The bands--along with VH1 Classic and Live Nation-- had only announced a few short weeks ago that they were pairing up for a summer tour that would run from June until the end of August. Since then, the call for tickets has far surpassed all expectations, delighting and amazing promoters across the country.

Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen said, "This is what we were hoping for. We were thrilled with the initial ticket sales and now we can really get on it!"

"I'm looking forward to getting out there and kickin' ass," says Journey guitarist Neal Schon. "We're glad that our fans are excited about this tour, and I think both Journey and Def Leppard will gain some new fans. I'm especially looking forward to playing guitar with my good buddy Vivian Campbell."

"We're thrilled with the way music fans have embraced this tour," said Bruce Kapp Senior Vice President of Touring for Live Nation, the company producing the tour. "It's clear from the way these shows are selling that the Def Leppard and Journey package is going to be one of the stand out hits of the summer."

With more than 65 million albums sold worldwide, Def Leppard - Joe Elliott (vocals), Vivian Campbell (guitar), Phil Collen (guitar), Rick "Sav" Savage (bass) and Rick Allen (drums) - is one of the most continuously exciting and important forces in rock music. Over the course of their career, the band has produced a series of classic groundbreaking albums that set the sound for generations of music fans and artist, establishing them as Great Britain's premiere arena rock band. Their spectacular live shows filled with powerful melodic rock anthems have become synonymous with their name, and they are an institution in the touring industry as they continue to sell out arenas worldwide.

The band is hitting the road in support of Yeah! their 12th studio album, which is a clever tribute to the band's musical heroes of the late 60's and 70's -The Kinks, Badfinger, T. Rex, David Bowie, Sweet, Roxy Music, Mott the Hoople, Free, Faces and Thin Lizzy. Scheduled for release on May 23, 2006 from Island/Ume, the album's concept is one that the band had hoped to record for over 20 years and brilliantly merges the "Now" with the "Then." The release comes hot on the heels of their Platinum- certified 2-CD hits package, Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection.

In addition to the tour, Def Leppard will be performing on the Tonight Show's summer concert series on May 23rd and will be saluted on VH1's Rock Honors, airing on the channel on May 31st. Def Leppard was also recently honored in the U.S. by the RIAA with two prestigious Diamond Awards for their albums HYSTERIA and PYROMANIA. The Diamond Award recognizes sales of over 10 million, a feat not many bands and only a handful of British artists have been able to achieve (The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Elton John, Eric Clapton).

Journey's legacy has spanned over 30 years with 19 U.S. releases, most recently the critically acclaimed GENERATIONS (Sanctuary Records, 2005). Four albums landed in the Top Ten of Billboard's "Top 200 Albums" chart, including 1981's ESCAPE which reached #1. Overall they've sold over 75 million albums worldwide making them the 29th best-selling music group of all time. They were honored with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame last year.

The band was founded in 1973 in San Francisco by Santana members Neal Schon and Gregg Rolie, with the assistance of Ross Valory, George Tickner and Prairie Prince. The current line-up-which has been together since 1998--includes Neal Schon (guitar), Ross Valory (bass), Jonathan Cain (keyboards), Steve Augeri (vocals) and Deen Castronovo (drums).

Fans of Neal Schon should check out SANTANA III: LEGACY EDITION (Columbia/Legacy, a division of Sony BMG Music Entertainment), which was released February 21. There they'll find his debut into the music world on this legendary album. The original first lineup of Santana recorded the band's first three albums for Columbia together before the leader dissolved the band in late-1971 and struck out in new directions. With the addition of 17-year old guitar prodigy Schon and percussionist/songwriter Coke Escovedo, they recorded the penultimate third album in February and June 1971, one of rock's defining masterpieces. SANTANA III: LEGACY EDITION, containing a new expanded edition of that album with four bonus tracks (three of them previously unissued studio recordings), and a second disc that presents-for the first time as it was heard by the audience-the band's historic one-hour closing set from the closing night (in the wee hours of the morning) of Bill Graham's Fillmore West on July 4, 1971.

Below are all currently confirmed tour dates for the Def Leppard and Journey concert tour:

6/23 Camden, NJ Tweeter Ctr at the Waterfront
6/24 Wantagh, NY Jones Beach Theater
6/27 Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts Center
6/28 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Casino
6/30 Scranton, PA Toyota Pavilion at Montage
7/1 Atlantic City, NJ Borgata Hotel & Casino
7/3 Hershey, PA Hershey Pavilion
7/4 Raleigh, NC Alltel Pavilion
7/7 Bristow, VA Nissan Pavilion
7/8 Virginia Beach, VA Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amp
7/10 West Palm Beach, FL Sound Advice Amphitheatre
7/11 Tampa, FL Ford Amphitheatre
7/13 Atlanta, GA Chastain Park Amphitheatre
7/15 Charlotte, NC Charlotte Verizon Wireless Amp
7/16 Nashville, TN Starwood Amphitheatre
7/18 Minneapolis, MN Target Center
7/19 Chicago, IL First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
7/21 St. Louis, MO UMB Bank Pavilion
7/22 Noblesville, IN Verizon Wireless Music Center
7/24 Detroit, MI DTE Energy Music Theatre
7/25 Cincinnati, OH Riverbend Music Center
7/28 San Antonio, TX Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
7/29 Dallas, TX Smirnoff Music Centre
7/30 The Woodlands, TX Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
8/15 Denver, CO Red Rocks Amphitheatre
8/16 Salt Lake, UT USANA
8/18 Las Vegas, NV Mandalay Bay Events Center
8/22 Phoenix, AZ Cricket Pavilion
8/23 Chula Vista, CA Coors Amphitheatre
8/25 Concord, CA Chronicle Pavilion
8/26 Mountain View, CA Shoreline Amphitheatre
8/27 Sacramento, CA Sleep Train Amphitheatre
8/30 Portland, OR Clark County Amphitheatre
8/31 Seattle, WA White River Amphitheatre
9/02 Boise, ID The Idaho Center
9/03 Reno, NV Reno Event Center
9/06 Bonner Springs, KS Verizon Wireless Amp
9/07 Ames, IA Hilton Coliseum
9/09 Milwaukee, WI Marcus Amphitheatre
9/10 Columbus, OH Germain Amphitheater
9/12 Cuyahoga Falls, OH Blossom Music Center
9/13 Pittsburgh, PA Post Gazette Pavilion
9/16 Saratoga Spring, NY Saratoga PAC
9/19 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun
9/20 Buffalo, NY Darien Lake PAC
9/22 Atlantic City, NJ Borgata Hotel Spa & Casino
9/23 Boston, MA Tweeter Center