DEF LEPPARD Guitarist Says TOM CRUISE Called 'Pour Some Sugar On Me' A Classic

Tom Cruise stars in the upcoming film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical "Rock Of Ages", which showcases popular rock songs from the '70s and '80s. The actor stars as Stacee Jaxx, an aging musician whose glory days are long past. Among the tunes Cruise will perform are DEF LEPPARD's "Pour Some Sugar On Me", SCORPIONS' "Rock You Like A Hurricane", BON JOVI's "Wanted Dead Or Alive" and STYX's "Renegade".

DEF LEPPARD guitarist Phil Collen recently told AOL's Noisecreep that he and his bandmates got to meet Cruise and that the actor "did a great job. He's doing my vocal part, Joe's [Elliott] part — all of them! This is someone who has never sung before. He was doing that thing that a lot of method actors do when they take on a role. They get into character completely. He told us he was taking five hours a day, five days a week, for four to five months, just to get the vocal aspect of the role down. That was fantastic to hear."

He added, "I was really pleased with how down-to-earth Tom was. He was very humble and actually told us how he thought 'Pour Some Sugar on Me' was an absolute classic. He said it deserved all of the respect and attention he can give it. So we were definitely honored.

"I had the chance to catch the Broadway version of the ['Rock Of Ages'] musical and it was a lot of fun. It's campy and kitschy, and it captures that time period so well. It's not like a 'Spinal Tap' kind of thing where they're making fun of it, but they do have some fun with it. It has a 'Glee' and 'High School Musical' feel, but set on the Sunset Strip. I guess you can say it's like 'West Side Story' done with songs from the '80s."

It was previously reported that Cruise was preparing for his role by training with Axl Rose's vocal coach. "He's been studying with — seriously — Axl Rose's voice teacher like five hours a day," director Adam Shankman told The Wrap in April of last year. "The prognosis is more than excellent."

The movie is a love story told through the music of PAT BENATAR, BON JOVI, JOURNEY, POISON, TWISTED SISTER and other artists from the 1980s.

"Rock Of Ages" also stars Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Paul Giamatti, Malin Akerman and many others. It scheduled to arrive in theaters on June 1, 2012.

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.