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Phil Collen Opens Up About Leaving Current Def Leppard Tour

Phil Collen is back on the road with Def Leppard on their joint tour with Journey, but he recently detailed the family emergency that led to his brief absence. In…

LAS VEGAS, NV – JANUARY 17: Guitarist Phil Collen performs as part of the G3 concert tour at Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas at The Linq Promenade on January 17, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Phil Collen is back on the road with Def Leppard on their joint tour with Journey, but he recently detailed the family emergency that led to his brief absence.

In a chat with Rock Talk with Mitch Lafon, Collen revealed that his wife experienced serious complications while giving birth.

“Helen, my wife, was giving birth to our son, but there was real bad complications.  She actually died and they brought her back to life, and internal bleeding and just craziness,” said Collen.  “This isn't common knowledge, but it is now. So I was actually on tour, and when this happened, I obviously had to go to California. So I flew out there.”

Fortunately, both Helen and baby are doing fine now, and in the interim, Trixter’s Steve Brown filled in for Collen while he was home with his family.

Def Leppard continues their tour with Journey on July 11 with a show in Louisville, Ky. For a complete list of upcoming tour dates, head over to DefLeppard.com.

Erica Banas is a rock/classic rock blogger that loves the smell of old vinyl in the morning.

Erica Banas is a news blogger who's been covering the rock/classic rock world since 2014. The coolest event she's ever covered in person was the 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. (Sir Paul McCartney inducting Foo Fighters? C'mon now!) She's also well-versed in etiquette and extraordinarily nice. #TransRightsAreHumanRights