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UMe/Virgin

UMe/VirginDef Leppard has announced details of the third installment in a series of four box sets spanning their entire recording career.

The new collection, titled The Early Years 79-81, will hit stores on March 20 and focuses on the British hard rocker’s first two studio albums: 1980’s On Through the Night and 1981’s High ‘N’ Dry.

The five-CD box set features remastered versions of the two albums, as well as the group’s 1979 debut EP, B-sides, rarities, alternate mixes, BBC radio sessions, single edits, performances from the 1980 Reading Festival, and a previously unreleased recording of a 1980 concert the band played in Oxford, U.K.

“Well, the fans asked, and we listened!” says Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott, who executive-produced the collection. “Really excited to have our early years reworked with a load of rare material, including the newly unearthed Live at the Oxford New Theatre…It’s been a trip putting this box set together and I hope you all enjoy listening to it as much as we did working on it!”

The Early Years 79-81 comes packaged with a book featuring a history of Def Leppard’s first two albums, rare photos and more.

In advance of the box set, Def Leppard has released a previously unheard version of the On Through the Night track “Rock Brigade,” which was produced by Nick Tauber. It’s now available for download and streaming.

The remastered On Through the Night and High ‘N’ Dry will also be reissued separately on CD and vinyl.

The first two installments of Def Leppard’s series of box set, Volume One and Volume Two, were released, respectively, in 2018 and 2019.

Here’s the track list for The Early Years 79-81 collection, which can be pre-ordered now:

CD One: On Through the Night — Re-Mastered
“Rock Brigade”
“Hello America”
“Sorrow Is a Woman”
“It Could Be You”
“Satellite”
“When the Walls Came Tumbling Down”
“Wasted”
“Rocks Off”
“It Don’t Matter”
“Answer to the Master”
“Overture”

CD Two: High ‘N’ Dry — Re-Mastered
“Let It Go”
“Another Hit and Run”
“High N Dry (Saturday Night)”
“Bringin’ On the Heartache”
“Switch 625”
“You Got Me Runnin'”
“Lady Strange”
“On Through the Night”
“Mirror Mirror (Look into My Eyes)”
“No No No”

CD Three: When the Walls Came Tumbling Down — Live in Oxford 4/26/1980
“When the Walls Came Tumbling Down”
“It Could Be You”
“Rock Brigade”
“Satellite”
“Medicine Man”
“Answer to the Master”
“When the Rain Falls”
“Sorrow Is a Woman”
“Good Morning Freedom”
“Don’t Matter to Me”
“Overture”
“Lady Strange”
“Getcha Rocks Off”
“Hello America”
“Wasted”
“Ride into the Sun”

CD Four: Too Many Jitterbugs — B-Sides and Rarities
“Ride into the Sun” — The Def Leppard EP
“Getcha Rocks Off” — The Def Leppard EP
“The Overture” — The Def Leppard EP
“Wasted” — Single
“Hello America” — Single
“Rock Brigade” — Unreleased Nick Tauber produced version
“Glad I’m Alive” — Unreleased Nick Tauber produced version
“Good Morning Freedom” — Single
“Let It Go” — Single Edit
“Switch 625” — Single Edit
“Bringin’ On the Heartbreak” — Single Edit
“Me and My Wine” — Original Version
“Bringin’ On the Heartbreak” — Remix
“Me and My Wine” — Remix

CD Five: Raw — Early BBC Recordings
“Glad I’m Alive” (Andy Peebles Session — 6/7/1979)
“Sorrow Is a Woman” (Andy Peebles Session — 6/7/1979)
“Wasted” (Andy Peebles Session — 6/7/1979)
“Answer to the Master” (Andy Peebles Session — 6/7/1979)
“Satellite” (Friday Rock Show Session — 10/3/1979)
“Rock Brigade” (Friday Rock Show Session — 10/3/1979)
“Wasted” (Friday Rock Show Session — 10/3/1979)
“Good Morning Freedom” (Friday Rock Show Session — 10/3/1979)
“Satellite”/”When the Walls Came Tumbling Down” (Live at the Reading Festival — 8/24/1980)
“Medicine Man” (Live at the Reading Festival — 8/24/1980)
“The Overture” (Live at the Reading Festival — 8/24/1980)
“Lady Strange” (Live at the Reading Festival — 8/24/1980)
“Getcha Rocks Off” (Live at the Reading Festival — 8/24/1980)

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