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Def Leppard is gearing up for a 50-city summer concert tour that will make stops in Cincinnati on June 27 and in Columbus on July 8.

The tour will kick-off with the Cincinnati concert and conclude Sept. 30 in Edmonton.

According to Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell, audiences are in store for a big production and they can expect to hear some of the band's greatest hits and much more.

"We modified and added to the big production we did on the last tour. There is a lot of new video content for our background screens, and a whole new bigger better lighting system," Campbell said. " ... This is the first time in our career we've toured without a new record so, we are going to be playing from the catalog, which is what most people want to hear. For those die-hard fans who see us every time we play, as well as, for our own piece of mind, we are going to be pulling out a couple of more obscure album cuts, including one song we've never played before."

On the heels of last year's overwhelmingly successful summer tour with Journey, this tour will also promise to deliver. With over three decades in the music business, drawing in fans from three generations, ages 15-55, Def Leppard proves that it knows how to rock n' roll.

"Last summer, with Journey, we performed with the biggest production we had since the Adrenalize tour. It was a lot of fun. It is so much more fun as a musician and a performer to go out there and play on a big stage with a lot of lights, video screens and pyrotechnics, and all sorts of parts. It's much more of an event and more fun as a performer, and I'm sure it's more fun for the audience. And, we are coming out this year with an even bigger production than last year, it's fun for us," he said.

Last year's tour was extended three times due to the demand for tickets from concert patrons. It quickly became one of the year's most successful live music events.

"I love playing," Campbell said, "Even If you are playing 'Photograph' or 'Pour Some Sugar on Me' for the 919,000 time, it is still fun if you are doing in front of an audience."

With more than 65 million albums sold worldwide, and two prestigious Diamond Awards to its credit for "Hysteria" and "Pyromania," Def Leppard's Joe Elliott (vocals), Vivian Campbell (guitar), Phil Collen (guitar), Ric "Sav" Savage (bass) and Rick Allen (drums) continue to be a vital force in rock music. In 2006, the band also received a gold record for Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collections.

Campbell said in addition to gearing up for the tour, the band has been working on material for a new album.

"We just finished a record. Well, almost finished it. We finished our part and now they are going to start mixing it," he said. "But we won't get it released this year. It will be released early next year. It is exciting. It was inspired a lot by our covers record that we toured on last year, the Yeah album. That was so much fun for me because we took the lessons learned from that and applied them the making of our new studio record."

how to go

WHAT: Def Leppard Summer 2007 Tour.

WHERE: Def Leppard will appear with special guests Styx and Foreigner at Riverbend Music Center at 7 p.m. June 27 in Cincinnati, and at 7 p.m. July 8 with Reo Speedwagon and Styx at Germain Amphitheater in Columbus.

COST: $21.75-$71.75, Cincinnati and $25-75, Columbus.

MORE INFO: ticketmaster.com.