Less than a week after Def Leppard kicked off their summer tour, guitarist Phil Collen has left the tour unexpectedly. Steve Brown of Trixter is filling in, having played his first show Friday night in Hershey, PA. Fan-filmed footage can be seen below.
Def Leppard has not released a statement explaining the reason for Collen’s sudden departure, however Blabbermouth is reporting it is due to a family emergency.
Steve Brown is no stranger to the Def Leppard catalog; he previously filled in for Vivian Campbell in 2014 and 2015 while Campbell underwent treatment for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
“Those guys are like family to me,” Brown told Sleaze Roxx in a 2017 interview. “Most people don’t know this but I go back with Def Leppard to about 1988 when they were touring behind Hysteria. Phil Collen is a like a brother to me. When Vivian was diagnosed with cancer in 2013, Phil said to the Leppard guys, ‘I have the guy that can step in while Viv is undergoing treatment. Let’s call Steve.’ … So I got the call in early 2013. I learned the entire set and fine-tuned my parts and began playing some gigs with them in 2014.”
Brown added that the “Def Leppard catalog is not the easiest thing to learn. There’s some very intricate guitar parts, very unique guitar parts. Steve Clark wrote things in shapes and boxes that I haven’t played before. … It was a challenge to dig in and learn the Mutt Lange/Def Leppard collection. They are not your typical ‘cookie cutter’ rock and roll band. They have an unique way of writing songs.”
Def Leppard kicked off the co-headlining North American tour with Journey on May 21st in Hartford, CT. It continues through October 7th.
