It’s been 16 years since Def Leppard last played Australia, but if the unbelievable amount of band t-shirts is anything to go by, time has only made flannie-clad hearts grow fonder. A packed stadium roars as the English rockers launch straight into Rocket, and there are no complaints as best selling album Hysteria provides a good clump of the set. They don’t have as many anthems as Bon Jovi.

They don’t have the same popular longevity of Aerosmith. They don’t have the metal cred of Iron Maiden. But Def Leppard, baring their chests, running around with perpetually-changing guitars and belting out Grade 8 style sexual references (“I suppose a rock’s out of the question”), even as aging men, are completely likeable.

An acoustic set, and even a drum solo (yes, the one armed dude is still belting away) mix things up a little, but these five boy-men know they’re at their fun peak when they’re ploughing through their silly hard rock hits like highlight Pour Some Sugar On Me, and judging by the extended, heartfelt applause even after the houselights, Brisbane is home to plenty who feel the same. And there’s barely a mullet amongst them.

Words by Simon Topper of Rave Magazine

Photos by Kylie Keene for MetalUniverse.net