Def Leppard set for UK NFL showdown

By Scott Munro
( Classic Rock )
published

Band will play pre-game gig ahead of American Football kick-off at Wembley Stadium

Def Leppard will take to the field to perform at the first of this year’s NFL games at Wembley Stadium.

The Sheffield rockers will play the pre-game gig ahead of the American Football showdown between the Oakland Raiders and Miami Dolphins on September 28 – one of three regular season NFL games to be played at Wembley during the upcoming 2014⁄15 season.

And frontman Joe Elliott says he “can’t wait” to experience the atmosphere at the annual International Series.

He says: “Having recently visited Wembley in May to watch Sheffield United in the FA Cup semi-final, I know what the atmosphere in the ground is like for ‘our’ football, so I’m really looking forward to performing before the NFL game – and soaking up the excitement of the match.”

Previous pre-game artists to play at the UK-based NFL games include Stereophonics, Goo-Goo Dolls and My Chemical Romance.

Def Leppard are currently on the road with Kiss in the US. The band will continue working on the follow-up to 2008’s Songs From The Sparkle Lounge following the tour’s conclusion.

Scott Munro
Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers and magazines as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. After initially joining our news desk in the summer of 2014, he moved to the e-commerce team full-time in 2020. He maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott grew up listening to rock and prog, cutting his teeth on bands such as Marillion and Magnum before his focus shifted to alternative and post-punk in the late 80s. His favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Ned's Atomic Dustbin and Drab Majesty, but he also still has a deep love of Rush.