara
6 June 1996	Manila	Philippines	Folk Arts Theater
8 June 1996	Seoul	South Korea	Olympic Park Gymnasium
11 June 1996	Nagoya	Japan	Nagoya Congress Center
13 June 1996	Hiroshima		Hiroshima Kōsei Nenkin Kaikan
14 June 1996	Fukuoka		Fukuoka Sunpalace
17 June 1996	Osaka		Osaka-jō Hall
18 June 1996	Tokyo		Nippon Budokan
19 June 1996
21 June 1996	Yokohama		Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium
22 June 1996	Sendai		Sendai Sun Plaza
26 June 1996	Kalamazoo	United States	Wings Stadium
28 June 1996	Cuyahoga Falls		Blossom Music Center
29 June 1996	Noblesville		Deer Creek Music Center
30 June 1996	Milwaukee		Marcus Amphitheater
2 July 1996	Cincinnati		Riverbend Music Center
3 July 1996	Columbus		Polaris Amphitheater
5 July 1996	Tinley Park		New World Music Theatre
6 July 1996	Charlevoix		Castle Farms
7 July 1996	Clarkston		Pine Knob Music Theatre
9 July 1996	Burgettstown		Star Lake Amphitheatre
10 July 1996	Toronto	Canada	Molson Amphitheatre
12 July 1996	Corfu	United States	Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
13 July 1996	Hartford		Meadows Music Theater
14 July 1996	Camden		E-Center
16 July 1996	Mansfield		Great Woods
17 July 1996	Wantagh		Jones Beach Amphitheater
19 July 1996	Middletown		Orange County Fair
20 July 1996	Scranton		Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain
21 July 1996	Holmdel		PNC Bank Arts Center
23 July 1996	Bristow		Nissan Pavilion
24 July 1996	Virginia Beach		Virginia Beach Amphitheatre
26 July 1996	Raleigh		Walnut Creek Amphitheatre
27 July 1996	Charlotte		Blockbuster Pavilion
28 July 1996	Pelham		Oak Mountain Amphitheatre
30 July 1996	St. Louis		Riverport Amphitheatre
31 July 1996	Little Rock		Riverfront Amphitheatre
2 August 1996	Dallas		Starplex Amphitheatre
3 August 1996	Austin		South Park Meadows
4 August 1996	The Woodlands		Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
North America
14 August 1996	West Palm Beach	United States	West Palm Beach Amphitheatre
16 August 1996	Atlanta		Lakewood Amphitheatre
17 August 1996	Antioch		Starwood Amphitheatre
18 August 1996	Lampe		Black Oak Mountain
19 August 1996	Little Rock		Barton Coliseum
20 August 1996	Oklahoma City		Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden
21 August 1996	Bonner Springs		Sandstone Amphitheater
23 August 1996	Greenwood Village		Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre
24 August 1996	Ogden		Wolf Mountain
26 August 1996	Phoenix		Desert Sky Pavilion
27 August 1996	San Diego		SDSU Open Air Theatre
29 August 1996	Irvine		Irvine Meadows
30 August 1996	Sacramento		California State Fair
31 August 1996	Mountain View		Shoreline Amphitheatre
2 September 1996	George		The Gorge Amphitheatre
3 September 1996	Vancouver	Canada	General Motors Place
5 September 1996	Calgary		Olympic Saddledome
6 September 1996	Edmonton		Edmonton Coliseum
7 September 1996	Saskatoon		Saskatchewan Place
9 September 1996	Winnipeg		Winnipeg Arena
11 September 1996	Sudbury		Sudbury Arena
13 September 1996	Montreal		Molson Centre
14 September 1996	Ottawa		Corel Centre
15 September 1996	Quebec City		Colisée Pepsi
17 September 1996	Saint John		Harbour Station
19 September 1996	Halifax		Halifax Metro Centre
20 September 1996	Moncton		Moncton Coliseum
Europe / Africa
5 October 1996	Oslo	Norway	Sentrum Scene
7 October 1996	Stockholm	Sweden	Cirkus
8 October 1996	Copenhagen	Denmark	K.B. Hallen
10 October 1996	Hamburg	Germany	Grosse Freiheit
11 October 1996	Berlin		Tempodrom
12 October 1996	Hanover		Music Hall
14 October 1996	Budapest	Hungary	Sports Hall
15 October 1996	Žilina	Slovakia	Sports Hall
16 October 1996	Prague	Czech Republic	Sports Hall
19 October 1996	Cologne	Germany	E-Werk
20 October 1996	Paris	France	Zenith
22 October 1996	Neu-Isenburg	Germany	Hugenottenhalle
23 October 1996	Stuttgart		Messe Congresscentrum
24 October 1996	Geneva	Switzerland	Arena
26 October 1996	San Sebastian	Spain	Polideportivo
27 October 1996	Barcelona		Zeleste
28 October 1996	Madrid		Riviera
30 October 1996	Lisbon	Portugal	Cascais Hall
3 November 1996	Innsbruck	Austria	Olympiahalle
4 November 1996	Vienna		Kurhalle
5 November 1996	Munich	Germany	Circus Krone
7 November 1996	Milan	Italy	Palalido
8 November 1996	Zürich	Switzerland	Hallenstadion
10 November 1996	Luxembourg City	Luxembourg	Pétange Centre Sportif
11 November 1996	Leuven	Belgium	Brabatnhall
14 November 1996	Sheffield	England	Sheffield Arena
15 November 1996	Birmingham		Birmingham NEC
18 November 1996	Belfast	Northern Ireland	Kings Hall
20 November 1996	Dublin	Ireland	The Point Theatre
22 November 1996	Manchester	England	Manchester Arena
23 November 1996	Newcastle		Newcastle Arena
24 November 1996	Glasgow	Scotland	Glasgow SECC
26 November 1996	London	England	Wembley Arena
27 November 1996
28 November 1996	Exeter		University of Exeter
29 November 1996	Cardiff	Wales	International Arena
30 November 1996	Bournemouth	England	International Centre
1 December 1996	Brighton		Brighton Centre
5 December 1996	Johannesburg	South Africa	Johannesburg Stadium
7 December 1996	Durban		Kings Park Stadium
10 December 1996	Cape Town		Green Point Stadium
Latin America[7]
2 April 1997	Monterrey	Mexico	Auditorio Coca-Cola
4 April 1997	Mexico City		Palacio de los Deportes
6 April 1997	Guatemala City	Guatemala	Plaza de Toros
8 April 1997	San Salvador	El Salvador	Estadio Nacional Adolfo Pineda
10 April 1997	Panama City	Panama	Entrada de Albrook
12 April 1997	Bogotá	Colombia	Parque Simón Bolívar
15 April 1997	Quito	Ecuador	Ruminahui Coliseum
18 April 1997	Santiago	Chile	Teatro Monumental
19 April 1997	Buenos Aires	Argentina	Teatro Gran Rex
20 April 1997			Dr. Jekyll Pub
22 April 1997	Rio de Janeiro	Brazil	Metropolitan
23 April 1997	São Paulo		Olympia
24 April 1997
27 April 1997	San Juan	Puerto Rico	Anfiteatro Luís Muñoz Marín

Key

Show	Denotes concert dates that were cancelled and/or rescheduled.

Personnel

Credits taken from the Slang World Tour itinerary.^[6]

The band Joe Elliott – lead vocals Phil Collen – lead & rhythm guitars, backing vocals Vivian Campbell – lead & rhythm guitars, backing vocals Rick Savage – bass, backing vocals Rick Allen – drums Management Malvin Mortimer – tour manager Jim Pendolino – tour accountant Mark Spring – production manager Butch Allen – set/lighting designer Brad Madix – FOH engineer Phil Wilkey – monitor engineer

Crew David Sutherland – stage manager/bass technician Stan Schiller – guitar technician David Wolff – guitar technician Tony Moon – drum technician Rich Locklin – lighting crew chief Jim Michaelis – lighting technician Ken Zibrat – lighting technician Michael Greene – lighting technician Larry Vodopivek – sound crew chief Rudy Dearing – sound technician Brad Judd – sound technician

References

1. "Def Leppard Tour History: Adrenalize".
2. "Billboard: April 6, 1996". 6 April 1996.
3. "Slang 20th Anniversary: Vivian Campbell Interview". 9 December 2016.
4. "Def Leppard Tour History: Hysteria".
5. "Def Leppard Tour History: Slang".
6. Def Leppard Slang "None More Black" Tour Itinerary (13 August–September 21). Tour Books, Ink: San Francisco, CA 1996.
7. "Def Leppard Slang World Tour 1997".