How Def Leppard Learned Hard Lessons on the ‘Pyromania’ Tour
When Def Leppard completed their Pyromania World Tour on Feb. 7, 1984, there was no doubt they’d made it to the big time. After 178 shows over almost exactly a year, they had moved from a support act playing medium-sized venues to a headline attraction selling tens of thousands tickets a night. However, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. The road trip had kicked off on Feb. 9, 1983, with two warm-up club shows in London and Dublin before commencing a full run of 177 performances that included a total of 115 in North America. The first 24 of those had been as opening act for Billy Squier, but as sal...