In a new conversation with Nikki Blakk of San Francisco’s 107.7 The Bone radio station, Rick Allen spoke about Def Leppard choosing to tour with Journey instead of Mötley Crüe.
The drummer explained why Def Leppard decided to skip shows with Mötley Crüe in 2024:
“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.”
Def Leppard Toured With Journey Before
Allen revealed they wanted to do another tour with Journey:
“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.”
The Tour Starts In The Summer
Def Leppard and Journey announced their joint tour in December 2023. Journey said in a press release at the time:
“We are thrilled to be back on the road in 2024 with so many good friends as part of this tour. No matter which city you come to this will be an amazing night of music!”
Joe Elliott added:
“We shall hit the boards running with a brand-new stage show and set of songs that will celebrate specific parts of our history. We may even have a surprise or two up our sleeves…”
The two bands will kick off their 23-city tour on July 6 in St. Louis, Missouri, and wrap up on September 8 in Denver, Colorado. They’ll hit major cities like Chicago, Nashville, Boston, Toronto, New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Cheap Trick will play two shows at the start and end, while Steve Miller Band will join for most shows, and Heart will appear on three dates.
You can watch Allen’s entire chat below.