Friday, 12th February 2016
Def Leppard announced a 48 date US tour with Styx and Tesla one year ago on this day in 2015.
The 48 shows were announced after a few dates had already surfaced on ticket sites and saw the band returning to the headline slot having played as special guests to KISS in 2014.
The tour was due to start on 23rd June in Tampa, FL and end on 4th October in Bismarck, ND before additional dates were added.
Unfortunately Vivian had to miss the first few show due to his ongoing battle with Hodgkin's Lymphoma but was able to find new treatment and rejoin the tour sooner than expected on 28th June.
At the time Joe talked about the tour with Billboard - read some of his quotes below.
Bethel, NY, Mt. Pleasant, MI, Youngstown, OH and Grand Forks, ND were all played for the very first time.
A number of other cities had not been played for many years including - Bozeman, MT (2000), Bismarck, ND (2003), Spokane, WA/Birmingham, AL (2008) and Sedalia, MO (2000).
At the time 73 shows had been announced for the 2015 tour which eventually became 102.
Visit the Tour News section. For more news on future tour plans.
Billboard - Joe Elliott February 2015 Interview Quotes
"We've toured with both of these bands before," Elliott says. "Styx is a great bunch of guys and as American as mom's apple pie all the way through. And we had Tesla on board when we did the Hysteria tour back in '87; they were out for at least six or seven months with us before they went off to do their own thing. So it'll be a great time on stage and backstage, I think."
"We've always been keen on taking out bands that people know. It's done us a world of good to go out with a name on the poster that doesn't just say, 'Plus special guest...' We've tried it; We had Tripping Daisy in the '90s, who were great people to work with but nobody knew who they were, and it didn't make for a great evening of anticipation, if you like. People would go, 'Who's this lot onstage?' Nobody's going to go see Tesla and Styx and not know who they are. They're going to say, 'I know all those guys and all those songs. That's a show I want to see.'"
Related News - Def Leppard To Announce Rescheduled Tour Dates Soon
Related News - Vivian Campbell Gives Update On Joe Elliott's Health
Related News - Joe Elliott Says His Voice Will Be Great After Four Weeks Rest
Related News - Vivian Campbell Explains Joe Elliott's Vocal Cord Issues
Related News - Rick Allen Says Joe Elliott Pulled Something In His Throat
- Read the full interview at - billboard.com
- Def Leppard - Tampa 2015 Show Page
- Def Leppard - World Tour 2015
- Def Leppard - 2016 Tour News
- Previous News - 10th February 2016