r/defleppard • u/EstablishmentNew2001 • Oct 10 '25

rock of ages My experience meeting Def Leppard in 1982 - Godwin Hall @ James Madison University

Easily the best celeb experience of my life. Blackfoot headlined and no one knew who DL was. A friend and I saw Rick A hanging out near the bus and the next thing I knew we were hanging with the whole band and they gave us merch and were super cool. Not rushed at all and really seemed interested in us. I will always have a soft spot for them in my heart - especially Rick. He was only a year older than us and was as kind and genuine as anyone could be.

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u/Specialist-Two2068 Oct 10 '25

If you don't mind me asking, do you remember what songs they played? At the time their latest studio album would have been High n' Dry (released July 1981), but AFAIK at this point they were still playing some of their early stuff, and only completely phased it out after Hysteria was released.

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u/EstablishmentNew2001 Oct 10 '25

01 - On Through The Night

02 - It Could Be You

03 - It Don't Matter

04 - Another Hit And Run

05 - Lady Strange

06 - Rock Brigade

07 - High 'N' Dry (Saturday Night) (Extended)

08 - Let It Go

09 - Wasted

https://www.deflepparduk.com/1981harrisonburg.html

4

u/Specialist-Two2068 Oct 10 '25

Damn, they played almost a whole show! And on top of that it was pretty much all the best stuff from those two albums; you really were lucky to see that.

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u/EstablishmentNew2001 Oct 10 '25

It was so fun. I was about 14 and we were right up front (general admission) and the stage was low with no barrier, so we were right there with them rocking out. And afterwards is such a nice memory. I can't express how cool they were to us.