Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen recently appeared as a guest on the Eddie Trunk Podcast and recalled the band’s tragic cruise show by saying that it was a very unfortunate event.
Following their 2015 North American tour, Def Leppard announced the ‘Hysteria on the High Seas’ cruise, which took place in January 2016. However, the whole cruise was followed by a series of unfortunate incidents. Def Leppard lead singer Joe Elliott became ill with laryngitis on the night of the band’s cruise performance. It marked the first time the band performed without Elliott.
In addition to it, former Rainbow and Dio bass guitarist Jimmy Bain died while in his cabin due to lung cancer. It was known that he had been battling pneumonia for some time, but his cause of death was announced as lung cancer. He was on the cruise to perform with his band, Last in Line. Thus, the whole cruise turned into a nightmare for all who were there.
During the podcast, Eddie Trunk reminded Rick Allen of the tragic show and asked his thoughts and feelings on that. The drummer stated that it was a complete disaster as they experienced several unexpected situations. For Allen, especially Jimmy Bain’s death had a devastating effect on everyone on the cruise. He revealed that it was the first time he had gone through something like that.
Rick Allen speaking on Def Leppard’s tragic cruise show:
“I think that Leppard cruise, it was really unfortunate with the weather and of course, with the mishaps. I think Jimmy Bain’s passing. It was massive. I’ve never experienced anything like that in my life since then, which is why I come out and do these cruises.”
You can listen to the podcast through Spotify below.
