JOURNEY-DEF LEPPARD: Summer tour is now official
The long-rumored Def Leppard and Journey summer tour is now official.
The two acts will team up for 60-city trek that starts May 21st in Hartford, Connecticut and wraps up with a two-night stand October 5th and 6th in Inglewood, California. And unlike the bands' previous team-up, they'll add 10 stadium shows to their mix of arenas and amphitheaters. Tickets go on sale February 3rd.
Texas dates: August 29th in Dallas at American Airlines Center, August 31st in San Antonio at the AT&T Center and September 1st in Houston at the Honda Center.
Def Leppard and Journey have toured together before, and Phil Collen did join Journey on stage a few times. He also says one of his favorite backstage memories happened with Journey over a decade ago.
Phil Collen of Def Leppard shares one of his favorite memories of touring with Journey:
"We were actually sitting in a dressing room in Saratoga Springs in New York with Journey -- this was like 2006 -- and Jonathan Cain said, 'I wrote "Faithfully" on that piano.' There was a piano that happened to be there. And most of the guys out of Def Leppard and most of the guys out of Journey we all just sat around this piano and we all started singing together. I wish someone would have recorded it because it was amazing."
In other Def Leppard news, the band's entire catalog from 1979's The Def Leppard EP to 2015's self-titled album are available today at all digital retailers and streaming services. Phil Collen says he's always been a big fan of streaming -- especially when he can listen to stuff on his phone while he's working out. But he says the band didn't want to "just throw away all this hard work we've put out" until they got the right deal for their catalog.
EAGLES: Settle trademark suit with Mexican resort
The Eagles have settled a trademark suit with the owner of Mexico's Hotel California Baja. Under the agreement the lodge's current owners will not try and trademark the brand for hotels in the U.S.
Located about 50 miles from Cabo San Lucas (and 1,000 miles south of San Diego), Hotel California Baja was accused of creating a false Eagles connection by playing the band's music throughout the resort. The band was also troubled by the hotel selling T-shirts, kitchen magnets and other souvenirs bearing the Hotel California name.
Neither the hotel nor its lawyer immediately responded to requests for comment. (Reuters)
ELTON JOHN: Talking about leadership
Elton John has posted "Five Leadership Lessons" he learned from his "darkest hours."
Days before being honored at the World Economic Forum, the rocker-activist taps his experience in music and heading his AIDS Foundation for an essay posted on the Forum's website:
Discover and follow your passions. Not surprisingly, his is music, despite the deep skepticism of his own father when young Reg Dwight shared his musical dreams.
Have moral integrity that survives triumph and failure. Noting how fame can be a curse, he recalls his own descent into abusing drugs and alcohol, along with the possibility one can change his or her own bad behavior.
The future is always in your hands. He drew courage from the example of AIDS victim Ryan White and his mother combating the stigma of his disease and the ignorance of their time.
Acknowledge common humanity. He notes that society moved from turning a blind eye toward the AIDS epidemic to becoming more supportive -- in his words, a "process of healing."
Hope can be answered. Though AIDS led to one million deaths annually, the collective effort from different communities has helped combat stigma and misinformation. "That process of bonding begins with the embrace of our common humanity. There is no greater lesson."
In closing, Elton cites "common humanity... In concerts in Tel Aviv, I’ve seen Jews, Arabs, Christians and Muslims all come together in the same spirit and appreciate the same music. From Moscow to Beijing to Mexico City to Johannesburg, I’ve seen millions of people of different ages, nationalities, political parties and religions join together in celebration."