Def Leppard

Def Leppard finally paid its debt to Costa Rica

Almost 50 years after forming in Sheffield, the British band played the country for the first time: 20 songs at Parque Viva, with Extreme as special guests and Nuno Bettencourt back on stage for Slang.

On Tuesday, October 27, Parque Viva's Anfiteatro Imperial finally welcomed Def Leppard. Fans arrived early wearing Hysteria and Pyromania shirts, waving Costa Rican and British flags, with the feeling of collecting on a debt decades in the making. The show, produced by Move Concerts, was the band's first ever in the country.

Extreme opened the night at 6:30 p.m. Gary Cherone and Nuno Bettencourt warmed up the amphitheater with Play With Me and Rise, and More Than Words turned into a massive sing-along that made it clear many fans had come for them too.

At 7:50 p.m. Def Leppard took the stage with its full lineup: Joe Elliott on vocals, Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell on guitars, Rick Savage on bass and Rick Allen on drums. They opened with Rejoice, from their latest album, then Animal and Let's Get Rocked. “We should do this more often,” Elliott told the Costa Rican crowd.

The set mixed classics and surprises: a cover of Depeche Mode's Personal Jesus, Switch 625 as an instrumental, Rock On with Savage's bass intro, and White Lightning with Collen and Campbell trading guitar parts. For Slang, Nuno Bettencourt came back out to play with them. One of the loudest moments belonged to Rick Allen, whose adapted kit, played barefoot on the pedals, earned a huge ovation.

The final stretch was one anthem after another: Armageddon It, Love Bites, Rock of Ages, Photograph, Two Steps Behind with Elliott on his own, and When Love & Hate Collide. Hysteria, with its bass intro, and Pour Some Sugar on Me closed out 20 songs that Parque Viva sang from start to finish.

📸 The photos in this gallery are by the concert's producer, Move Concerts Costa Rica.