On Friday evening at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Def Leppard were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame by Queen guitarist Brian May.
May and the Sheffield outfit have been friends since the early 80s, with guitarist Phil Collen recently telling Rolling Stone: “We are still the hugest Brian May and Queen fans.
“I’m so pleased that the movie (Bohemian Rhapsody) was such an amazing success. We love everything they do. They inspire us to no end. I listen to this stuff all the time, and it’s amazing. So to have him there actually honouring us is, it’s huge.”
And, speaking with SiriusXM shortly before he took to the stage, May spoke about what it meant to him to be at the ceremony on behalf of the band.
He said: “I would hate it if anyone else had done it rather than me, because they are family to me and have been for a long time. I love them dearly.
“I know a lot about them, because we spent a lot of time together. They've done stuff for us – particularly with Joe Elliott. I go back, and we've done all kinds of stuff for each other and with each other.
“We're kind of like brothers, I suppose. So, yeah, I had to do it – I had to be here.”
After being inducted, Def Leppard took to the stage and played Hysteria, Rock Of Ages, Photograph and Pour Some Sugar On Me.
They then returned at the end of the ceremony to lead an all-star jam through Mott The Hoople’s All The Young Dudes with Ian Hunter.
Def Leppard will play 12 nights in Las Vegas between August 14 - September 7 at Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino.