After mounting the successful Viva Hysteria residency in Las Vegas this past spring that yielded recently released concert video and album packages, Def Leppard is making plans to return to Sin City in 2014 with a whole new show.
Guitarist Phil Collen tells Billboard that his band will be scheduling a "Viva Pyromania [residency] at some point at the end of next year," meaning Def Leppard will be performing its entire classic 1983 album at the upcoming concerts.
The band's Viva Hysteria show, which took place at the Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, featured the group playing its 12-times-platinum 1987 album Hysteria, plus select other tunes from its catalog. Pyromania is Def Leppard's second-best-selling release, with more than 10 million copies sold in the U.S. since its 1983 release. The album featured such hits as "Photograph," "Rock of Ages" and "Foolin'."
Meanwhile, Def Leppard also is planning to work on a new studio album soon in Dublin, Ireland. Guitarist Vivian Campbell explains to Billboard that for the new project, the band likely will seek to deliver elements of its classic tunes while also exploring some new sounds.
"The band is successful for a certain sound," notes Campbell. "It's a brand like Coca-Cola and you've got to give the people what they expect. At the same time you have to move on."
As previously reported, the members of Def Leppard will be featured on a block of programming called "Day of Hysteria" that will air December 29 on AXS TV. The special will include the broadcast premiere of the band's Viva! Hysteria concert video, which will air at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
