Def Leppard Announce Extensive 2016 North American Tour, Vivian Campbell Calls Cancer Treatments ‘Just Maintenance’
Def Leppard recently announced rescheduled tour dates after postponing a handful of shows to allow singer Joe Elliott to rest his voice under medical advice. Not only will the British rock legends be back to make up those dates, but they'll also be embarking on a massive tour extending from May through October with support from REO Speedwagon and Styx.
The extensive trek will see the band take sporadic breaks between legs of the tour. Guitarist Vivian Campbell revealed he had been diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma back in June of 2013, but has remained an active part of the band. The six-stringer has been engaged in a continuous battle with the disease, entering remission only to have it come back again. In good spirits and stabilized, Campbell has offered his latest thoughts on his condition in a new interview.
"I'm still dealing with the cancer; it keeps coming back," he began telling Headlines and Global News. Detailing his struggles so far, he added, "It's been three years, I've done three rounds of chemo, stem cell transplant and I really thought that would be it with the stem cell transplant, but no, it came back, so I'm kind of resigned to the fact that I'll probably deal with it the rest of my life. But I'm really not at all concerned with it; it's just maintenance. I put it on par with going to the dentist. It's a little bit more involved than that, but it's just something that I got to keep doing." Campbell feels fortunate to be in the situation he is in, stating, "I'm one of the lucky ones. I was diagnosed early and have great health insurance and good doctors and I've always been one step ahead of it and I continue to be so and I intend to be so."
Shifting focus to his late Last in Line bandmate Jimmy Bain, the guitarist reflected, "It's particularly a contrast when you consider that Jimmy (Rainbow, Dio) actually died of lung cancer and didn't even know that he had it. He was dealing with pneumonia for the last month before he died, but it turned out that the pneumonia was brought on by chronic lung cancer. Jimmy didn't even have health insurance." Returning back to his personal situation, Campbell went on, "I feel so fortunate that I'm one of the lucky ones. In this country. there are so many people who cannot afford access to proper health care and can't advocate for their own health, and you get these diseases that are so prevalent like all these cancers and you don't even know you have them."
Campbell will be on tour with Def Leppard in North America starting in May. He was scheduled to be performing with Last in Line, but the tour was canceled "out of deference to Jimmy's memory." The group featured Campbell and Bain along with drummer Vinny Appice, who are all original members of the Dio band and their debut album, Heavy Crown, was released on Feb. 19.
Def Leppard's latest release came by way of their self-titled 2015 effort, reaching No. 10 on the Billboard 200 propelled by new cuts like "Let's Go" and "Dangerous."
Def Leppard, REO Speedwagon, Styx 2016 North American Tour Dates
5/01 - Orlando, Fla. @ Moonstone Festival*
5/04 - Lafayette, La. @ Lafayette Cajundome*
5/05 - Corpus Christi, Texas @ American Bank Center Arena*
5/07 - Hidalgo, Texas @ State Farm Arena*
5/10 - Bossier City, La. @ CenturyLink Center
5/11 - Little Rock, Ark. @ Verizon Arena
5/13 - Greensboro, N.C. @ Greensboro Coliseum Complex
5/15 - Uncasville, Ct. @ Mohegan Sun Arena
5/17 - Allentown, Pa. @ PPL Center
5/18 - Huntington, W.V. @ Big Sandy Superstore Arena
5/20 - Orlando, Fla. @ Amway Center*
6/22 - Boston, Mass. @ Xfinity Center
6/24 - Bangor, Maine @ Darling's Waterfront Pavilion
6/25 - Quebec City, Quebec @ Centre Videotron
6/27 - Syracuse, N.Y. @ Lakeview Amphtheatre
6/29 - Hershey, Pa. @ Hershey Park Stadium
7/01 - Indianapolis, Ind. @ Klipsch Music Center
7/02 - Chicago, Ill. @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
7/05 - Cincinnati, Ohio @ Riverbend Music Center
7/06 - Milwaukee, Wis. @ Summerfest in Milwaukee
7/08 - Pittsburgh, Pa. @ First Niagara Pavilion
7/09 - Grand Rapids, Mich. @ Van Andel Arena
7/11 - Wantagh, N.Y. @ Nikon at Jones Beach
7/13 - Holmdel, N.J. @ PNC Bank Arts Center
7/15 - Detroit, Mich. @ DTE Energy Music Theatre
7/16 - Toronto, Ontario @ Molson Canadian Amphitheatre
8/06 - Madison, Wis. @ Alliant Energy Center
8/08 - Evansille, Ind. @ Ford Center
8/10 - Bristow, Va. @ Jiffy Lube Live
8/12 - Atlanta, Ga. @ Aaron's Amphitheatre at Lakewood
8/13 - Raleigh, N.C. @ Walnut Creek Amphitheatre
8/17 - Birmingham, Ala. @ Oak Mountain Amphitheater
8/19 - Austin, Texas @ Austin 360 Amphitheatre
8/ 22 - Houston, Texas @ The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion presented by Huntsman
8/24 - Dallas, Texas @ Gexa Energy Pavilion
8/26 - Kansas City, Mo. @ Sprint Center
8/ 27 - St. Louis, Mo. @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
8/29 - Cleveland, Ohio @ Blossom Music Center
8/31 - Darien Center, N.Y. @ Darien PAC
9/14 - Billings, Mont. @ Metrapark Arena
9/16 - Salk Lake City, Utah @ USANA Ampitheatere
9/17 - Denver, Colo. @ Pepsi Center
9/19 - Albuquerque, N.M. @ Isleta Amphitheatre
9/20 - Phoenix, Ariz. @ Ak-Chin Pavilion
9/22 - Irvine, Calif. @ Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre
9/24 - Sacramento, Calif. @ Toyota Amphitheatre#
9/25 - Mountain View, Calif. @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
9/28 - Boise, Idaho @ Taco Bell Arena
9/30 - Eugene, Ore. @ Matthew Knight Arena
10/01 - Tacoma, Wash. @ Tacoma Dome
10/04 - Omaha, Neb. @ CenturyLink
10/05 - Minneapolis, Minn. @ Xcel Center
10/07 - La Crosse, Wis. @ La Crosse Center Arena
10/08 - Toledo, Ohio @ Huntington Center
10/10 - Cedar Rapids, Iowa @ U.S. Cellular Center
* no REO Speedwagon | # no Tesla
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