LOS ANGELES (UMe Records) - This summer,
Def Leppard and
Bryan Adams will give the phrase "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" a whole new meaning as they co-headline the Rock `N Roll Double-Header Tour. Two of the most popular rock acts to ever take the stage, they will team up for the first time and perform at 26 minor league baseball stadiums. The rock `n roll season opens June 1st in Portland, OR, at the home of the Beavers, then travels down the West Coast and through
Texas before heading to the East Coast and into the Midwest where it will end the season August 10th in Lansing, MI, at the home of the Lugnuts. In each park, the stage will be set up in the outfield and fans can either bring a blanket to sit on the field or take a seat in the stands. All concerts take place on non-game days. Tickets for some markets go on sale as soon as March 12.
Bryan Adams and Def Leppard, combined, have sold more than 100,000,000 albums worldwide. Each made their album debut in 1980 - and 25 years later they are still hitting homeruns as each releases a new album in 2005.
Def Leppard's place in music history? Only five rock groups can claim two original albums selling 10,000,000+ copies each in the U.S.: The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Van Halen and Def Leppard. The British band's blockbuster "Pyromania" hit #2 and 10 times platinum; "Hysteria" soared even higher - #1 and 13 times platinum - led by the #1 single "Love Bites." The retrospective "Vault" has sold more than 7,000,000 copies worldwide. Now "Def Leppard - Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection" (Mercury/UMe), to be released May 17, 2005, marks the band's biggest-ever "best of" album and the first two-CD set in the group's phenomenal career, featuring the newly recorded single, "No Matter What" (originally recorded by Badfinger).
Bryan Adams is Canada's most highly acclaimed musician, whose career has spanned more than three decades. This spring will see the release of Adams' most recent CD, "Room Service," which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard European Top 100 Album Chart! An accomplished photographer, his current body of work will be soon be seen in his new book, "Calvin Klein - American Women," also scheduled to debut this spring.
Adams' meteoric rise on the charts began with his 3rd album, "Cuts Like a Knife," that landed in the Top 10 and was soon followed by the No. 1 charted "Reckless!" In addition to his album, Adams film credits include "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" which topped the U.S. charts for 7 weeks and became the longest running #1 in the history of the British charts. His other #1s include - "Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman?," "Heaven" and "All For Love" (with Rod Stewart and Sting). The Grammy award-winning artist has been nominated for 3 Oscars and 3 Golden Globe Awards for music; he has received 18 Juno Awards (Grammy equivalent in Canada), an American Music Award, and Five ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards for Most Performed Song from a Motion Picture.
Details on ticket sale dates for the Rock `N Roll Double-Header Tour will be available locally. All shows begin at 6:30 p.m.; the gates open approximately one hour in advance. The base ticket price is $45 (plus applicable service charges). For each paid adult, one child under 12 will be admitted for free.
June
1 Portland, OR PGE Park (Beavers)
3 San Jose, CA Municipal Stadium (Giants)
4 Fresno, CA Fresno Grizzlies Stadium (Grizzlies)
5 San Bernardino, CA Arrowhead Credit Union Park (Inland Empire 66ers)
7 Mesa, AZ HohoKam Park (Sidewinders)
8 El Paso, TX Cohen Stadium (Diablos)
10 Oklahoma City, OK SBC Bricktown Ballpark (RedHawks)
11 Ft. Worth, TX LaGrave Field (Cats)
July
1 Camden, NJ Campbell's Field (RiverSharks)
2 Lancaster, PA Clippers Magazine Stadium (Barnstormers)
3 Wappingers Falls, NY Dutchess Stadium (Renegades)
5 Lakewood, NJ FirstEnergy Park (Blueclaws)
6 Brockton, MA Campanelli Stadium (Rox)
8 Aberdeen, MD Ripken Stadium (Rock Cats)
9 Brooklyn, NY KeySpan Park (Cyclones)
10 Rochester, NY Frontier Field (Red Wings)
29 St. Paul, MN Midway Stadium (Saints)
30 Schaumburg, IL Alexian Field (Flyers)
31 Davenport, IA John O'Donnell Stadium (Swing)
August
2 Lincoln, NE Haymarket Park (Salt Dogs)
3 Kansas City, KS Community America Ballpark (T-Bones)
5 South Bend, IN Coveleski Stadium (Silver Hawks)
6 Eastlake, OH Eastlake Stadium (Captains)
7 Charleston, WV Appalachian Power Park (Alley Cats)
9 Dayton, OH Fifth Third Field (Dragons)
10 Lansing, MI Oldsmobile Park (Lugnuts)
Promoting the Rock 'N Roll Double-Header Tour is Chicago-based Jam Productions, three-time winner of Pollstar Magazine's award for Independent Promoter of the Year. Jam is the largest volume independent concert promoter in the country and was the producer of last year's Bob Dylan & Willie Nelson tour of minor league ballparks - honored by Pollstar as the year's Most Creative Tour Package.
The Greatest of Rock Great Def Leppard Heard on "Rock of Ages: the Definitive Collection"
Band's First-Ever Two-CD Set Features All the Hits Plus New Song "No Matter What"
Def Leppard, one of the most popular bands in rock, will launch a major tour this spring in the wake of the release of its biggest-ever "best of" album. With more than 65,000,000 albums sold worldwide, including two of the best-selling albums ever issued, Def Leppard celebrates their 25th anniversary and not only continues to sell out arenas around the globe but continues to build on its status as a genuine rock `n' roll icon that keeps on rockin'. How popular is Def Leppard? Only five rock groups can claim two original albums selling 10,000,000+ copies each in the U.S.: The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Van Halen and Def Leppard.
"Def Leppard - Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection" (Bludgeon Riffola/Island/UMe), scheduled for release May 17, 2005, boasts 16 of Def Leppard's Top 40 hits among the 35 selections spanning its 25-year album career to date. Besides being the band's first two-CD set, "Rock of Ages" also highlights another first - the group's first new U.S.-issued song since 2002, "No Matter What." Attesting to Def Leppard's amazing and enduring success, when U.K.-released with a different tunestack, the compilation became the highest charting debut of 2004 and was gold within a week. The band's previous "best of," 1995's "Vault," has sold 7,000,000+ copies worldwide and is U.S. triple platinum. "Vault" has remained on the Billboard Top 200/Top Pop Catalog Albums Chart since its release, enjoying annual sales of nearly 500,000 copies.
This spring, Def Leppard takes its hits on the road co-headlining the Rock `N Roll Double Header Tour with Bryan Adams, performing at minor league ballparks across the country. The band will also solo headline shows in additional markets.
Def Leppard's debut album, the platinum "On Through the Night" (1980), is represented on "Rock of Ages" by "Rock Brigade" and "Wasted." The double platinum "High `N' Dry" (1981) yields "Switch 625," "Bringin' on the Heartbreak," "Mirror, Mirror (Look Into My Eyes)," "High `N' Dry (Saturday Night)," "Another Hit and Run" and "Let It Go."
1983's blockbuster "Pyromania" hit #2 and 10 times platinum, with its "Photograph" and "Rock of Ages" Top 20 and "Foolin'" Top 30. "Rock of Ages" adds its "Rock Rock (Till You Drop)," "Too Late for Love," "Die Hard the Hunter" and "Billy's Got a Gun." 1987's #1 "Hysteria" soared to 13 times platinum with the #1 "Love Bites," #2 "Pour Some Sugar on Me," #3 "Armageddon It," Top 10 "Hysteria," Top 20s "Animal" and "Rocket," and "Women." The triple platinum "Adrenalize" (1992) debuted #1 led by the Top 15s "Let's Get Rocked" and "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad?," Top 40 "Stand Up (Kick Love Into Motion)" and "Heaven Is."
From the 1993 platinum outtakes collection "Retro Active" are the Top 15 "Two Steps Behind" (acoustic version) and Top 40 "Miss You in a Heartbeat." From "Vault" is the then-debuting "When Love & Hate Collide"; from subsequent gold albums are "Work It Out" and "Slang" from "Slang" (1996) and "Promises" and "Paper Sun" from "Euphoria" (1999). The band's most recent CD, "X" (2002), contributes "Now."
Def Leppard is available for interviews.
