DEF LEPPARD Guitarist VIVIAN CAMPBELL: 'I Have No Intention Of Letting Cancer Slow Me Down'

June 12, 2013

DEF LEPPARD and LAST IN LINE guitarist Vivian Campbell, who revealed earlier in the week via his Facebook page that he is currently undergoing treatment for Hodgkin's Lymphoma, has thanked his fans for their support and has vowed to play all of the two bands' previously announced tour dates.

Says Vivian: "I posted about my cancer diagnosis (Hodgkin's Lymphoma) on my personal [Facebook] page a couple of days ago. Thank you to all who have offered support; I'm very, very touched by that. Be assured, however, that the LAST IN LINE shows will still be happening in August; I have no intention of letting cancer slow me down. I look forward to seeing you all then."

Campbell, who previously enjoyed stints in DIO and WHITESNAKE before replacing LEPPARD's late-guitarist Steve Clark in 1992, also served double duty over the years with THIN LIZZY.

Vivian's initial post made it clear that the guitarist is hopeful of making a full recovery.

"Hodgkin's has an over 80% cure rate," the 50-year-old said, "so by my reckoning, if you're going to have a cancer, Hodgie's is the one to have!"

"Me and my new aerodynamic hairstyle (read: no hair) are going on tour this summer with the band and I don't want anyone to be so shocked by my new look that they ask for a refund. Simple economics, really," he added.

The USA-based Northern Irish guitarist has a busy schedule this coming summer. Fresh from DEF LEPPARD's triumphant Las Vegas residency, the band is set to play a series of festivals and headline shows across Europe and North America in June/July. In addition, August sees Vivian debut the reunited original DIO band under the name of LAST IN LINE: 30 years after the recording of the legendary DIO albums "Holy Diver", "Last In Line" and "Sacred Heart", and without trying to replace the singular sound that was Ronnie James Dio's voice, the original band have started playing the songs they wrote and created together again. Joined by the passionate, powerful and unique voice of vocalist Andrew Freeman, Campbell, Vinny Appice, Jimmy Bain and Claude Schnell have united under the name of their classic album, LAST IN LINE, to perform and tour their original songs again.

Find more on

Prev More News Next

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).