Jackson on the road with Phil Collen

8/24/2009 3:13:23 PM | JacksonGuitars.com

Despite the music industry's ever-changing landscape, Def Leppard remains a rock n' roll institution, even after more than 30 years. One of only five rock groups that can claim two separate original 10-million-plus selling albums - "PYROMANIA" (1983) and "HYSTERIA" (1987) - Def Leppard watched their most recent studio album, "SONGS FROM THE SPARKLE LOUNGE", debut last year at number five on the Billboard Top 200, proving that some bands are timeless.

In mid-June, a manic sold-out crowd of 80,000 showed up at Donington Park in Leicestershire, England, for the Download Festival, headlined by Def Leppard. The band then immediately traveled to Nashville, TN, to perform at the CMT Music Awards with Taylor Swift, before kicking off a summer tour with Poison and Cheap Trick.

Just over halfway through the tour, Phil Collen is leaving a Starbucks in Raleigh, NC, when Jackson News hooks up with the esteemed lead guitarist for a phone interview.

Read the full interview at JacksonGuitars.com.