During a June 16th press conference at Hellfest 2023 in Clissono, France, Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen told eonmusic that, following the death of guitarist Steve Clark in 1991, that Iron Maiden's Adrian Smith was one of the guitarists invited to audition as Clark's replacement.

Collen: "We invited five people we knew, five friends, and Vivian (Campbell) just fitted in straight away. It was like it was meant to be. Adrian's great, he's a great singer, and that was one of the other things (we were looking for); if you can sing. There were some other people. We played with John Sykes (Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy, Blue Murder), also an amazing player, amazing singer, but Vivian's voice was just unbelievable, but more than that, he just fit in the style of what we do.

There was only five people; we didn't do casting calls or anything like that. It was still a bit painful after losing Steve, to be totally honest, so we wanted someone who emotionally, we could work with as a family member, and Viv did, straight off the bat."

Read the complete report here.

Def Leppard and Mötley Crüe continue their 2023 co-headlining "The World Tour", with the next show taking place Sunday, June 18 at Graspop in Dessel, Belgium.

In a new interview with Metal-Rules, Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell discusses the latest news and happenings with Leppard and Last In Line. A few excerpts follow...

On touring with Mötley Crue: "Well, we both come from the same era, although we are very different bands. Mötley Crüe is - their image precedes them. People expect chaos with Mötley Crüe. With Def Leppard, people expect perfection. And it’s true, Mötley, they’ve had drama already. They started the tour with Mick Mars; now John 5 is here. And we didn’t know anything. Just like everyone else, we read about it in the news. So it’s always interesting to work with a band that’s so different."

"But things are very different now than they were in the 1980s. I think back in the 1980s, Tommy Lee might have been trying to smuggle cocaine into different countries. Now he’s trying to smuggle bonsai trees, plants, and stuff like that. So I think we’ve all grown up enough to respect that this is a– it’s a livelihood. This is our job."

On Def Leppard: "There are a few different things going on. We’re back again with a major record label, Universal, based out of the United Kingdom. And the staff there really believed in the band, and they really believed in the record. So that always makes an incredible difference."

On Last In Line: "I’m very happy with Jericho, especially considering that it was made in pieces. It wasn’t like we had a chance to record one record. We started the record in January of 2020 in Los Angeles, and we recorded six songs at a studio because, unlike Def Leppard, when we are making Last In Line record, we have to see each other. We have to be in the same room. We want that dynamic, that push-pull effect that you get when you play in real-time with musicians."

Read the full interview at Metal-Rules.com.

Def Leppard and Mötley Crüe continue The World Tour with the recent announcement of three exclusive Australian dates.

Produced by Live Nation and presented by Triple M, Mötley Crüe and Def Leppard will bring their electrifying stage shows to Australia, commencing with Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium on November 8, Giants Stadium Sydney on November 11, and Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium on November 14.

“After getting back on the road this past summer, we’re beyond thrilled to bring this massive tour to a global audience including some special dates in Australia!” said Joe Elliott of Def Leppard.

“We had an incredible time playing The Stadium Tour in North America and we truly can’t wait to continue taking the show around the globe with The WORLD Tour in 2023. Crüeheads get ready because we have a few amazing Australian dates set for you!” Mötley Crüe said in a joint statement.

Australian dates:

November
8 - Brisbane - Suncorp Stadium
11 - Sydney - Giants Stadium
14 - Melbourne - Marvel Stadium