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IRON Maiden’s Adrian Smith has discussed auditioning for Def Leppard following the death of guitarist Steve Clark in 1991.
“Yeah, I did,” he told a new YouTube channel, Metal Journal.
“I went over to LA for a couple of days. Phil [Collen] phoned me up — him and (photographer) Ross Halfin phoned me up and said, ‘Would you be interested in coming over?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’ So I went to L.A. I played with him for a couple of days.
“I sat down with Phil. We went through some songs. It sounded good, it sounded good. And they’re a great bunch of guys. But it didn’t work out.
“Plus I had — my Psycho Motel album (which) was just about to come out, so I was kind of, you know… But who knows? It was worth pursuing. They did okay without me.”
Smith is currently promoting his second album with fellow guitarist Richie Kotzen, Black Light/White Noise.
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