During a recent interview with 96.9 The Eagle in Boise, ID Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen weighed in on the rumours and reports that guitarist Angus Young is gearing up to record a new AC/DC with Guns N' Roses singer Axl Rose fronting the band. He says "it's not really the band anymore. You've got one person left, so it's not really AC/DC. It becomes karaoke; it becomes something else, and it's lost its integrity, really."

Collen also discusses Def Leppard's upcoming tour with Journey and how they decided who goest on-stage first, what he thinks their Def Leppard's biggest song is, playing the G3 tour, Delta Deep, producing the new Tesla album, plus celebrating the upcoming birth of his son.

Def Leppard and Journey are teaming up for a massive co-headlining North American tour. Singer Joe Elliott, just back from the States where he had been doing five days' press with Journey's Neal Schon, tells Belfast Telegraph of the junket, "We're Cheech & Chong. It was like Morecambe and Wise, hysterical."

Elliott also tell Joe Nerssessian about the turbulent three years it took to make the band's Hysteria record, reveals his dislike for rap, and explains why he calls noisy internet fans "Doritos boys". Read the full interview at belfasttelegraph.co.uk.

In the video below, Joe Elliot and Neal Schon meet up at Live Nation HQ. The video, titled “Mission Possible,” shows the two plotting their 60+ city tour this summer in a hilarious behind-the-scenes fashion.

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.

Neal Schon said, “These co-headlining Journey/Def Leppard dates will be epic classic rock shows. So many hits. It will be great to see you all, friends!”

Said Joe Elliott, “This tour is going to be a blast! We’ve toured together before and it was massive. This time it’s going to be even bigger and better!”

Jonathan Cain added, “We are all anxious to share our sound with the world again and, along with Def Leppard, we are part of a world-class package to the rock stage that spans decades and represents a multi-platinum legacy.”

Added Rick Savage of Def Leppard, "12 years ago we embarked on a US tour with Journey and it was an absolute blast. Looking forward to hooking up again. Believe me, this will be even more spectacular."

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

UMe has announced details for Def Leppard - Live At Abbey Road Studios, an exclusive, limited edition vinyl release for Record Store Day 2018, taking place on Saturday, April 21st. Limited to 4,000 copies, the 12" single includes three tracks recorded at Abbey Road in 2008 and never before released.

Tracklisting:

Side 1:
"C'mon C'mon"
"Rock On"

Side 2:
"Rocket"

Visit RecordStoreDay.com to find your local shops.