In a new interview with Houston Life, DEF LEPPARD lead singer Joe Elliott and guitarist Phil Collen spoke about the band’s upcoming third Las Vegas residency. “Def Leppard: Live at Caesars Palace The Las Vegas Residency” will set the strip alight from February 3 through 28, 2026 at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. These new shows follow the band’s sold-out residency successes in 2019 and 2013.
Regarding how the idea for the latest residency came about, Phil said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “ It’s our third time doing a residency in Vegas… And we’ve been talking about this one… We played a stadium there a couple of years ago, and some of the people came down and we know them and everything. It’s, like, what’d be really good? So it kind of got thrown about then. So that’s when the thing happened. Then all of a sudden it’s, like, ‘Caesars. It’s there if you want it.’ It’s, like, ‘Yeah, great.’ And it’s February. The last time we’d done a residency, it was July or August, and it was, like, 108 degrees [Fahrenheit] every time you walked outside. So, yeah, a little bit more kind of cool.”
On the topic of how DEF LEPPARD chooses its setlist for the crowd in Las Vegas, Joe said: “Yeah, it’s always a challenge. But we’ve kind of grown into a routine of what we like to call the A, B and C list. And your A list is your crown jewels, the ones that if you don’t play them, you wouldn’t get out the building alive. And then there’s the B list of interesting stuff. And then the C list is, like, ‘Oh, that’s interesting. They haven’t played that one in 40 years.’ And so we are still juggling it now. I mean, we’re just pouring names into a bucket and stirring ’em around, and the ones that come to the surface where all five of us go, ‘Yeah, we should do that.’ And there is so many to choose from, but there’s a logic to what we do, and we have to feel comfortable with what we’re doing, and if we feel comfortable doing it, I think that energy goes across the audience and they get it. And so they accept what we play.”
Asked if standing in front of thousands of people and performing some of the most iconic songs of all time and having the fans sing almost every word back to the band is why they still do what they do, Joe said: “I would say yeah, because that’s what we watched as kids. When we went to gigs or we saw on TV the response of a crowd to a song that we got off on, whether it be a BEATLES song or a [ROLLING] STONES song or [LED ZEPPELIN‘s] ‘Stairway To Heaven’ or [BLACK SABBATH‘s] ‘Paranoid’ or wherever it was, and you go, ‘Wow, I hope that happens to me.’ Or before you’re in a band, you go, ‘I wish I could be in that position.’ And we are in that position, and especially like ‘[Pour Some] Sugar [On Me]’ or ‘Photograph’, we’ve been in that position for 30, 35, 40 years where that song is, they’re just waiting, they’re waiting and waiting, and [they know] we’re not gonna play it first. That’s another thing about making sure you have a running order that is — it’s sexy and it makes sense and it teases people into a frenzy, if you like. That’s what every artist is supposed to do, especially if they’re a rock band.”
Tickets for the following 12 shows went on sale on Friday, July 25:
February 2026: 3, 5, 7, 10, 12, 14, 17, 19, 21, 24, 26, 28
The veteran British rockers played their first concert of 2025 on January 18 at Feria Estatal De León in León, Mexico. As was the case with the band’s October 14, 2024 private show in Nashville (as part of the Daimler Truck Customer Appreciation Event),DEF LEPPARD guitarist Vivian Campbell was unable to join his bandmates at the León gig and was replaced by John Zocco, who is Phil Collen‘s guitar tech. Campbell has since rejoined DEF LEPPARD on the road.
Late last year, Vivian underwent a bone marrow transplant as part of his treatment plan for Hodgkin’s lymphoma, with which he was diagnosed in 2013.
Last month, Campbell revealed that he is “completely in remission” from the cancer of the lymphatic system.
This past January, DEF LEPPARD released a cover of Ben E. King‘s 1961 classic “Stand By Me”. All proceeds from the song are going to FireAid, which raises money for those impacted by the fires that swept through Los Angeles early this year.
DEF LEPPARD‘s version of the song is featured in the Netflix film “Bank Of Dave 2: The Loan Ranger”, which was released on January 10. The band can be seen performing the track before the credits.
Campbell — who before joining DEF LEPPARD in 1992 was well known for his work with DIO and WHITESNAKE — went public with his Hodgkin’s lymphoma diagnosis in June 2013.
Vivian underwent three separate spells of chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant, only for his Hodgkin’s lymphoma to return.
Six years ago, Campbell underwent spine surgery.
Vivian and his DEF LEPPARD bandmates were finally inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in March 2019 — 14 years after the British rockers first became eligible.
DEF LEPPARD‘s latest album, “Diamond Star Halos”, arrived in May 2022 via UMe.
Content shared from blabbermouth.net.