Def Leppard Atomic Mess News

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.

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GLOBE-TROTTING rockers Def Leppard unveiled their very own bit of hometown pavement - as Sheffield made them the latest famous sons to be honoured with a bronze star.

And singer Joe Elliott told waiting crowds: "It's a pleasure to be on the same pavement as Gordon Banks."

The former England hero and city-born goalkeeper was the first to get his name on the Walk Of The Fame outside the Town Hall.

Def Leppard flew into town ahead of their show at Hallam FM Arena tonight and were clearly proud to be honoured in the city that spawned one of the world's biggest-selling rock bands.

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Rock legends Def Leppard will be inducted into Sheffield's 'hall of fame' when they pay a visit to their home city on Friday.

In 2005, Sheffield residents were invited to nominate people who have brought the city recognition at national or international level.

A new 'hall of fame' outside the town hall already includes actor Sean Bean and former Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker.

The band will unveil a bronze plaque outside the town hall at 1230 BST.

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The five band members will take time out from rehearsing for a gig to unveil a bronze plaque immediately outside Sheffield Town Hall next Friday (June 16).

The band has come a long way since their first rehearsal in a spoon factory in Sheffield's Bramall Lane in November 1977.

Councillor Jan Wilson, Leader of Sheffield Council said: "Def Leppard truly deserve their place as Sheffield Legends and have been great ambassadors for the city wherever they have performed throughout the world and the nominations they received reflected this. In terms of international record sales, they are up there with the top musicians of all time. I am looking forward to meeting them and thanking them personally."

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Yeah! debuted at #16 on Billboard's Top 200 Chart, selling 42,000 units its first week.

I finally added the tour dates for the early June European festival round, and also added new tour dates for the September continuation of the United States leg of the Yeah! tour.

Phil and Viv will be interviewed on the Rockline Radio Show on May 3, 2006. The show airs at 11:30pm EDT/8:30pm PDT. Listeners can ask questions by calling 1-800-344-7625. The Rockline web site has more info on which stations air the show.

Def Leppard will be performing on the "Tonight Show with Jay Leno" on May 23, 2006. The show will air at 11:35 EDT. Tickets for the show can be gotten directly from NBC.

Def Leppard will be among bands touring this summer that will auction items online at the Music Rising website, with proceeds going towards helping musicians from the Gulf Coast recover after the hurricanes of 2005. Def Leppard will have items from 16 different shows from the Summer 2006 tour with Journey.

These new "rock musicals" are only coming through on the second part of the name. You can attribute part of the artistic debacle that is Movin' Out to the sociological tension between theater and rock & roll, but perhaps the lion's share of the blame lies in the fateful decision to use lame-ass Billy Joel songs. We can think of a few pop-music icons far more appropriate for gallingly overblown schlock Broadway productions (and the newly announced Brian Wilson musical doesn't hold out much hope either).

Ladies and gentlemen, behold the glory that is Pyromania!, the official Def Leppard musical. This explosive, heartrending, action-packed whirlwind promises to make Cats look like A Streetcar Named Desire in terms of sheer sensory overload. It has everything you could ever ask for in a musical: fire, senseless violence, wanton groupie shenanigans, fire, depraved lust, bitchin' drum solos, hideous car wrecks, alcohol-fueled dementia, fire and, most importantly, severed limbs.

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Joe Elliott will be a guest contributor on Ian Gillan's (of Deep Purple and Black Sabbath fame) new album, "Gillan's Inn". Joe will perform on the song "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight." Other artists helping out on the disc are Tony Iommi, Janick Gers, Ronnie James Dio, Joe Satriani, Roger Glover, and Ian Paice.

From mtv.com

Def Leppard is reportedly in the studio in preparation for the release of Yeah!.

Def Leppard superstar Vivian Campbell has a real soft spot for one particular Ulster guitar legend.

For the Lisburn-born rocker is set to release his first ever solo album - featuring two tracks inextricably connected to blues and heavy rock virtuoso, Rory Gallagher.

Vivian - regarded as one of the finest rock guitarists in the world - has covered former Taste mainman, Gallagher's Calling Card and Messin' With The Kid songs, as part of upcoming Two Sides Of If album.

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Does Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen mind talking about life without a left arm? Apparently not, since he's the one who brings up his absent appendage, which he lost following a New Year's Eve car crash in 1984. Moreover, he refers to it frequently when describing how he went from being a hard-rock hooligan to that most contradictory of figures, a deeply sensitive metalhead.

"When I had my accident, it opened up parts of me that I'd never dreamed were there," he says — and he means feelings, not flesh.

Despite the changes he's gone through, Allen, who keeps time using a custom-made kit, remains devoted to Def Leppard, which is enjoying a revival. Rock of Ages, a two-CD hits collection larded with '80s smashes such as "Pour Some Sugar on Me," debuted on the Billboard album chart's top ten last May, and a companion DVD will be issued November 8. In addition, the band's forthcoming covers disc is already in the can, with an early 2006 release likely. "People have heard our music, but they might not know where it came from," he notes. "But now they'll be able to go, 'Oh, that was T. Rex, that was Slade.'"

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He never wanted to be famous; he only wanted to be a musician.

But with 27 years of music behind him, 13 of those as guitarist for Def Leppard, Vivian Campbell deals with the byproduct of his career.

"You don't start playing guitar to get famous. Maybe to meet girls," he joked.

But the real reason the rock star can't get enough, is for the high he can only find one place.

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