Def Leppard vs. Bon Jovi
 

Def Leppard vs. Bon Jovi

These are two of the most successful bands of the 1980s/early 1990s.

Both bands have sold millions of records, toured the world, had major hit singles, dominated MTV and radio, and have been the envy of many of their peers.

Both bands have also continued to release albums since the mid-1990s to the present and toured the world. Both bands have had continued success around the world, except in the U.S., where Bon Jovi clearly dominates over Def Leppard.

So why does Bon Jovi sell out U.S. STADIUMS at $100+ a seat and Def Leppard has to co-headline (Bryan Adams last year, now Journey) to come close to filling the seats at an outdoor amphitheater for a third to half of the price?

Why does Bon Jovi still command radio airplay for mediocre material and Def Leppard can’t get anything, even mediocre material, post-1992 in any airplay rotation?

Now I’m not going to deny the successes of both bands. I think that for both bands to have maintained a level of success within a 20-25 year period is amazing. It is good for the world of Hard Rock to have bands like this in the public eye, keeping this genre alive in the mainstream. What I am trying to figure out is why/how Bon Jovi has shot past Def Leppard in the last decade.

Tale of the Release:

Bon Jovi
- released 5 studio albums between 1984-1992, including a 4 year gap between New Jersey (1988) & Keep The Faith (1992)
- released 7 albums between 1994-2005, only 3 were actual studio albums, including 5 year gaps between These Days (1995) & Crush (2000) & Have A Nice Day (2005)
- the other 4 albums released between 1994-2005 were a greatest hits, live album, box set, and an acoustic greatest hits compilation.
- since 2000 have released various different forms of each album (Wal-mart only releases, tour editions, E.P.s, etc.)

Def Leppard
- released 5 studio albums between 1980-1992, including a 4 year gap between Pyromania (1983) & Hysteria (1987), as well as, a 5 year gap betweem Hysteria (1987) & Adrenalize (1992)
- released 6 albums between 1993-2004, only 3 were actual studio albums between 1996-2002
- the other 3 albums released between 1993-2004 were a b-side compilation, greatest hits, and another greatest hits
- will release a covers album, Yeah!, in 2005

If you look at both bands’ output until 1992, you’ll see that they released the same amount of studio albums and each had two major blockbuster albums. You will also notice that there are significant gaps of years between releases for both bands. You could explain these gaps with the facts that both bands went on worldwide tours for these releases resulting in two years or more on the road. Also Def Leppard had two major tragedies in those gaps: Rick Allen’s accident between Pyromania & Hysteria and Steve Clark’s death between Hysteria & Adrenalize. I’m stressing the point of both bands having years between their blockbuster albums because Def Leppard always gets criticism for not releasing albums in a timely manner.

If you look post-1992, you’ll notice that Def Leppard has released studio albums with more consistency: 3 albums in 6 years (1996-2002). Bon Jovi has released 3 albums in 10 years (1995-2005).

So what is it that has launched Bon Jovi past Def Leppard as far as popularity and success in the U.S.?

Is it radio airplay?
Is it label support? They are on the same label.
Is it that the women adore Jon Bon Jovi? I seem to remember the Def Lep guys being favorites of the ladies as well.
Is it the strength of the material? I’d argue that the studio albums both bands released are of the same quallity. (I’m taking personal preference out of it.)
Is it that Bon Jovi is American and Def Leppard is British? Doesn’t matter to me but it could to some people.

I have no answer

Did you forget about bounce??

So it was really 4 albums in 10 years time.
Is this an updated look on the subject?? Because I recall a web page with just about the same content but I thinks theres something different, Anyway this has been done to death. I like Both bands. But obviously Bon Jovi more.

Bon Jovi produce better music in a technical sense. The quality of the melodies and the level of the playing on the records and live surpasses many bands, including D.L

Also they released recods that would sell AND keep them in the public eye AND with Crush, made sure they could appeal to a wide audience. They have alos matured as they've gone on.

Throughout the 90s, Def Leppard was much more successful in the US than Bon Jovi. Look it up on the Billboard website.

I guess Bon Jovi were than a bit more lucky with Crush than Def Leppard with X and this made all the difference. Both albums are cheap POP records, on both there is a song written by Max Martin, but one was successful and the other one wasn't.

Regarding the looks, I think Def Leppard also tried to adjust. In some clips/picturd Joe Eliot literally looks like an overaged Barbie doll.

another aspect is that Bon Jovi are American. What British band made it really big lately or is sill relevant? Maybe The Stones. U2 are from Ireland so they don't count. America has many more: metallica, aerosmith, chilli peppers, springsteen and even pearl jam.

I would add Jons looks and the fact that housewives are more loyal fans who also talk their kids into listening to the same music. In the 80s Def Leppard had more headbangers in their audience than Bon Jovi. Those guys are middle-aged men now who don't give a shit about Leppard, as opposed to the groupies who still have fantasies with JBJ.

I guess all of this explains it quite a bot. However, most important is in my opinion the come-back album. Crush hit big time. X failed.

To be honest, I count Euphoria as DL's so called comeback album.
Yes, it did fail commercially, but to me it sounded great, maybe a bit to 80's but they released the album in 1999, toured it took a bit of a break then got to work on X and released that one in 2002.

Wrong. Def Leppard are miles ahead Bon Jovi in the technical sense. The guitarists alone are probably the best guitar duo in the world.

Ice

Um, have you forgotten Bounce?

Anyway, my personal opinion is that Jovi is (or was) better at choosing singles. In the ninties they had a huge sucess with Bed of Roses, which begat Always, which begat This Ain't A Love Song which were all hits, even in the US where Jovi weren't AS successful in the nineties. And, as Devilsson said Jovi had a (like the album or not) huge success and comeback with Crush in 2000, which cemented them as current force, where I think DL is almost looked at as a nostalgia act. Also (and this is my opinion) while both bands have their two huge masterpieces, I think Jovi have a much stronger, and more well rounded catalouge when you take said 80's masterpieces out of the equation. Now, I'm a fan of both bands (hell, I wear a DL leather jacket every day) but I'm a much, much, much bigger Bon Jovi fan.

Is it radio airplay? Yes
Is it label support? Yes. Leppard has far less label support. Which of course translates to radio airplay.
Is it that the women adore Jon Bon Jovi? Yes. This can only help. People are delusional if they think that BJ's success can be attributed solely to the strength of the music.
Is it the strength of the material? Not really, after 1992, both bands have produced some great material and some really crappy material. It's a tossup.
Is it that Bon Jovi is American and Def Leppard is British? Yes.

So the answer is the combination of all those.

What?! Do you seriously mean that they're better than Bandiera and that pedal steel-guy?

...

Aloha !

No, but better than Richie and Jon together are. Jon is shit and Richie is great, while Def Leppard has 2 guitar players who understand eachother.

Salaam Aleikum,
Sebastiaan

Yeah I got that. And I agree with you, Jon is shit, Richie is great.
I was just making a bad joke since I'm so fed up with all the extra musicians on stage, plus the fact that I'm extremely bored at work.

i agree that viv anderson & steve collen are loads better than jon & richie together but def leppard technically better than bon jovi???


dont make me laugh

You mean Vivian Campbell and Phil Collen. ;)

Man, before you try to start an argument, you'd better get your facts straight.

And yes, both Vivian Campbell and Phil Collen could play rings around Richie. So they are technically better.

Ice

they have nothing in common

Man, Viv's work with Dio is ****ing awesome!!!

Sometimes I think he must be feeling a bit bored playing with the Leps since there is nothing really challenging for him to play, but he says that it's challenging to him on a vocal sense so that's something.

Technically better is technically better - but at the end of the day music is about feelings. If it tickles your ticklish bits, then you like and prefer it to stuff that doesn't.

Bon Jovi tickle my bits.

oasis......arctic monkey's?

Technically, I prefer Tico to Rick (I told a friend I think if Tico got his arm lopped off so they both had the same holyshit factor, Tico'd end up with more press in the long run because he's better), and I'd say Alec vs Sav is no contest in Sav's favor but I'm not sure about Hugh vs. Sav. Guitars, I'm torn...I think for the most part if you sat Richie, Phil and Viv all down and had them play the exact same thing it'd be a closer match - Phil and Viv are still better, but I think it's emphasized more thanks to their chemistry and I think more allowance for guitar showing-off in Lepp songs than Jovi songs. And Jon vs Joe depends entirely on my mood, although I won't argue that Jon beats Joe live now. Jovi's lyrics tend to be less...well, stupid.

I think Jovi just got lucky with IML, they just managed to hit at the right time and place with the right song to blow up. Lepp could've done it, they just...didn't for any number of reasons.

And also, IML is a great song.
It may not have the most mature lyrics, but it has that kind of "brilliance in it's simplicity" thing IMHO.

Well, yeah, but Lepp have songs on Euphoria that are equally good, if not better. Hell, there are better songs that didn't even make Crush. It's not strictly a quality thing, it was a right place/right time/right song deal.

Right prmotion aswell, let's not forget tha tJon knows how to sell a record, while with Def Leppard, promotion was handled strictly by management and label until recently.

Oh yeah, I'm just saying that its a combo type of thing.

EUphoria was a Way better album than Crush - unfortunately it wasnt a big seller. BJs advantage is Jons "pretty boy" image which is still working. Joe Elliott aint that pretty. Me I dont give a f*** I just rate the Leps higher than BJ. And they won't release crap next year as BJ has done this year!

Without being quite so harsh, I kind of agree. ;)

Though many think Def Leppard's next record will be "half-assed" as apposed to their other albums and where the band stands these days, I'm sure I'll enjoy it WAY more than any of Bon jovi's recent releases.

Like the majority here.Im really unhappy with Bon Jovi and the exta band members!They've managed as 5 for years.

Watching clips of the LH tour on youtube,Destroying songs with added violin parts here and there,And the T.L.F.R(crap)versions of Blaze,BOR,IBTFY.

Compared to Def Leppard's 07 tour Bon Jovi should be ashamed!

The Leppard boys are slighty older.

But was really impressed with the clips i saw of them:
(Seen really good versions of PSSOM,Armageddon It,Photograph,)

Running around the stage like the 80s/90s,Songs still sound rocking,Joe dosent avoid the high parts of songs.

Yea, the age/energy thing really bugs me. Bon Jovi are slightly younger, are in perhaps "better" shape than Leppard, generally, and yet they barely move throughout the show. Leppard, whilst still looking good for their age, maybe have seen better days shall we say, but when I saw them in June last year, you could barely keep them still. They were like puppies let loose, just like the early days. And Joes voice is perfectly fine for me. Still gives it his all and doesn't slacken for one minute.

If I were to ever rate Def Leppard over Bon Jovi for only one thing today, it would be their live shows.

Nah, they are not older. Joe Eliott is older than Jon Bon but otherwise, they are of very similar age.

LOL, thats probably true, it's mainly Joe and Jon who's ages I compare the most. Still, my argeument is still valid, Leppard have much more energy and stage presence than Bon Jovi and they're both roughly the same age. :p

I would have to completely disagree with that. Joe's voice was pretty much in horrible shape when i saw them. I enjoyed their concert when i saw them with Bryan Adams simply because they played alot of my fave songs, (Action, Woman, etc.) But in terms of energy they are nowhere near Bon Jovi. Joe was not running around the stage. Yeay Viv and Phil were rocking out hard as was Sav but Joe, not so much. Maybe Joe doesn't avoid the high parts of their songs but he doesn't exactly hit them. They were way off key. I bought a bootleg CD of theirs from a show in California from their 2004 tour and it is PAINFUL to listen to Joe he sounds so bad, out of breath, and off key. And i am fan of theirs so it is sad for me to say that.

joe rocked at the PR show with Journey!!!
But then again, it was the last night of the tour so maybe he was going for it more than usual.

Everyones entitled to their opinion. Obviously a bootleg recording I guess is easier to judge the quality of a live act than actually being there, as you get the abience of the crowd and the fact that my hearing obviously went a bit. But I guarantee you they, including Joe, were on fire, stage-prescence-wise.

Then again watching their Live8 set was quite difficult as they were quite lackluster there.

Ok, I can only base this on a record from video of recent Leppard shows, but Joe Elliot has nowhere near the stage pressence of JBJ. Vocal-wise they both struggle, and Joe does still hit the high notes better than Jon, but as far as stage movements, crowd interaction, and overall stage pressence, Jon totally owns Joe from what I've seen.
Now, I'm a Leppard fan, and I was supposed to see them this summer but couldn't at the last minute. Now, I'll def see them next time they come around, and see if I'm totally riht.

I heard Leppard wasnt great in 04!

But since then they've got better,I've heard nothing but postive reviews/fedback from fans who went to concerts in 2005/2006/2007.

Look at clips on youtube from the ROA/Yeah/ Downstage Thrust Tour and Joe does interact with the fans,Never stood still like Jon(And the rest of Bon Jovi)

On a sidenote: Today marks the birthday of Rick Savage -- whom we all know as Sav, of course.Savturns 47 years old today. Happy birthday Sav

What kind of Bon Jovi shows have you been watching?

2006/2007 shows!

Def Lep vs Bon Jovi?...both good bands and they seem to get on rather well.

Much as many of you don't like it, Jovi have consistently moved away from being big haired 80's rockers (not always in a direction we would like, but hey-ho. change ain't nothin' but change) and to me, def leppard are like dinosaurs refusing to die. The last album I listened to was X, which had one really good song (and the rest were mediocre). Maybe I've missed something on their more recent albums, but just like Bryan Adams too, I'm not interested in the same old, same old anymore.

I'll stick with Jovi, country songs and all.

Here's a Leppard record from this year:

Here's a Jovi record from this year:

There doesn't seem to be that marked a difference between Jon and Joe right there, stage wise.

And again, I wear a Def Leppard leather jacket everyday, I'm not putting them or Joe down in anyway.