Exclusive: Def Leppard to release new music before UK tour
Joe Elliott has also spoken about the band's 13th studio album
Joe Elliott has exclusively told Planet Rock that Def Leppard plan to release new music in time for their live shows in 2026.
Earlier this week, Def Leppard announced an 11-date European tour for next summer that includes a massive outdoor concert at Belfast Belsonic and arena shows in Glasgow, Sheffield, London, Birmingham and Manchester.
Prior to the European dates, Def Leppard play a 12-night residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas throughout February.
To celebrate tickets for Def Leppard’s UK tour going on sale today (5th September), Def Leppard frontman and Planet Rock presenter Joe Elliott called in to Breakfast with Paul Anthony for a chat.
During the conversation, Joe told Paul that Def Leppard are eyeing up a late 2026/early 2027 release date for their 13th studio album and they’re planning to premiere a couple of new songs before their live dates.
“We’re working through a new album right now, which won’t be out next year, but we may – and probably will – release a new song in time for Vegas and then release another one again for the British tour.” Joe said. “That’s the plan that we have right now, so there’s an exclusive for you!
“So, we’re gonna kind of drip feed songs from the album and then it’ll come out late ‘26, early ’27 maybe. Hopefully. So, it gives us a great opportunity to do that.”
Joe continued: “There was a point maybe in the last 20 years where people wouldn’t play new music (live) before an album came out because it would be on YouTube. I think, we’re like over that. You know what, if you hear it before it comes out and it’s all over YouTube then whatever. We don’t mind. But we’ll probably actually release the song that we’re going to play anyway so you will have the real version available.”
Featuring very special guests Extreme at all dates, tickets to Def Leppard’s UK tour are on sale from Planet Rock Tickets right now.
The sextet of summer shows are Def Leppard’s first UK tour dates since their co-headline tour with Mötley Crüe in 2023, which included a homecoming concert at Sheffield Bramall Lane stadium.
Def Leppard's last album 'Diamond Star Halos' was released on 27th May 2022 and charted at No.5 in the UK.
Don't forget, you can listen to Joe Elliott's Planet Rock show every Saturday from 5pm.
Def Leppard’s UK tour dates:
JUNE 2026
Belfast Belsonic, Ormeau Park – Fri 26th
Glasgow OVO Hydro – Sun 28th
Sheffield Utilita Arena – Tue 30th
JULY 2026
London The O2 – Thu 2nd
Birmingham bp pulse LIVE – Sat 4th
Manchester Co-op Live – Mon 6th
Buy Def Leppard tickets
The childhood homes of famous rock stars, including Joe Elliott:
Eddie and Alex Van Halen's childhood home
Eddie and Alex Van Halen's humble childhood home on Las Lunas Street in Pasadena, California. They moved to the property when their family emigrated from the Netherlands in 1962, and the brothers honed their musical craft in the garage at the rear of the property. Following Eddie Van Halen's death in October 2020, the house became a shrine for Van Halen fans.
Angus and Malcolm Young's childhood home
The youngest of eight siblings born in Scotland, Angus and Malcolm Young emigrated to Australia in 1963 with their parents William and Margaret and older brothers and sisters, including future AC/DC producer George. Initially living at the Villawood Migrant Hostel, in 1965 the Youngs moved to 4 Burleigh Street in the Sydney suburb of Burwood where Angus and Malcolm were raised. The brothers also formed AC/DC while living at the semi-detached house. Despite being added to Australia's National Trust Register of Historic Houses in 2013, the house was "accidentally" demolished by developers in December 2024 to make way for a residential development.
Joe Elliott’s childhood home
Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott was born and raised at 61 Crookes Road in Sheffield. Ahead of Def Leppard's homecoming gigs at The Leadmill and Bramall Lane in May 2023, Joe visited the property. He wrote: "The house I was born in, grew up in, met Sav & Tony Kenning for the very time in that upstairs room you can see above me …. Sigh …. Memories!!"
Ozzy Osbourne’s childhood home
One of six children, Ozzy Osbourne spent his formative years in this small two-bedroom terraced house on Lodge Road in Aston. Ozzy told Huffington Post in 2014: "I've been back to that house a few times over the years and I can't believe there were eight of us living in a two-and-a-half-bedroom house. It is tiny! I have wardrobes bigger in my house."
John Lennon’s childhood home
Now a lovingly restored Grade II listed building preserved by the National Trust, John Lennon lived at 251 Menlove Avenue in Liverpool with his Aunt Mimi from 1945 to 1963. It featured on the cover to Oasis single 'Live Forever' in 1994 and in 2000 it was adorned with an English Heritage blue plaque.
Paul McCartney’s childhood home
Sir Paul McCartney's childhood home at 20 Forthlin Road in Allerton, south Liverpool. It became a listed building in 2012 and is owned by the National Trust. The Trust markets the house as "the birthplace of the Beatles" as it was where McCartney and Lennon penned the earliest Beatles songs.
Ringo Starr’s childhood home
Ringo Starr (aka Richard Starkey) spent his very early childhood years at a terraced house on Madryn Street in Liverpool but moved to at two-up, two-down house 10 Admiral Grove in Dingle when he was 3 with mum Elsie when his parents separated. He lived there for the next 20 years. Pictured is 10 Admiral Grove in 1964.
David Bowie’s childhood home
40 Stansfield Road in Brixton where a young David Jones - aka David Bowie – lived until he was six years old. The house became a shrine for Bowie when the music legend died in January 2016.
Kurt Cobain’s childhood home
Kurt Cobain's childhood home in Aberdeen, Washington. Nirvana fan Lee Bacon bought the house in 2018 for $225,000 (around £170,000) and told Rolling Stone: "My goal is to preserve and restore it for my generation and for my kids."
Kurt Cobain’s childhood home
Kurt Cobain's Led Zeppelin graffiti is still on the walls in his attic bedroom.
Little Richard’s childhood home
The late rock and roll pioneer was brought up alongside his eleven siblings in this detached home in the Pleasant Hill neighbourhood of Macon, Georgia in the 1930s and 40s. Now named The Little Richard Resource Center, the home is now open to the public and hosts a number of community events.
Bruce Springsteen’s childhood home
Bruce Springsteen grew up in this home at 39 1/2 Institute Street in Freehold, New Jersey from the years 1955 to 1962. It was while living at this house aged 7 in 1956 that Springsteen witnessed Elvis Presley on The Ed Sullivan Show and decided he wanted to be a musician himself.
Johnny Cash’s childhood home
Meticulously restored in 2014 thanks to funds from Arkansas State University, Johnny Cash's boyhood home is in the tiny town of Dyess, Arkansas.
Jim Morrison’s childhood home
Jim Morrison's home in Albuquerque, New Mexico where he lived in his teens while his dad worked at the nearby Kirtland Air Force Base.
Bono’s childhood home
Paul 'Bono' Hewson's parents bought this house on Cedarwood Road, Dublin seven weeks after his birth in 1960 and he spent his entire childhood here. The U2 song 'Cedarwood Road' on their 2014 album 'Songs of Innocence' is a nostalgic musical celebration of Bono's boyhood abode.
Freddie Mercury’s childhood home
Aged 17, Freddie Mercury and his family fled the Zanzibar revolution to live at 22 Gladstone Avenue in Feltham, West London. Pictured is Queen's Brian May and Freddie's younger sister Kashmira Cooke at the unveiling of a Blue Plaque at the house in September 2016.
Lars Ulrich’s childhood home
Lars Ulrich lived in this uniquely designed property in Hellerup, Denmark with his family until he moved to America aged 17.
Mick Jagger’s childhood home
Sir Mick Jagger was brought up in this semi-detached house in Dartford, Kent. His future bandmate Keith Richards lived just around the corner.
Keith Richards’ childhood home
Keith Richards spent the first six years of his life living in this two-bedroom flat above a florists in Dartford, Kent.
Axl Rose’s childhood home
Axl Rose lived at this humble Lafayette, Indiana house from 1962 to 1982 before moving to Los Angeles in his early twenties.
Marc Bolan’s childhood home
The young Mark Field (Marc Bolan) lived at this terraced property on Stoke Newington Common, London from his birth in 1947 to aged 15 in 1962. In 2005, the London Borough of Hackney honoured Bolan with a plaque outside the property.
Elvis Presley’s childhood home
The humble two-bedroom house in Tupelo, Mississippi where The King himself Elvis Presley was born on 8th January 1935. It was built by his father Vernon after he successfully secured a $180 loan.
Jon Bon Jovi's childhood home
John Francis Bongiovi Jr.'s childhood home in Sayreville, New Jersey. Astonishingly, MTV bought the home in 1989 and gave it away in a competition. Jon Bon Jovi was reported to be "angry" at the publicity stunt and the competition winner soon sold the property.
Noel and Liam Gallagher's childhood home
Soon after Liam's birth, the Gallaghers moved to Ashby Avenue and then to Cranwell Drive in Burnage (pictured). With a violent and alcoholic father, Noel and his brothers had an unhappy childhood before mum Peggy left Thomas in 1982 with her three children.