Def Leppard announce a 2018 Australian tour playing 'Hysteria' in full

Def Leppard are back for an Australian tour in 2018, and it’s going to be an amazing one, as the ’80s icons play their greatest record Hysteria in full, taking hits like ‘Pour Some Sugar On Me’ and ‘Love Bites’ to Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth.

Better yet? They’ll be throwing in their biggest hits from their other albums too, and even bringing the legendary Scorpions (and their host of classics like ‘Rock Me Like A Hurricane’) along for their first ever major Australian tour.

Hysteria is of course the record that followed the horrific injuries to drummer Rick Allen in a car crash, which cost him his arm and almost his career. Released four years on from Def Leppard’s third LP Pyromania, the long-awaited follow-up shot straight to #1 around the world, as Allen miraculously taught himself to play one-handed.

While ‘Pour Some Sugar On Me’ may just be the band’s best-known track, and their highest-selling, it fell just short of topping the U.S. charts when it landed at #2, and it was actually the release of follow-up single ‘Love Bites’ that won them the crown.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQ4xwmZ6zi4

Along with other runaway singles like ‘Animal’, ‘Armageddon It’, ‘Rocket’ and title-track ‘Hysteria’, the album gave Def Leppard half-a-dozen huge hits, and went platinum in as many countries – including diamond (that’s 12x platinum) in the U.S.

Turning 30 last year and now with over 25 million copies sold worldwide, it’s gone down in history as one of the definitive records of the ’80s hard rock and glam metal era, and will make for a perfect night alongside Scorpions’ own swag of classics.

“I’m delighted that we can bring the whole Hysteria album to Australia and New Zealand later this year,” says bassist and founding member Rick Savage. “From ‘Women’ to ‘Love and Affection’ plus many other faves thrown in for good measure. We can’t wait!”

Def Leppard last headed to Australia in 2015 for shows in Melbourne and Sydney, and their performances then showed that they were more than a nostalgia act, with decades of touring experience coming alive in an arena setting. Now the rest of the country can get in on the fun.

Tickets go on sale at 1pm (local time) on Friday May 4th, but there’s also a 48-hour presale for Telstra customers kicking off from 10am on Tuesday May 1, with more info here.

For the mega-fans, there’ll also be VIP, backstage and meet-and-greet packages on offer, with all the details on offer at the Live Nation website.

For now, check out all of the tour dates – and a bona fide Def Leppard classic – below.