RICK ALLEN Explains Why DEF LEPPARD Isn't Playing Any Shows With MÖTLEY CRÜE In 2024

In a new interview with Nikki Blakk of San Francisco's 107.7 The Bone radio station, DEF LEPPARD drummer Rick Allen spoke about his band's upcoming co-headlining stadium tour with JOURNEY. The 1980s rock legends, who previously teamed up on a 2018 joint tour, will be setting out across North America in summer 2024 and will bring along fellow icons CHEAP TRICK, HEART and STEVE MILLER BAND on select dates. Asked why he and his DEF LEPPARD bandmates are not touring with MÖTLEY CRÜE this time around, having previously played shows with the iconic Los Angeles rockers in both 2022 and 2023, Allen said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, we'd been on the road, on and off, with MÖTLEY CRÜE for about 18 months, and we felt as though we kind of covered pretty much everywhere there was to. We started off in the States, went off to Europe, did South America, came back to the States and then Japan and Australia. And we just felt as though we'd been everywhere. We would always wanna tour with those guys, but we just felt as though it was time for each of us to move on. Now, we toured with JOURNEY, I forget exactly what year — my memory is terrible; I think 2018, '17 or '18 — and it was awesome. I mean, those songs are timeless. And we just thought that it would be great to reach out to them and see if they wanted to do it again. And, lo and behold, they did. So, we just feel as though with a band like us, with a band like JOURNEY, and a band like STEVE MILLER. I mean, you're gonna be sitting there in the audience listening to hit songs all night. So, we just feel as though that's really a good deal, and I think people are really gonna enjoy it."

DEF LEPPARD's 23-city tour with JOURNEY is scheduled to begin on July 6 in St. Louis, Missouri and continue through September 8 in Denver, Colorado. Along the way, the two Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductees will bring their show to stadiums in major cities like Chicago, Nashville, Boston, Toronto, New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco and more. CHEAP TRICK will play two shows at the beginning of the tour and two concerts at the end of the trek, while STEVE MILLER BAND will join the bill for the majority of shows and HEART will appear on three dates.

DEF LEPPARD frontman Joe Elliott shared that the band's set on the 2024 tour will celebrate specific parts of the rockers' history. "We may even have a surprise or two up our sleeves," he said in a statement.

JOURNEY recently completed a number of dates as part of its 50th-anniversary "Freedom" tour.

The DEF LEPPARD/JOURNEY tour is being promoted by AEG Entertainment.

Both bands are offering VIP packages through their respective web sites.

DEF LEPPARD's VIP experiences include a premium seat, personal photo with the band, exclusive merchandise and more.

DEF LEPPARD's 12th studio album, "Diamond Star Halos", came out in 2022. A year later, the band followed it up with "Drastic Symphonies", a collection of reimagining of some of DEF LEPPARD's greatest hits with London's Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Abbey Road. The album spent 15 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Current Classical chart.

DEF LEPPARD's 2022 stadium tour across North America with MÖTLEY CRÜE reportedly sold more than 1.3 million tickets.