That Time When Def Leppard Played Quincy College in 1981

Quincy had a brush with rock and roll greatness way back in 1981. A young English band played what was then Quincy College. You might remember them as they became somewhat popular a few years later. They were Def Leppard.

One of our listeners remembered that Def Leppard actually opened for Sammy Hagar that night. According to Def Leppard's Touring Page, the support act was actually Blackfoot.

I remember this show distinctly. It was October 19, 1981. Def Leppard had just released their album "High N Dry" and were touring in support of it. They had just started getting some radio play for the song "Let it Go" and the title track "High N Dry". The Quincy College Gymnasium was the venue for these British blokes. According to the Def Leppard Tour History website, this is the setlist for that October night. It began with the Switch 625 instrumental through the public address system followed by these songs:

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

According to the Def Leppard tour site, the gym at that time only held just over 2,300 and tickets only cost $9 for reserved seating or $6 for general admission. Those were the days.

The vintage lineup of Def Leppard played Quincy that night including Steve Clark who would unfortunately pass away a decade later.

It was one of the more memorable shows in Quincy history as Def Leppard would achieve super-stardom a couple years later when Pyromania was released followed by Hysteria and the rest is history.

A dozen years later in 1993, Quincy College would become Quincy University and Def Leppard would go on to sell millions of albums and play in front of millions of fans.

It's a reminder that Quincy was part of the breeding ground for one of the greatest bands in rock history. Hard to believe it's been nearly 40 years now since Def Leppard played in our area.

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