The Slang World Tour was a worldwide concert tour by English hard rock band Def Leppard in support of their album Slang, which was released in May 1996. Although Slang was the first Def Leppard album to feature new material with guitarist Vivian Campbell, this was his second tour with the band. Campbell joined Def Leppard just prior to their Adrenalize World Tour in 1992.[1]

Slang World Tour
World tour by Def Leppard
Promotional poster for the tour
Location
  • Southeast Asia
  • North America
  • Europe
  • South Africa
  • South America
Associated albumSlang
Start date27 May 1996
End date27 April 1997
Legs4
No. of shows127
Def Leppard concert chronology

Musically, Slang was considered a radical departure from the band's signature sound of highly polished 1980s hard rock. Introspective songwriting, minimal studio production and Rick Allen's return to acoustic drums resulted in a more raw and organic sound.[2] In a 2016 interview, Vivian Campbell reflected on the influence that 1990s grunge era bands such as Soundgarden had on the band's songwriting.[3]

Concert production was also a radical departure from previous tours. The Slang World Tour introduced a completely revamped concert stage design. This was the first Def Leppard tour since the early 1980s to only employ "end stage" production design. Previous tours (Hysteria World Tour, Adrenalize World Tour) often employed "in the round" stage design.[4] Rather than getting a 360-degree view of the band's performance with "in-the-round" staging, the "end stage" format created an atmosphere where all spectators faced the performance from one side. The new simplified configuration consisted of a rectangular stage with a wall of Marshall amplifiers positioned on each side of Rick Allen's drum kit. Also, in contrast to previous tours, the Slang World Tour featured a minimalist light show without laser effects.[5][6]

Opening acts

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Set list

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Wings Stadium, Kalamazoo, Michigan (26 June 1996)

  1. "Gift of Flesh"
  2. "Another Hit and Run"
  3. "Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)"
  4. "Foolin'"
  5. "Animal"
  6. "All I Want Is Everything"
  7. "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad"
  8. "Deliver Me"
  9. "Hysteria"
  10. "Work It Out"
  11. "Slang"
  12. "Bringin' On the Heartbreak"
  13. "Switch 625"
  14. "Two Steps Behind" (acoustic)
  15. "Photograph"
  16. "Rocket"
  17. "Armageddon It"
  18. "Pour Some Sugar on Me"
    Encore
  19. "Love Bites"
  20. "Let's Get Rocked"
  21. "Rock of Ages"

Tour dates

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Date City Country Venue
Asia / North America
27 May 1996 Bangkok Thailand Hua Mark Indoor Stadium
30 May 1996 Singapore Singapore Indoor Stadium
1 June 1996 Jakarta Indonesia Jakarta Convention Center
4 June 1996 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia Stadium Negara
6 June 1996 Manila Philippines Folk Arts Theater
8 June 1996 Seoul South Korea Olympic Park Gymnasium
11 June 1996 Nagoya Japan Nagoya Congress Center
13 June 1996 Hiroshima Hiroshima Kōsei Nenkin Kaikan
14 June 1996 Fukuoka Fukuoka Sunpalace
17 June 1996 Osaka Osaka-jō Hall
18 June 1996 Tokyo Nippon Budokan
19 June 1996
21 June 1996 Yokohama Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium
22 June 1996 Sendai Sendai Sun Plaza
26 June 1996 Kalamazoo United States Wings Stadium
28 June 1996 Cuyahoga Falls Blossom Music Center
29 June 1996 Noblesville Deer Creek Music Center
30 June 1996 Milwaukee Marcus Amphitheater
2 July 1996 Cincinnati Riverbend Music Center
3 July 1996 Columbus Polaris Amphitheater
5 July 1996 Tinley Park New World Music Theatre
6 July 1996 Charlevoix Castle Farms
7 July 1996 Clarkston Pine Knob Music Theatre
9 July 1996 Burgettstown Star Lake Amphitheatre
10 July 1996 Toronto Canada Molson Amphitheatre
12 July 1996 Corfu United States Darien Lake
13 July 1996 Hartford Meadows Music Theater
14 July 1996 Camden E-Center
16 July 1996 Mansfield Great Woods
17 July 1996 Wantagh Jones Beach Amphitheater
19 July 1996 Middletown Orange County Fair
20 July 1996 Scranton Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain
21 July 1996 Holmdel PNC Bank Arts Center
23 July 1996 Bristow Nissan Pavilion
24 July 1996 Virginia Beach Virginia Beach Amphitheatre
26 July 1996 Raleigh Walnut Creek Amphitheatre
27 July 1996 Charlotte Blockbuster Pavilion
28 July 1996 Pelham Oak Mountain Amphitheatre
30 July 1996 St. Louis Riverport Amphitheatre
31 July 1996 Little Rock Riverfront Amphitheatre
2 August 1996 Dallas Starplex Amphitheatre
3 August 1996 Austin South Park Meadows
4 August 1996 The Woodlands Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
North America
14 August 1996 West Palm Beach United States West Palm Beach Amphitheatre
16 August 1996 Atlanta Lakewood Amphitheatre
17 August 1996 Antioch Starwood Amphitheatre
18 August 1996 Lampe Black Oak Mountain
19 August 1996 Little Rock Barton Coliseum
20 August 1996 Oklahoma City Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden
21 August 1996 Bonner Springs Sandstone Amphitheater
23 August 1996 Greenwood Village Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre
24 August 1996 Ogden Wolf Mountain
26 August 1996 Phoenix Desert Sky Pavilion
27 August 1996 San Diego SDSU Open Air Theatre
29 August 1996 Irvine Irvine Meadows
30 August 1996 Sacramento California State Fair
31 August 1996 Mountain View Shoreline Amphitheatre
2 September 1996 George The Gorge Amphitheatre
3 September 1996 Vancouver Canada General Motors Place
5 September 1996 Calgary Olympic Saddledome
6 September 1996 Edmonton Edmonton Coliseum
7 September 1996 Saskatoon Saskatchewan Place
9 September 1996 Winnipeg Winnipeg Arena
11 September 1996 Sudbury Sudbury Arena
13 September 1996 Montreal Molson Centre
14 September 1996 Ottawa Corel Centre
15 September 1996 Quebec City Colisée Pepsi
17 September 1996 Saint John Harbour Station
19 September 1996 Halifax Halifax Metro Centre
20 September 1996 Moncton Moncton Coliseum
Europe / Africa
5 October 1996 Oslo Norway Sentrum Scene
7 October 1996 Stockholm Sweden Cirkus
8 October 1996 Copenhagen Denmark K.B. Hallen
10 October 1996 Hamburg Germany Grosse Freiheit
11 October 1996 Berlin Tempodrom
12 October 1996 Hanover Music Hall
14 October 1996 Budapest Hungary Sports Hall
15 October 1996 Žilina Slovakia Sports Hall
16 October 1996 Prague Czech Republic Sports Hall
19 October 1996 Cologne Germany E-Werk
20 October 1996 Paris France Zenith
22 October 1996 Neu-Isenburg Germany Hugenottenhalle
23 October 1996 Stuttgart Messe Congresscentrum
24 October 1996 Geneva Switzerland Arena
26 October 1996 San Sebastian Spain Polideportivo
27 October 1996 Barcelona Zeleste
28 October 1996 Madrid Riviera
30 October 1996 Lisbon Portugal Cascais Hall
3 November 1996 Innsbruck Austria Olympiahalle
4 November 1996 Vienna Kurhalle
5 November 1996 Munich Germany Circus Krone
7 November 1996 Milan Italy Palalido
8 November 1996 Zürich Switzerland Hallenstadion
10 November 1996 Luxembourg City Luxembourg Pétange Centre Sportif
11 November 1996 Leuven Belgium Brabatnhall
14 November 1996 Sheffield England Sheffield Arena
15 November 1996 Birmingham Birmingham NEC
18 November 1996 Belfast Northern Ireland Kings Hall
20 November 1996 Dublin Ireland The Point Theatre
22 November 1996 Manchester England Manchester Arena
23 November 1996 Newcastle Newcastle Arena
24 November 1996 Glasgow Scotland Glasgow SECC
26 November 1996 London England Wembley Arena
27 November 1996
28 November 1996 Exeter University of Exeter
29 November 1996 Cardiff Wales International Arena
30 November 1996 Bournemouth England International Centre
1 December 1996 Brighton Brighton Centre
5 December 1996 Johannesburg South Africa Johannesburg Stadium
7 December 1996 Durban Kings Park Stadium
10 December 1996 Cape Town Green Point Stadium
Latin America[7]
2 April 1997 Monterrey Mexico Auditorio Coca-Cola
4 April 1997 Mexico City Palacio de los Deportes
6 April 1997 Guatemala City Guatemala Plaza de Toros
8 April 1997 San Salvador El Salvador Estadio Nacional Adolfo Pineda
10 April 1997 Panama City Panama Entrada de Albrook
12 April 1997 Bogotá Colombia Parque Simón Bolívar
15 April 1997 Quito Ecuador Ruminahui Coliseum
18 April 1997 Santiago Chile Teatro Monumental
19 April 1997 Buenos Aires Argentina Teatro Gran Rex
20 April 1997 Dr. Jekyll Pub
22 April 1997 Rio de Janeiro Brazil Metropolitan
23 April 1997 São Paulo Olympia
24 April 1997
27 April 1997 San Juan Puerto Rico Anfiteatro Luís Muñoz Marín
Key
Show Denotes concert dates that were cancelled and/or rescheduled.

Personnel

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Credits taken from the Slang World Tour itinerary.[6]

References

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  1. ^ "Def Leppard Tour History: Adrenalize".
  2. ^ "Billboard: April 6, 1996". 6 April 1996.
  3. ^ "Slang 20th Anniversary: Vivian Campbell Interview". 9 December 2016.
  4. ^ "Def Leppard Tour History: Hysteria".
  5. ^ a b c "Def Leppard Tour History: Slang".
  6. ^ a b Def Leppard Slang "None More Black" Tour Itinerary (13 August–September 21). Tour Books, Ink: San Francisco, CA 1996.
  7. ^ "Def Leppard Slang World Tour 1997".