24 Years Ago DEF LEPPARD Play 3 Continents In One Day/VAULT Album Release
Def Leppard released their first greatest hits album Vault on this day in 1995 and set a new world record.
The 'Vault Greatest Hits 1980-1995' release was their first hits album and collected together all the biggest singles from their most successful period.
It debuted at Number 3 in the UK and 15 in the USA.
15 of their major hit singles were included on the UK version from 1983's Pyromania (x2), 1987's Hysteria (x6), 1992's Adrenalize (x4), Retro-Active (x1), High 'n' Dry (x1) and new song 'When Love & Hate Collide' which reached Number 2 in the UK charts.
On the same day as this UK/World release the band promoted the album by playing three acoustic shows on three different countries on the same day. This was done to help publicise the album and to set a new world record.
The three countries chosen - Morocco, England and Canada also happened to be on three different continents. Europe, Africa and North America. The name given to the event was - 3 Continents In One Day and written on various press releases and backstage passes as "Vaulting The World" or "3 Continents In A Day."
The 6,000 mile trip started in Morocco (which is on UK time-GMT) with the band having flown from London's Gatwick airport. They then flew back to London (2 hours 45mins each way) to play show two and finally flew on to Vancouver to end the trip - a nine and a half hour flight.
With the last show in Vancouver taking place at 10:45pm local time they actually played the shows in 30 hours. 10:45pm in Vancouver being 6:45am in London, England. Due to the time zone changes the record was allowed to stand as it was still the 23rd October in Vancouver.
Also on board the plane with the band were a group of journalists from around the world and fans who had all won competition prizes. Many TV stations including MTV covered the event. A 30 minute special was broadcast on Norwegian TV.
The day after the band completed this mammoth journey they took a 22 hour flight to Singapore to continue their two month Vault acoustic promo tour.
The UK release of the 'Slang' single in April 1996 included the only official release from the band tied to this event. CD2 was packaged in a purple card sleeve and titled the "Limited Edition 3 Continents On One Day Souvenir Pack". It included four postcards with memorabilia pictured from that day and live photos plus a message from Joe.
As Joe explains below in his tour diary, there were a few mishaps along the way! Including lost instruments and his own health issues.
Read the story of the day below with quotes from the band on that day and afterwards. Plus some photos/screenshots from various sources - mostly UK rock magazines.
Read the full '3 Continents In 1 Day/Vault' album story on the Lep History section.
This section will be expanded to include all major historical events and releases.
Related News - 24 Years Ago DEF LEPPARD's When Love And Hate Collide At #2 In UK
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Related News - 4 Years Ago DEF LEPPARD's DANGEROUS Single Premiered/Released
Related News - 35 Years Ago DEF LEPPARD's PYROMANIA Album Certified 6xPlatinum In USA
Related News - 20 Years Ago DEF LEPPARD's GOODBYE Single #1 In UK Rock Chart
Related News - 31 Years Ago DEF LEPPARD's LOVE BITES At Number One In The USA
- Def Leppard - Tangier 1995 Show Page
- Def Leppard - Vault Tour 1995
- Def Leppard - Vault Album Section
- Previous News - 21st October 2019
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