Eighties refugees Def Leppard are not just surviving but thriving midway through their fourth decade. While many of the band's peers have been reduced to playing clubs and state fairs, Def Leppard, having amassed album sales of 65 million, still headlines arenas and amphitheaters. In June, the band released Mirrorball, a live CD/DVD with three new songs. A hefty visual history also has been published, and a career-spanning box set and television cartoon series are said to be in the works.
Two years ago, though, Def Leppard faced rumors of their demise after canceling the last leg of 2009's North American tour. “There wasn't any mystery to it, really,” frontman Joe Elliott, 51, told the United Kingdom's Sheffield Telegraph in 2010. “My wife was pregnant and needed a bit of attention from me, which she wasn't getting. There were a lot of things in our private lives that needed attending to. We're not splitting. Not at all. We often joke, 'What else would we do?' We just can't imagine doing anything else.”
Heart will join Def Leppard in support of Night at Sky Church, a recently released live DVD, and last year's laid-back Red Velvet Car, the first studio album from the Wilson sisters in six years. (Michael Popke)
