Def Leppard; Phil Collen second from left (Ross Halfin)Def Leppard kicked off a massive North American co-headlining tour with Journey on May 21, but after just a couple shows, the British rockers have temporarily lost the services of their longtime guitarist Phil Collen. On Friday, the band announced in a message on its official website that Collen had “unexpectedly returned home for a family emergency.”
Stepping in for Collen for the time being is Trixter guitarist Steve Brown. As Def Leppard explains in the statement, “With Phil’s blessing our friend, Steve Brown, will be joining us on stage until Phil is able to return. On with the show!”
Brown’s stint began with Def Leppard’s Friday in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and continued Saturday in Buffalo, New York. The band’s next show with Journey takes place in Cleveland. No word on when Collen might be returning. Check out the group’s full upcoming itinerary at DefLeppard.com.
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