Def Leppard and Journey spent the summer on the road together, and Def Leppard’s Phil Collen is opening up about what it was like touring with a band whose members weren’t exactly getting along.
Over the summer Journey’s Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain were suing each other over financial disagreements, but Collen says it didn’t affect the tour at all.
When asked by Rolling Stone whether it was “weird” touring with a band that’s dealing with infighting, Collen shared, “It would be, but we didn’t see it when we saw them.”
“I know the whole beef is mainly Jonathan and Neal, but when we get to see them, they’re just always just lovely and just wonderful,” he said. “So you don’t really get into whatever they’re going through, that other stuff. We just see them on stage hearing, ‘Don’t Stop Believing,’ ‘Open Arms,’ and all that stuff, and it’s pretty magical.”
Unlike Journey, Collen says all the members of Def Leppard get along.
“We’ve only ever have one dressing room. We make a point of doing that,” he says. “If we can we’re always in one room, and it’s just magical. It’s like a bunch of arrested development. Everyone makes each other laugh.”
“Journey are such a great band. I hope they get everything sorted out,” he added. “But it sure wouldn’t happen to us. We just have a different approach. I don’t want to be in separate rooms from the rest of the guys. None of us do.”
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