“Making rock music is just our instinct,” bassist Rick Savage tells MusicRadar when asked about the magic behind Def Leppard's chart-conquering rock epics.

“But it was coming up with songs and arrangements that transcended the rock attitude, without straying from the format, that made Def Leppard. We got into a mind space of not writing verses that went straight to the chorus, which bands still do today. I’d say we almost pioneered the idea of tricking people into thinking they were hearing a chorus before it would actually come.

“We’d have a bucket full of great eight-bar ideas and someone like (producer) Mutt (Lange), with the mental proficiency and bigger picture, would know which of them to glue together - sometimes creating progressions or key changes you never would have naturally written. These different ideas on offer created something above the norm. Quite often it didn’t work, it would sound bloody stupid…”

Read the full interview at MusicRadar.com.

Def Leppard and Journey are teaming up for a massive co-headlining North American tour. Promising to be one of the top tours of the year, the North American trek will be composed of both stadium and arena concerts, with half of the shows being closed by Journey and half by Def Leppard. The tour, promoted by Live Nation, kicks off May 21st in Hartford, Connecticut, at the XL Center and will feature complete sets and all-new production from both bands, and an arsenal of their hits such as “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” “Lights,” “Photograph,” “Don’t Stop Believin’,” “Rock of Ages” and “Faithfully.”

The 58-city tour will hit ten stadiums - Toronto’s Rogers Centre; Atlanta’s Sun Trust Park; Detroit’s Comerica Park; Chicago’s Wrigley Field; Denver’s Coors Field; Minneapolis’ Target Field; Boston’s Fenway Park; St. Louis’ Busch Stadium; San Francisco’s AT&T Park; and San Diego’s Petco Park - as well as world-famous arenas, such as Madison Square Garden in New York and the ‘Fabulous’ Forum in Inglewood, California.

Def Leppard / Journey dates:

May
21 - Hartford, CT - XL Center**
23 - Albany, NY - Times Union Center
25 - Hershey, PA - Hersheypark Stadium
26 - Buffalo, NY - KeyBank Center**
28 - Cleveland, OH - Quicken Loans Arena
30 - Cincinnati, OH - U.S. Bank Arena

June
1 - Toronto, ON - Rogers Centre
2 - Pittsburgh, PA - PPG Paints Arena
5 - Raleigh, NC - PNC Arena
6 - Knoxville, TN - Thompson-Boling Arena
8 - Bristow, VA - Jiffy Lube Live
9 - Charlotte, NC - Spectrum Center
11 - Philadelphia, PA - Wells Fargo Center**
13 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden
15 - Newark, NJ - Prudential Center
16 - Baltimore, MD - Royal Farms Arena

July
1 - Atlanta, GA - SunTrust Park
3 - Noblesville, IN - Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center
4 - Milwaukee, WI - Summerfest
6 - Memphis, TN - FedExForum
7 - North Little Rock, AR - Verizon Arena
9 - Tulsa, OK - BOK Center
11 - Louisville, KY - KFC Yum! Center
13 - Detroit, MI - Comerica Park
14 - Chicago, IL - Wrigley Field**
16 - Wichita, KS - INTRUST Bank Arena
18 - Sioux Falls, SD - Denny Sanford PREMIER Center
19 - Lincoln, NE - Pinnacle Bank Arena
21 - Denver, CO - Coors Field
23 - Des Moines, IA - Wells Fargo Arena**
25 - Kansas City, MO - Sprint Center**
27 - Minneapolis, MN - Target Field
28 - Fargo, ND - Fargodome**

August
11 - Boston, MA - Fenway Park**
13 - Virginia Beach, VA - Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
15 - Columbia, SC - Colonial Life Arena
17 - Ft Lauderdale, FL - BB&T Center
18 - Tampa, FL - Amalie Arena
20 - Birmingham, AL - Legacy Arena @ The BJCC
22 - Columbus, OH - Schottenstein Center
24 - St. Louis, MO - Busch Stadium
25 - Nashville, TN - Bridgestone Arena
27 - New Orleans, LA - Smoothie King Center
29 - Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center
31 - San Antonio, TX - AT&T Center

September
1 - Houston, TX - Toyota Center**
5 - Albuquerque, NM - Isleta Amphitheater
7 - Phoenix, AZ - Talking Stick Resort Arena
8 - Las Vegas, NV - T-Mobile Arena**
21 - San Francisco, CA - AT&T Park
23 - San Diego, CA - Petco Park
25 - Salt Lake City, UT - Vivint Smart Home Arena
26 - Nampa, ID - Ford Idaho Center Arena
28 - Portland, OR - Moda Center
29 - Seattle, WA - Gorge Amphitheatre

October
1 - Vancouver, BC - Rogers Arena
4 - Sacramento, CA - Golden 1 Center
6 - Los Angeles, CA - The Forum

** Not ticketed by Ticketmaster