Def Leppard’s Phil Collen Reveals Unique Influence Behind ‘Turn To Dust’

Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen shared how his trips to India in the early 1990s sparked the creation of "Turn to Dust." The track appeared on their 1996 album Slang. Next week, he returns to the country for the band's debut tour there.

"When I came to India, I traveled around, and I wrote a song about the Dalits, because I saw all this stuff going on," Collen said to Rolling Stone India. His visit happened around 1992 or 1993. That experience led him to weave a sarangi sample into the track, along with tabla and Indian strings.

The chorus goes, "Won't you save me? Don't you blame me? I got the feel that I'm gone, turn to dust. ... You just get inspired, or saddened, or joyful whenever you go to different places, and I think it's wonderful to just keep writing," Collen added.

The guitarist came aboard in 1982 while Pyromania was being recorded. Since then, he's played on Hysteria and X. The band's latest work includes Diamond Star Halos in 2022 and Drastic Symphonies in 2023.

Collen has been to India four times as a tourist. He explored forts and saw elephants. He also visited Chennai, Mysuru, Bengaluru, Agra, New Delhi, and Mumbai. "I've just always had such a great time there. And, you know, being a vegetarian, it's a really great place for me to eat," Collen said.

The three-city run will start on March 25 in Shillong. Shows in Mumbai and Bengaluru will follow on Mar. 27 and 29. The group played 12 shows at their Las Vegas residency, and India is the first stop after that.