Def Leppard’s first gigs of 2026 will find the Sheffield band digging “a little deeper in the set,” according to Joe Elliott. But that’s just one of many changes they’re plotting for their third Las Vegas residency, which begins Feb. 3 at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas
“We’re planning something completely different to anything that we’ve done in the past,” the frontman confirms in a new interview on the UCR Podcast that you can listen to here. “The usual thing with Vegas, is that you’re putting on a show, not doing a gig. So that’s exactly what it’s going to be [with all of the] bells and whistles for sure.
The 12-date residency has a lot to live up to. The band’s initial Vegas run in 2013 found them performing the whole of 1987’s Hysteria for fans. In a unique twist, they opened for themselves, billed as Ded Flatbird, and played a set loaded up with deep cuts from the catalog that hadn’t been aired out in years.
For their 2019 return to Sin City, they focused on their entire history as a group, going heavy on material from Hysteria and 1983’s Pyromania, of course. But they also dug out some deep cuts in the process, playing the title track from 1996’s Slang for the first time since 2013 and “Die Hard the Hunter” surfaced for the first time since 1992.
Pyromania’s “Billy’s Got a Gun,” “Now,” from 1999’s Euphoria and “Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad” from 1992’s Adrenalize were among the other rarities making their first appearances in more than a decade.
Watch Def Leppard Perform ‘Billy’s Got a Gun’ in Las Vegas
The 2019 sets also found the group changing their set list from night to night and they performed a selection of material acoustically. The four-song set offered a brief cooldown period before they turned the rockets back up for a final strike featuring many of their best-known hits.
Def Leppard’s 2026 Residency Plans
“We’re going to dig a little deeper in the set. You know, it is a Vegas residency, and what you’ve got to remember with something like that is, like a lot of the people come in, it’s a split camp,” Elliott explains. “There’s a lot of people coming that are just there to enjoy Vegas, and we’re just a side show, one of the billions that they could have chosen to go to. So they aren’t going to be that interested in the deep cuts. They want the hits and then the first 10 or 12 rows, they just want the deep cuts. So you got to strike a really fine balance, which is what we’re currently working on now.”
The singer says they’re getting close to finalizing the show fans will see and that there will be something for everyone who comes out for the gigs.”It’s going to be a nice journey for folks that have followed the band for a while and even for the ones that have just come on board,” he shares. “So it’s a whole new set compared to everything that you’ve seen us do for the last two or three years since COVID, Everything’s gone. We’re starting from scratch. It’s bigger, it’s more visual, obviously, because it’s Vegas, but at the same time, stood right in front of all that mega stuff that we have will be the five of us doing our thing.”
“Hopefully [that’s what] the majority of the show is all about [is] the songs and the legacy of the band,” he adds. “Everything else just helps the journey get along, you know, but the songs is the important bit. That’s what’s inside. Everything else is wrapping paper. But that’s what brings people in, you know? It’s like with kids, all they want to do is tear the paper off at Christmas. They don’t care what’s inside. We’re hoping that people do, you know.”
Fans can tune up for the forthcoming Vegas residency with a new live album. Diamond Star Heroes: Live from Sheffield, which arrives on audio and video Nov. 21. The gig was captured during their 2023 European tour with Motley Crue and found them playing their second-ever hometown stadium gig, fully sold-out, in front of almost 40,000 people.
The Sheffield legends also recently were honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Watch Def Leppard Receive a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
