10 Songs Def Leppard Fans Want To Hear On Their 2022 Stadium Tour

Def Leppard has scored more than a dozen Top 40 hits across a career that now spans more than four decades. Close to half of them came off of 1987’s mega-successful Hysteria album.

So it’s completely understandable that there were going to be some omissions when it came to putting together a set list for Def Leppard’s current slot on the Stadium Tour with Motley Crue, Poison and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.

Their 18-song set has remained consistent thus far, though Def Leppard took a moment on the second night of the tour to honor Paul McCartney’s 80th birthday by singing “Happy Birthday,” adding a small bit of the Beatles’ “I’ve Just Seen a Face” as well. This tour was initially slotted for the summer of 2020 and was delayed twice by the pandemic. As a result, Def Leppard had time to add a new album, 2022’s Diamond Star Halos, by the time things finally got underway.

Four songs from the newest record have now been added to the set, leaving little wiggle room for other material beyond the essential hits. If they do decide to change things up, however, here are 10 of the best songs from the catalog that Def Leppard hasn’t played yet on the tour.

10. “Promises”
From: Euphoria (1999)

After a slight detour with 1996’s Slang, Def Leppard got back to sounding like Def Leppard of the Mutt Lange era. Lange himself wasn’t available, so his associate Pete Woodroffe (who had been in the camp since the ’90s) was once again behind the board as co-producer for Euphoria. “Promises,” a co-write with Lange, feels more like something that could have been on Adrenalize more so than Hysteria or anything prior. “Promises” remains good, sticky-sweet, harmony-soaked fun, and it hasn’t been played since 2019 at the grand opening of the Hard Rock Hotel in Sacramento.

9. “Gods of War”
From: Hysteria (1987)

Clocking in at more than an hour in length, the Hysteria album was a mammoth release for its time and one where even the album tracks became dearly loved by fans. Def Leppard has done an admirable job of rotating songs from this record in and out of the set over the years. “Gods of War,” which Joe Elliott recently pegged as their best song, was last performed at the Download Festival in 2019. This epic rocker runs more than six minutes, with an intro that clocks in at close to two, so it was probably never in contention for the Stadium Tour due to its length.

8. “Let It Go”
From: High ‘n’ Dry (1981)

“Let It Go” was a killer album opener, with guitar riffs for days and frenetic energy that burns throughout. It hasn’t been made a consistent set list appearance since 2019, instead relegated to occasional play at festival gigs. A notable featured moment happened back in late 2002 when fans got to hear “Let It Go” in its original position as Def Leppard played the entire first side of High ‘n’ Dry at a handful of U.S dates. Guitarist Vivian Campbell later told UCR that the audiences seemed a bit “miffed” because they didn’t know the bulk of the songs from the album side.

7. “Wasted” 
From: On Through The Night (1980)

“Wasted” is a fan favorite in the category of deep cuts, and one which fits in well with the NWOBHM sound that dominated the era when Def Leppard issued their debut album. Still, this is one of the less likely possibilities for the Stadium Tour. Last aired out at a hometown gig in 2018, “Wasted” has only made sporadic appearances in the past decade. It hasn’t been performed in the U.S. since their 2013 residency in Las Vegas when the band opened for themselves, performing a set of deeper selections – including “Wasted” – as Ded Flatbird.

6. “Make Love Like a Man”
From: Adrenalize (1992)

Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen called this one “goofy” during a 2022 chat with UCR, indicating that one shouldn’t take it too seriously. He explained that while fans might have thought they were being “King Kong” and singing about themselves, they were just depicting a “stereotype that we all know.” That adds some macho context to “Make Love Like a Man,” which was last seen at a 2018 gig in Cardiff, Wales. Boasting trademark big Def Leppard choruses, Collen says it’s still a lot of fun to play live.

5. “High ‘n’ Dry (Saturday Night)”
From: High ‘n’ Dry (1981)

High ‘n’ Dry is loaded with choice deep-cut possibilities – including “Mirror, Mirror (Look Into My Eyes),” which is arguably one of the band’s more underrated tracks. Considering the general party vibe of the Stadium Tour, however, “High ‘n’ Dry (Saturday Night)” is probably a safer pick. Last performed in 2015 in Montreal, this swaggering rocker features a crusher of a guitar solo from Collen – and would sound even better if they’re performing on a Saturday night.

4. “Rock! Rock (Till You Drop)”
From: Pyromania (1983)

It’s hard to imagine a better rally cry for this current tour than “Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop).” The band has been leading off their current tour set with two cuts from Diamond Star Halos. Both “Take What You Want” and “Fire It Up” are high-energy tracks, so it’s not hard to imagine this lead cut from Pyromania sliding in where “Animal” sits presently. “Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)” last surfaced in 2015 and was a regular opener on U.S. tour dates at that time.

3. “Women”
From: Hysteria (1987)

Hysteria had a whopping seven singles, including “Women.” This one didn’t scale the top half of the charts back then, but it has remained a fan favorite. Once consistently in the set, “Women” was most recently featured in the lineup for their performance at Download in 2019. Hysteria nevertheless gets plenty of time in the spotlight, with a whopping seven songs featured in the current show. Among them is “Excitable,” a relative deep dig that has been performed fewer than 200 times according to Setlist.fm.

2. “Too Late for Love”
From: Pyromania (1983)

They certainly could play different cuts from Pyromania, but who’s going to tell fans that they’re not going to hear “Foolin’,” “Rock of Ages” or “Photograph”? Maybe it’s worth falling on that sword, however, if the band got a chance to return to “Too Late For Love.” This stormy, ominous track is Def Leppard at their doom-y best. Last heard in 2019, it’s typically only performed at their shows in Las Vegas over the past decade.

1. “Let’s Get Rocked”
From: Adrenalize (1992)

This Bart Simpson-inspired rocker is probably the most well-known track from Adrenalize, which turned 30 earlier this year. Performed frequently throughout 2019, “Let’s Get Rocked” feels like a natural choice to get the Stadium Tour crowd fired up on this current run. Def Leppard, of course, wants to showcase their new album right out of the gate – but they might consider giving fans one more chance to answer Joe Elliott’s timeless question, “Do you wanna get rocked?” with an affirmative “yes!”