DEF LEPPARD's VIVIAN CAMPBELL Has Known For 'A Few Months' That MÖTLEY CRÜE Was Planning To Tour Again

DEF LEPPARD guitarist Vivian Campbell says that he has known for "a few months" that MÖTLEY CRÜE was planning to reunite for a 2020 tour.

Earlier in the month, it was officially announced that CRÜE will team up with DEF LEPPARD, POISON and JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS for a 22-date North American stadium tour next summer. "The Stadium Tour" kicks off July 7 at Miami's Hard Rock Stadium and winds down on September 5 at Los Angeles's SoFi Stadium. Tickets go on sale on December 13 at 10:00 a.m.

The tour announcement came two weeks after MÖTLEY CRÜE revealed it was coming out of retirement, nearly four years after playing what was billed as the band's final concert at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

CRÜE fans who shelled out for the band's 2014/2015 "farewell" tour were led to believe that the group would never return after completing the trek. The band touted the signing of a pre-tour "cessation of touring" agreement as cementing the fact it truly was the end of CRÜE's life on the road.

Asked by Planet Rock when he first found out that MÖTLEY CRÜE was going to be coming back after previously saying it would never tour again, Vivian said: "We knew a few months ago. Obviously, we were trying to keep a lid on it. But somebody let the cat out of the bag. [Laughs] Yeah, it's gonna be a really good tour. And we're excited about it. We just announced it in L.A. a couple of days ago. But, yeah, it's gonna be a big tour. We're doing stadiums — 22 stadium shows in North America — with MÖTLEY, LEPPARD, POISON and Joan Jett. Sort of like a mini festival."

CRÜE toured with POISON back in 2011 and DEF LEPPARD teamed up with POISON for a string of road dates in 2017 — but the upcoming jaunt marks the first time all four acts have hit the road together for an extended tour.

"The Stadium Tour" was announced on December 4 at a Hollywood event hosted on SiriusXM's Volume channel by Slim Jim Phantom of THE STRAY CATS.

DEF LEPPARD singer Joe Elliott told Rolling Stone about CRÜE's decision to dissolve its supposed "cessation of touring" agreement and hit the road again: "I told [MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist] Nikki [Sixx] that when he signed it, 'You guys are just Bowie, Sinatra, Cher, all rolled into one.' It's theater. And those guys are theatrical. Contracts are there to be torn up. That's what they are. People break them all the time in sports. Why can't you break one in music?"