Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott Hospitalized for Altitude Sickness + Still Performs in Colombia
Def Leppard faced a brief scare this past Friday (Feb. 24), when vocalist Joe Elliott was hospitalized for “moderate to severe altitude sickness” in Colombia. Fortunately, though, he was still able to perform in Bogotá last night (Feb. 25) – as part of the band’s 2023 co-headlining “World Tour” with Motley Crue – and he even offered some uplifting words about the event while on stage.
As reported by Blabbermouth, Elliott was taken to Clínica de Marly hospital in Bogotá shortly after Def Leppard arrived for the third show of the tour. He was “experiencing dyspnea, which is the medical term for difficulty breathing or shortness of breath.”
Naturally, Def Leppard posted a video about the incident to social media yesterday afternoon (Feb. 25), tweeting: “A special captain’s log from Joe – ‘I’m here and we are going on at 8pm!’”. In it, Elliott can be seen outside of the Parque Simón Bolívar (where they played last night). He states:
Mini captain’s log. February 25, 2023. Bogotá, Colombia. As you can see, I’m here. [it’s] 5:20 PM and we’re on at 8:00. So, I am alive and well. A little woozy, I’ll be honest. Severe – moderate to severe altitude sickness. I would hate to know what severe altitude sickness [is]. I wouldn’t want to wish it on my worst enemy. But here I am. So, put everybody to rest. Apparently, the internet lit up, so I’m here to put everybody-that-cares-about-it’s minds at rest. I’m here and we are going on at 8:00 PM.
Expectedly, the post received a lot of positive responses. For instance, one user wrote: “Hey Joe I'm glad you're doing ok and 'are there.' Jet lag/air sickness sucks. Take care of yourself dear. I know you're going to bring the house down tonight in Bogota!”
Indeed, Elliott joined Def Leppard for their scheduled performance, and by all accounts, they put on an awesome show. In fact, the group posted a follow-up tweet this morning (Feb. 26) that included some photos and the following message: “BOGOTA - what a night! Thanks for rockin' with us and showing your love! LIMA - you're next!”
Elliott even spoke about the situation in between songs last night [via Ultimate Classic Rock] :
Before we carry on I'd just like to say a big thanks to all the staff at the Marly hospital who took care of me last night. I was feeling a little bit under the weather. We call it altitude sickness – you have another word for it that we can’t pronounce. I made it, you made it, and thanks to them, that’s why I’m here. So let’s make some noise for all those good folks at the Marly hospital please.
You can view both tweets, as well as fan-captured footage of Elliott’s speech, below.
Of course, Def Leppard and Motley Crue's “World Tour” is set to continue this Tuesday (Feb. 28) in Lima, Peru. You can see all of the remaining dates below, as well as purchase tickets here.
In other news, Def Leppard and Motley Crue’s shared 2022 “Stadium Tour” recently won Rock Tour of the Year at the 2023 Pollstar Awards. Plus, Ghost released a new version of “Spillways” (from 2022’s Impera) last month that featured Elliott.
Loudwire wishes Elliott well during this time.
Motley Crue / Def Leppard "World Tour" Dates
Feb. 28 - Lima, Peru @ Estadio Nacional
March 3 - Santiago, Chile @ Estadio Bicentenario de La Florida
March 7 - Sao Paulo, Brazil @ Allianz Parque
March 9 - Buenos Aries, Argentina @ Parque Sarmiento
March 12 – Davie, Fla. @ Hard Rock Live (in Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood)
May 22 - Sheffield, U.K. @ Bramall Lane
May 25 - Mönchengladbach, Germany @ SparkassenPark
May 27 - Munich, Germany @ Koenigsplatz
May 29 - Budapest, Hungary @ MVM Dome
May 31 - Krakow, Poland @ TAURON Arena Kraków
June 2 - Prague, Czech Republic @ Prague Rocks *
June 3 - Hannover, Germany @ Expo Plaza
June 7 - Solvesborg, Sweden @ Sweden Rock Festival *
June 9 - Hyvinkää, Finland @ RockFest *
June 11 - Trondheim, Norway @ Trondheim Rocks *
June 14 - Copenhagen, Denmark @ COPENHELL *
June 18 - Dessel, Belgium @ Graspop Metal Meeting *
June 20 - Milan, Italy @ Ippodromo SNAI San Siro
June 23 - Lisbon, Portugal @ Passeio Maritimo de Alges
June 24 - Rivas-Vaciamadrid, Spain @ Auditorio Miguel Ríos
June 27 - Thun, Switzerland @ Stockhorn Arena
July 1 - London, U.K. @ Wembley Stadium
July 2 - Lytham, U.K. @ Lytham Festival *
July 4 - Dublin, Ireland @ Marlay Park
July 6 - Glasgow, U.K. @ Hampden Park
Aug. 5 - Syracuse, N.Y. @ JMA Wireless Dome ^
Aug. 8 - Columbus, Ohio @ Ohio Stadium ^
Aug. 11 - Fargo, N.D. @ Fargodome ^
Aug. 13 - Omaha, Neb. @ Charles Schwab Field Omaha ^
Aug. 16 - Tulsa, Okla. @ H.A. Chapman Stadium ^
Aug. 18 - El Paso, Texas @ Sun Bowl Stadium ^
^ with Alice Cooper
* Festival Date
Motley Crue + Def Leppard Play First 2023 Show (with Debut of John 5)
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