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Journey, Def Leppard unite for
another summer of rocking
stadiums
Gary Graff
PUBLISHED: July 14, 2024 at 6:59 a.m
Journey was eight years and six albums old when Def Leppard released its first album.
They came from a world away — in San Francisco and Sheffield, England, respectively — and with markedly different sensibilities about the kind of music they were making. But that hasn’t kept the two bands from becoming good friends and strong touring partners.
The Def Leppard-Journey alliance — which comes to Detroit’s Comerica Park on Thursday, July 18 — has become a dependable fit of stadium-sized magnitude, especially for fans who want to hear a night filled with some of mainstream rock’s biggest hits.
The two bands first hit the road together during the summer of 2006 when Def Leppard was promoting its then-new “Yeah!” album and Journey was still supporting its “Generations” album from the previous year, though it had to replace frontman Steve Augeri, who was battling throat issues, with Jeff Scott Soto. The pairing played mostly amphitheaters that summer, but in 2018, they co-headlined in stadiums as they’re doing this year.
“We love those guys,” says Neal Schon, Journey’s founding guitarist. “We’ve always had an amazing time with them. We’ve proven that we have great chemistry together going way back to that first tour we did with them. And 2018 was one of the most successful tours we’ve ever done. We sold the places clean, and lots of cellphone lights, which was great.”
Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen concurs “we always get on great with them,” remembering that he once joined Journey on stage years ago to guest on a version of its “Dixie Highway.” “They were great and they are great. They always sound really cool, so I’m always looking forward to that.”
Journey’s Jonathan Cain adds that between the two, the night is “just a full-on rock ‘n’ roll experience” and certainly one that has the goods to bring tens of thousands in each night.
Both have sold more than 100 million records worldwide. They each have two Diamond-certified albums for more than 10 million copies sold. Journey has scored 19 Top 40 hits — including “Don’t Stop Believin’,” a sports anthem that introduced the world to the nonexistent South Detroit — while Def Leppard’s had 15.
Both groups are Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, with Journey in 2017 and Def Leppard two years later.
“We met them a long time ago,” Schon recalls. “I was listening to their albums that (producer) Mutt Lange had done, and I was like, ‘Wow, quite a piece of work they did there — amazing songs, amazingly well put-together and produced albums.
“So we’re hoping we’re just going to reunite where we left off with those guys, which was on a really, really great note.”
Still Believin’
Journey has good reason to have fond memories of its last time out with Def Leppard.
During the interim, the band dissolved into legalities and infighting. Original bassist Ross Valory and longtime drummer Steve Smith were fired after they attempted an alleged “coup” to take control of the band. Management changed a couple of times. Schon and Cain jousted, publicly, with each other over business issues and they also battled with former singer Steve Perry over trademark issues.
The good news now, according to drummer Deen Castronovo, is that “everybody has mended fences. They’ve made amends and it’s all for one and one for all.” And that’s the way Schon and Cain prefer it.
“You have to forgive and you have to move forward. We’ve chosen to do that,” explains Schon, 70, who’s now co-managing the band with Cain and their wives. “Journey comes first, and I’m gonna do anything I need to do to prevail and make sure that ship does not go down.” Cain, 74, adds: “The music is louder than the noise of the grumbling and the arguments and the disagreements and stuff. The show must go on, right? It’s just the drive of knowing that there are fans out there that don’t care about our differences. They care that we carry on, so we’ve got to put aside our differences for them.”
Despite the tumult, Journey has toured in what’s been an ongoing celebration of the group’s 50th anniversary, and it managed to record “Freedom,” its 15th album and first new set in 11 years, in 2022. The group isn’t quite ready to eyeball another one, however. Cain predicts “a single here, a single there. Albums don’t really matter much anymore. You have to accept reality and adapt to it.” Schon concurs, though he notes that Journey “recorded way more than what ended up on (‘Freedom’), which may someday see the light of day.
“I continue to be creative. We all do,” he says, “but the business now is really about live performances and about whatever you can do with merchandise.”
Rock, rock til you drop
Def Leppard has seen its share of turmoil, too, though it’s largely in the past — drummer Rick Allen losing his left arm in a New Year’s Eve 1984 car crash and learning to play without it, founding guitarist Steve Clark’s death in 1991, and his replacement Vivian Campbell’s cancer battles. But the group has been fundamentally solid during the past 30 years and released its own new album in 2022, “Diamond Star Halos,” as well as a 40th (technically 41st) anniversary boxed set of its 1983 breakthrough album “Pyromania” earlier this year.
Collen, 66, predicts that “there’ll be an album at some point,” but for now, the group is working on individual songs as they’re created without an overarching plan.
“I’ve got a couple of new songs that are just killer, so everyone’s putting their parts on them,” he says. “I think it’s a great way to do it, to get super excited about a song as opposed to having an overwhelming, ‘Oh, we’ve got to do all these songs for an album.’ It’s a good mentality.”
He adds, however, that Def Leppard is still driven by an abundance of ambition, even after all these years.
“We haven’t achieved what we set out to do yet,” Collen explains. “We’re all aware of that. We’ve kind of achieved it a bit with some of the records, but we’ve still got a lot to do. So we can’t stop rocking at this stage.”
Journey, Def Leppard and the Steve Miller Band perform at 6 p.m. Thursday, July 18 at Comerica Park, 2100 Woodward Ave., Detroit. 313-962-4000 or 313presents.com.
Journey, Def Leppard unite for
another summer of rocking
stadiums
Gary Graff
PUBLISHED: July 14, 2024 at 6:59 a.m
Journey was eight years and six albums old when Def Leppard released its first album.
They came from a world away — in San Francisco and Sheffield, England, respectively — and with markedly different sensibilities about the kind of music they were making. But that hasn’t kept the two bands from becoming good friends and strong touring partners.
The Def Leppard-Journey alliance — which comes to Detroit’s Comerica Park on Thursday, July 18 — has become a dependable fit of stadium-sized magnitude, especially for fans who want to hear a night filled with some of mainstream rock’s biggest hits.
The two bands first hit the road together during the summer of 2006 when Def Leppard was promoting its then-new “Yeah!” album and Journey was still supporting its “Generations” album from the previous year, though it had to replace frontman Steve Augeri, who was battling throat issues, with Jeff Scott Soto. The pairing played mostly amphitheaters that summer, but in 2018, they co-headlined in stadiums as they’re doing this year.
“We love those guys,” says Neal Schon, Journey’s founding guitarist. “We’ve always had an amazing time with them. We’ve proven that we have great chemistry together going way back to that first tour we did with them. And 2018 was one of the most successful tours we’ve ever done. We sold the places clean, and lots of cellphone lights, which was great.”
Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen concurs “we always get on great with them,” remembering that he once joined Journey on stage years ago to guest on a version of its “Dixie Highway.” “They were great and they are great. They always sound really cool, so I’m always looking forward to that.”
Journey’s Jonathan Cain adds that between the two, the night is “just a full-on rock ‘n’ roll experience” and certainly one that has the goods to bring tens of thousands in each night.
Both have sold more than 100 million records worldwide. They each have two Diamond-certified albums for more than 10 million copies sold. Journey has scored 19 Top 40 hits — including “Don’t Stop Believin’,” a sports anthem that introduced the world to the nonexistent South Detroit — while Def Leppard’s had 15.
Both groups are Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, with Journey in 2017 and Def Leppard two years later.
“We met them a long time ago,” Schon recalls. “I was listening to their albums that (producer) Mutt Lange had done, and I was like, ‘Wow, quite a piece of work they did there — amazing songs, amazingly well put-together and produced albums.
“So we’re hoping we’re just going to reunite where we left off with those guys, which was on a really, really great note.”
Still Believin’
Journey has good reason to have fond memories of its last time out with Def Leppard.
During the interim, the band dissolved into legalities and infighting. Original bassist Ross Valory and longtime drummer Steve Smith were fired after they attempted an alleged “coup” to take control of the band. Management changed a couple of times. Schon and Cain jousted, publicly, with each other over business issues and they also battled with former singer Steve Perry over trademark issues.
The good news now, according to drummer Deen Castronovo, is that “everybody has mended fences. They’ve made amends and it’s all for one and one for all.” And that’s the way Schon and Cain prefer it.
“You have to forgive and you have to move forward. We’ve chosen to do that,” explains Schon, 70, who’s now co-managing the band with Cain and their wives. “Journey comes first, and I’m gonna do anything I need to do to prevail and make sure that ship does not go down.” Cain, 74, adds: “The music is louder than the noise of the grumbling and the arguments and the disagreements and stuff. The show must go on, right? It’s just the drive of knowing that there are fans out there that don’t care about our differences. They care that we carry on, so we’ve got to put aside our differences for them.”
Despite the tumult, Journey has toured in what’s been an ongoing celebration of the group’s 50th anniversary, and it managed to record “Freedom,” its 15th album and first new set in 11 years, in 2022. The group isn’t quite ready to eyeball another one, however. Cain predicts “a single here, a single there. Albums don’t really matter much anymore. You have to accept reality and adapt to it.” Schon concurs, though he notes that Journey “recorded way more than what ended up on (‘Freedom’), which may someday see the light of day.
“I continue to be creative. We all do,” he says, “but the business now is really about live performances and about whatever you can do with merchandise.”
Rock, rock til you drop
Def Leppard has seen its share of turmoil, too, though it’s largely in the past — drummer Rick Allen losing his left arm in a New Year’s Eve 1984 car crash and learning to play without it, founding guitarist Steve Clark’s death in 1991, and his replacement Vivian Campbell’s cancer battles. But the group has been fundamentally solid during the past 30 years and released its own new album in 2022, “Diamond Star Halos,” as well as a 40th (technically 41st) anniversary boxed set of its 1983 breakthrough album “Pyromania” earlier this year.
Collen, 66, predicts that “there’ll be an album at some point,” but for now, the group is working on individual songs as they’re created without an overarching plan.
“I’ve got a couple of new songs that are just killer, so everyone’s putting their parts on them,” he says. “I think it’s a great way to do it, to get super excited about a song as opposed to having an overwhelming, ‘Oh, we’ve got to do all these songs for an album.’ It’s a good mentality.”
He adds, however, that Def Leppard is still driven by an abundance of ambition, even after all these years.
“We haven’t achieved what we set out to do yet,” Collen explains. “We’re all aware of that. We’ve kind of achieved it a bit with some of the records, but we’ve still got a lot to do. So we can’t stop rocking at this stage.”
Journey, Def Leppard and the Steve Miller Band perform at 6 p.m. Thursday, July 18 at Comerica Park, 2100 Woodward Ave., Detroit. 313-962-4000 or 313presents.com.