Def Leppard finishing new album

Def Leppard is finishing up its newest album, tentatively called Songs From The Sparkle Lounge. Singer Joe Elliott says the band has finished 11 songs, and might do a couple more. No release date has been announced.

The band is touring this summer, but Elliott says that they won't be playing new unreleased material on tour: [ Click to listen if you have a backstage pass] "Nowadays we play one song, it's gonna be on youTube two minutes later. And it's gonna be... Everyone is gonna know it that cares about it, six months before the thing comes out."

He also says that even when the material has been released, it isn't always familiar enough to put into their set list: [ Click to listen if you have a backstage pass] "We'd love to play some new songs, but at the same time, we're also aware of the fact that (even) when you play new songs that are actually out and available, they sometimes die on stage. Just not enough people know them yet."

Songs From The Sparkle Lounge will be the band's first album since last year's Yeah!, which was a collection of covers of songs by artists who had influenced the band. Their most recent studio album was 2002's X.

Def Leppard is touring America with Styx and Foreigner, and dates are as follows:
June 27 - Cincinnati, OH - Riverbend Music Center
June 29 - Milwaukee, WI - Summerfest
June 30 - Tinley Park, IL - First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
July 3 - Bonner Springs, KS - Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
July 4 - Maryland Heights, MO - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre St. Louis
July 6 - Noblesville, IN - Verizon Wireless Music Center
July 7 - Burgettstown, PA - Post-Gazette Pavilion
July 8 - Columbus, OH - Germain Amphitheater
July 11 - Walker, MN - Moondance Jam
July 13 - Cuyahoga Falls, OH - Blossom Music Center
July 14 - Camden, NJ - Tweeter Center At The Waterfront
July 16 - Toronto, ONT - The Molson Amphitheatre
July 17 - Montreal, QUE - Bell Centre
July 19 - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun
July 21 - Sarnia, ONT - Sarnia Bayfest
July 22 - Farwell, MI - Mountain Rock Music Festival
July 24 - Clarkston, MI - DTE Energy Music Theatre
July 26 - Minot, ND - North Dakota St. Fair
July 28 - Cheyenne, WY - Frontier Park
August 11 - Mansfield, MA - Tweeter Center
August 12 - Hershey, PA - Hersheypark Amphitheatre
August 14 - Wantagh, NY - Nikon At Jones Beach Theater
August 15 - Holmdel, NJ - PNC Bank Arts Center
August 17 - Bristow, VA - Nissan Pavilion
August 18 - Virginia Beach, VA - Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach
August 21 - Raleigh, NC - Walnut Creek Amphitheatre
August 22 - Charlotte, NC - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
August 24 - Tampa, FL - Ford Amphitheatre At State Fairgrounds
August 25 - Atlanta, GA - HiFi Buys Amphitheatre
August 26 - Louisville, KY - Kentucky State Fair
August 29 - Selma, TX - Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
August 31 - The Woodlands, TX - The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
September 1 - Dallas, TX - Smirnoff Music Centre
September 3 - Saint Paul, MN - Minnesota State Fair
September 5 - Oklahoma City, OK - Oklahoma City Zoo Amphitheatre
September 7 - West Valley City, UT - USANA Amphitheatre
September 8 - Grand Junction, CO - Rock Jam
September 9 - Englewood, CO - Coors Amphitheatre
September 12 - Ridgefield, WA - The Amphitheater At Clark County
September 14 - Marysville, CA - Sleep Train Amphitheatre
September 15 - Kelseyville, CA - Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa
September 16 - Reno, NV - Reno Events Center
September 18 - Concord, CA - Sleep Train Pavilion At Concord
September 20 - Phoenix, AZ - Cricket Pavilion
September 22 - Las Vegas, NV - Mandalay Bay Events Center
September 23 - Irvine, CA - Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
September 26 - Auburn, WA - White River Amphitheatre
September 27 - Vancouver, BC - General Motors Place
September 29 - Calgary, ALB - Pengrowth Saddledome
September 30 - Edmonton, ALB - Rexall Place
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