Joe Elliott compared himself with an injured footballer after he struggled with voice problems earlier this year.
The Def Leppard singer was forced to cancel the last 10 dates of the band’s winter tour earlier this year due to throat issues.
Last year Elliott said he suffered from bronchial spasms, possibly due to “dust and gas emissions” from the South Dakota motorbike festival he performed at that summer – but he says he’s ready to perform again.
He tells John Garbutt: “As far as I’m aware, it’s fine. I got a really bad cough over Christmas and New Year, and that’s what did the damage. It wasn’t singing. It was just an injury.
“It was like a footballer getting kicked very hard on the shin and not being able to play for a few weeks or a couple of months or whatever. It was nothing to do with his ability to play; it was just an injury that he picked up. And it was the same thing with me.
“I just got a really, really bad cough, couldn’t clear it up, and I was warned, having seen a couple of throat doctors, that I needed to take four to six weeks off. So it’s about now that I start giving it a shout again.
“But other than that, everything else is fine. It just needed a rest.”
The band issued their self-titled 11th album last year – their first full-length effort since 2008’s Songs From The Sparkle Lounge. They’ve also lined up a 55-date North American tour with REO Speedwagon and Tesla, which kicks off next month.
Def Leppard, REO Speedwagon, Tesla tour
May 01: Orlando Moonstone Festival, FL(no REO Speedwagon)
May 04: Lafayette Lafayette Cajundome, LA (Styx in place of REO Speedwagon
May 05: Corpus Christi American Bank Center Arena, TX (Styx in place of REO Speedwagon)
May 07: Hidalgo State Farm Arena, TX (Styx in place of REO Speedwagon)
May 10: Bossier City CenturyLink Center, LA
May 11: Little Rock Verizon Arena, AR
May 13: Greensboro Greensboro Coliseum Complex, NC
May 15: Uncasville Mohegan Sun Arena, CT
May 17: Allentown PPL Center, PA
May 18: Huntington Big Sandy Superstore Arena, WV
May 20: Orlando Amway Center, FL(no REO Speedwagon)
Jun 22: Boston Xfinity Center, MA
Jun 24: Bangor Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion, ME
Jun 25: Quebec City Centre Videotron, QC
Jun 27: Syracuse Lakeview Amphtheatre, NY
Jun 29: Hershey Hershey Park Stadium, PA
Jul 01: Indianapolis Klipsch Music Center, IN
Jul 02: Chicago Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, IL
Jul 05: Cincinnati Riverbend Music Center, OH
Jul 06: Milwaukee Summerfest in Milwaukee, WI
Jul 08: Pittsburgh First Niagara Pavilion, PA
Jul 09: Grand Rapids Van Andel Arena, MI
Jul 11: Wantagh Nikon at Jones Beach, NY
Jul 13: Holmdel PNC Bank Arts Center, NJ
Jul 15: Detroit DTE Energy Music Theatre, MI
Jul 16: Toronto Molson Canadian Amphitheatre, ON
Aug 06: MadisonAlliant Energy Center, WI
Aug 08: Evansille Ford Center, IN
Aug 10: Bristow Jiffy Lube Live, VA
Aug 12: Atlanta Aaron’s Amphitheatre at Lakewood, GA
Aug 13: Raleigh Walnut Creek Amphitheatre, NC
Aug 17: Birmingham Oak Mountain Amphitheater, AL
Aug 19: Austin 360 Amphitheatre, TX
Aug 22: Houston Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, TX
Aug 24: Dallas Gexa Energy Pavilion, TX
Aug 26: Kansas City Sprint Center, MO
Aug 27: ST Louis Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, MO
Aug 29: Cleveland Blossom Music Center, OH
Aug 31: Darien Center PAC, NY
Sep 14: Billings Metrapark Arena, MT
Sep 16: Salk Lake City USANA Ampitheater, UT:
Sep 17: Denver Pepsi Center, CO
Sep 19: Albuquerque Isleta Amphitheatre, NM
Sep 20: Phoenix Ak-Chin Pavilion, AZ
Sep 22: Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, CA
Sep 24: Sacramento Toyota Amphitheatre, CA (no Tesla)
Sep 25: Mountain View Shoreline Amphitheatre, CA
Sep 28: Boise Taco Bell Arena, ID
Sep 30: Eugene Matthew Knight Arena, OR
Oct 01: Tacoma Tacoma Dome, WA
Oct 04: Omaha CenturyLink, NE
Oct 05: Minneapolis Xcel Center, MN
Oct 07: La Crosse La Crosse Center Arena, WI
Oct 08: Toledo Huntington Center, OH
Oct 10: Cedar Rapids US Cellular Center, IA
