’80s Rock Band Announces News Amid 2026 Tour With Special Guests

Def Leppard is giving fans a fresh update on its next studio album while continuing its 2026 European tour with special guest Extreme.

During a new interview with France’s Oüi FM, lead singer Joe Elliott confirmed that the legendary British rock band is still working on the follow-up to its 2022 album, Diamond Star Halos. 

He also revealed that the band’s latest single, “Rejoice,” will open the upcoming record, expected in early 2027.

“The single is the lead-off track, if you like, from the new album. The song is called ‘Rejoice’. We released it in time for the Vegas residency. We did a Vegas residency in February, and we wanted to play a new song, so it made sense to actually put it out,” Elliott said.

“The album won’t be out until early ’27, ’cause we’re still recording it. We were actually recording parts of it in Vegas on days off. We would go down into the basement of the casino and set it up as a studio, and we would record. So we’re still actively recording now and mixing.”

The update comes as Def Leppard continues its European tour, its first major run of solo shows since its sold-out 2023 tour with Motley Crue. Extreme is joining the band as the special guest on most of the dates.

The tour has already included performances in Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, Germany and the United Kingdom. During the band’s July 2 concert at London’s O2, Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt surprised fans by joining Def Leppard onstage for a performance of “Slang.”

Upcoming tour stops include Birmingham and Manchester before the band heads to Germany for Wacken Open Air and later performs in Dubai.

Elliott said the band has recorded about 18 songs so far, giving the members plenty of material to choose from before deciding on the final track list.

“We’ve got about 18 songs. So we’ve kind of got nearly two albums. We’re not gonna put all 18 on the album. We’re gonna pick and choose which 10 or 11 we think are the right ones.”

The singer also hinted that fans should expect plenty of surprises when the album arrives. He added that the band plans to continue working on the record between tour dates before finishing the project later this year for its planned early 2027 release.

Guitarist Phil Collen recently shared a similar message while discussing the band’s progress. He explained that “Rejoice” represents only one side of the new album’s sound and suggested listeners can expect a wide range of styles.

“There’s some stuff on there that’s, like, ‘Whoa.’ You’d go, ‘This is really wacky.’ And so, I like that,” Collen said.

Beyond recording new material, Def Leppard has remained active with several releases in recent years. In 2025, the band recorded a cover of Ben E. King’s classic “Stand By Me,” with all proceeds benefiting FireAid, which supports people affected by the Los Angeles wildfires. The recording also appeared in the Netflix film Bank of Dave 2: The Loan Ranger.

Before that, the group released the 2024 single “Just Like 73,” featuring a guest guitar solo from Tom Morello.

The upcoming album will be Def Leppard’s first full-length studio release since Diamond Star Halos in 2022. In 2023, the band also released Drastic Symphonies, which reimagined many of its best-known songs with London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios. The album spent 15 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Current Classical chart.

Formed in Sheffield, England, in 1976, Def Leppard became one of rock music’s biggest acts through albums including Pyromania, Hysteria and Adrenalize. The band has sold more than 100 million records worldwide and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019.

As the 2026 European tour continues with Extreme, Def Leppard is balancing live performances with studio work. While fans still have several months to wait for the band’s next album, Elliott’s latest update makes it clear that recording is well underway, with the group aiming to complete the project later this year ahead of its planned early 2027 release.

Related: ’70s Rock Legend Dismisses Farewell Tour 64 Years After Beginning Career