Def Leppard recently shared a tour diary giving fans a behind-the-scenes look at their recent shows in Bogotá, Colombia, and Lima, Peru, which weren’t easy thanks to the high altitude in the countries.
The clip shows the band doing their best to get used to the altitude, with frontman Joe Elliott drinking coca tea. He jokes it was “a bit f****** late for me,” likely referring to his brief hospitalization before the Bogotá show.
While Elliott says he “felt absolutely zero complications with altitude sickness” during the concert, he was a “different guy” before the show. He wonders if the altitude may have played a role in Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins’ death.
Foo Fighters celebrated Taylor Hawkins’ memory and music at a special gig in London on Saturday, September 3. Hawkins, the band’s drummer since 1997, died in Bogotá, Colombia on March 25. He was 50 years old. Foo Fighters performed for a couple of hours at Wembley Stadium for a special tribute show for the late band drummer Taylor Hawkins. ‘The Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concerts’ also took place at LA’s Kia Forum on September 27
Elliott said that the band was staying at the Four Seasons, which is where Taylor passed away, and shares, “I wonder whether altitude had something to do with his death because it’s a bastard. It really is.”
He adds, “To do a gig eight-and-a-half million feet above sea level, not easy.”
