DEF LEPPARD Bassist RICK SAVAGE: 'I've Got The Best Job In The World'

DEF LEPPARD has released the sixth in a series of behind-the-scenes episodes from "The Stadium Tour", which kicked off on June 16 in Atlanta, Georgia. Episode 6 takes you to the stages at Detroit and Hershey, and shares more guitar stories, a new song on the setlist, singer Joe Elliott's performance of "Pour Some Sugar With Me" with Billy Joel, and more.

In the five-minute clip, which can be seen below, bassist Rick Savage — known to all simply as Sav — reflected on the Detroit gig, saying: "Wow, Detroit. What a show. The crowd was fantastic. There was just a great energy about the set. Just within the stadium, from the get-go, right from the start, it was, like, bang! And we were with the crowd. The crowd with us all the way. And it just kept going like that — it just kept going up and up and up and up."

He continued: "It was just a great night — absolute great night. It's one of those nights where it reminds you what a great job I've got — it reminds me what a great job I've got.

"Playing in a band like this is just fantastic. And every so often you have a night like tonight that just jogs your memory and [you] go, 'I've got the best job in the world.' And it was because it was fantastic."

The veteran British rockers are co-headlining "The Stadium Tour" with MÖTLEY CRÜE, with support from POISON and JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS.

DEF LEPPARD's set on the tour includes some of the band's biggest hits, such as "Pour Some Sugar On Me", "Photograph" and "Rock Of Ages" — as well as songs from the group's latest album, "Diamond Star Halos", among them "Kick" and "Fire It Up".

DEF LEPPARD's long-delayed North American trek was originally planned for 2020 and later moved to 2021 and then to 2022. "The Stadium Tour" will conclude on September 9 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

"The Stadium Tour" marks the CRÜE's first live dates since wrapping its 2014/2015 farewell tour. CRÜE toured with POISON back in 2011 and DEF LEPPARD teamed up with POISON for a string of road dates in 2017, but this jaunt marks the first time all four acts have hit the road together for an extended tour.

In May 2021, DEF LEPPARD drummer Rick Allen told "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" that promoters "made the right decision" by postponing "The Stadium Tour" for a second time. "I think the primary focus has gotta be people's health and well-being," he said. "So I understand why they made that decision. I think if we had gone out [in 2021], it may have been a bit more of a patchwork of a tour as opposed to being able to play the whole thing from start to finish. So, it's a bummer, but here we are."

Allen went on to say that he and his DEF LEPPARD bandmates were disappointed that they wouldn't be able to perform live again in the U.S. until 2022. "We're really bummed, 'cause, obviously, we wanted to get out there," he said. "It's been a long time. And I know — our fans are so loyal. It's incredible. The fact that we got the largest vote for the [Rock And Roll] Hall Of Fame — the fan vote. So our fans are just particularly special; I mean, they've always been a rock. So I feel for them. And I feel for us. But I just want people to come out and be safe."

In July 2021, MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx told the 95.5 KLOS radio station that his band and DEF LEPPARD "might even drag" the same tour "to Europe, South America, Japan," but he cautioned, "We don't know yet. Right now it's a little far off. But us and DEF LEPPARD are super close; that's great. And we'll just see what version of 'The Stadium Tour' might fit for other countries, if we decide to go. Maybe it'll be the same lineup. I know people are super stoked for the lineup. It's a good outdoor fun party evening."