http://music.monstersandcritics.com/news/article_1173427.php/Def_Leppard_back_with_12th_studio_album_and_upcoming_summer_tour Def Leppard back with 12th studio album and upcoming summer tour By Patrick Luce Jun 17, 2006, 13:14 GMT Coming hot on the heels of their Platinum-certified 2-CD hits package, Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection, Def Leppard have release their 12th studio album `Yeah!' (Island/UMe) and plan to heat up the temperature this summer with a US tour - scheduled to kick off on June 23rd. Presented by VH1 Classic and Live Nation, the band - Joe Elliott (vocals), Vivian Campbell (guitar), Phil Collen (guitar), Rick "Sav" Savage (bass) and Rick Allen (drums) - will be hitting cities across the country with Journey through August 31st. On their new album, Def Leppard have created a heartfelt and hard rocking tribute to their musical heroes of the late 60's and 70's – including the Kinks, Badfinger, T. Rex, David Bowie, Sweet, Roxy Music, Mott the Hoople, Free, Faces, and Thin Lizzy. Recording essential versions of the music that influenced their youth, the band have brilliantly merged the "now" with the "then" to create a buzz that the band says can only be summed up in one word: `Yeah!' "I thought it was about time we showed the world what our true roots were... British pop rock from the early to mid 70's,” said Joe Elliott. “The songs on this album are at least partly responsible for us making the kind of music that we do." "We didn't want to make the standard covers album and gave this a lot of deep thought as Joe has been going on about doing this sort of project for 26 years,” added Phil Collen. “We wanted to express ourselves through these songs and approached the recording process as if they were our own." Def Leppard is one of Great Britain's premiere arena rock bands. Their spectacular live shows filled with powerful melodic rock anthems have become synonymous with their name and they are an institution in the touring industry as they continue to sell out arenas worldwide. The band's world tour will kick off in Italy on June 3rd with US dates commencing at Camden, NJ's Tweeter Center on June 23rd. With more than 65 million albums sold worldwide, Def Leppard is one of the most continuously exciting and important forces in rock music. Over the course of their career, the band has produced a series of classic groundbreaking albums that set the sound for generations of music fans and artists. The release of `Yeah!' begins a remarkable new chapter in Def Leppard's 28 year recording career, emerging with an album that captures the raw and high energy brand of hard rock for which they are universally known. Def Leppard was honored in the U.S. by the RIAA with two prestigious Diamond Awards for their albums Hysteria and Pyromania. The Diamond Award recognizes sales of over 10 million, a feat not many bands and only a handful of British artists have been able to achieve (The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Elton John, Eric Clapton). `Yeah!' is now available at Amazon. © 2003 - 2006 by Monsters and Critics.com, WotR Ltd. All Rights Reserved.