Def Leppard and Journey won’t be calling it quits on their U.S. tour just yet.
The bands announced in late August that the joint tour will be extended for a third leg after receiving an overwhelming demand from fans across the country.
The tour’s first leg began June 23rd at the Tweeter Center in Camden, NJ and was expected to last until the end of August, but with ticket sales surpassing all expectations, a third leg has been added that will kick off Oct. 11 in Fresno, Ca. and continue through November.
The second leg of the tour is currently in progress and will conclude September 23rd in Boston, Mass.
Aside from the success of the co-headlined national tour, 2006 has been a memorable year for Def Leppard, who produced a covers album entitled YEAH! back at the end of May.
A tribute to the band’s musical heroes and influences of the late 60’s and 70’s, the record received critical acclaim from all mediums.
USA Today called the album “Great fun…their collective taste is what raises this album above the spate of recent covers collections.
The San Francisco Chronicle exclaimed, “CD of the year? No, CD of the century!”
The release of YEAH! has put Def Leppard back on the map, extending their music to the television screen for high-profile performances on “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” and “Live With Regis & Kelly.”
Over the course of their career, the band-Joe Elliott (vocals), Vivian Campbell (guitar), Phil Collen (guitar), Rick “Sav” Savage (bass) and Rick Allen (drums)-has had more than 65 million albums sell worldwide.
With their concerts packed with powerful, melodic rock anthems, Def Leppard has continued to sell out arenas night in and night out.
The band has received recognition in the U.S. by the RIAA, honoring the members with two prestigious Diamond Awards for their albums Hysteria and Pyromania.
The Diamond Award acknowledges record sales of over 10 million, an accomplishment not many bands have been able to achieve.
Only a handful of British artists have reached such a mark: The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Elton John and Eric Clapton.
Like Def Leppard, Journey has only recently revived its 80’s sing-a-long, fist-pumping power after creating the band more than 30 years ago.
So with these two vintage bands co-headlining a tour together, audiences know that they’re witnessing something special.
Mario Tarradell of The Dallas Morning News wrote: “Good showmanship, an arsenal of recognizable songs and strong musicianship always attracts a huge crowd. The allure’s a no-brainer…Def Leppard and Journey delivered fist-pumping, sing-till-you’re-hoarse material.”
Dave Ferman of the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram explained: “But beyond the songs, the reason for this concert’s success was that both bands played their sizable catalog of hits with verve and brisk enthusiasm.”
After reuniting in 1993, Journey has returned to the forefront of popular music with the release of their 19th album, Generations, in August of 2005.
Over the course of their career, the band has landed four albums on the Top Ten of Billboard’s “Top 200 Albums” chart, including 1981’s Escape, which reached No. 1.
That’s not all.
They’ve sold over 75 million albums worldwide, a number that places them 29th on music’s all-time best-sell list.
Originating from San Francisco in 1973 after Santana members Neal Schon and Gregg Rolie had joined up with Ross Valory, George Tickner and Prairie Prince, Journey released their self-titled debut in hopes of creating a mixture of jazz-influenced, progressive rock epics.
Even now as members have come and gone, the band-now made up of Neal Schon (guitar), Ross Valory (bass), Jonathan Cain (keyboards), Steve Augeri (vocals) and Deen Castronovo (drums) since 1998-has still held an appeal to audiences all over the United States.
Unfortunately however, Augeri was forced to leave the tour in early July due to a chronic throat infection.
While Augeri’s condition is being closely monitored to determine when he may return for the remainder of the tour, Jeff Scott Soto, who has previously performed with Journey guitarist Neal Schon, has taken over the lead singing duties for the quintet starting on July 7 in Bristow, Va.
