My Dream Setlist for Def Leppard’s February 2026 Las Vegas Residency (Part 1)

Photo of Def Leppard by Ross Halfin

When Def Leppard first announced they were planning a Las Vegas residency from February 3-28, 2026, I knew without a doubt that I wanted to create a dream setlist for their residency. The dilemma, however, is they’re going to do three shows a week; on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. That means they have the opportunity to play three different setlists throughout their stay in Sin City. While discussing this with my mom, she suggested I come up with three different dream setlists, instead of one. I was hesitant to do so, at first, because creating concert setlists is a lot of work, but because Def Leppard are my favorite band and I have the freedom to pick whatever songs I want from their discography, I’ll make an exception! This isn’t the first time I did a dream setlist for them, so if you’re curious, feel free to check out that post right here (after reading this one, of course). With all that said, let’s get on with the music!

The lights are down and suddenly, lead vocalist Joe Elliott screams, “I said, welcome to my show!,” which is the opening line to “Stagefright” from Pyromania (1983). The crowd cheers louder and louder by the minute, before the band kicks the song into full gear! Next song is “Animal” from Hysteria (1987), one of their many hits they play nonstop. Hey, gotta get on the crowd’s good side after shocking the casual fans with a deep cut, right? Before going into the next song, Elliott greets the audience and thanks them for coming to their Las Vegas residency at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace. He goes on to say they’re going to hear the hits and some songs they haven’t played in a long time, including this one, “Nine Lives” from Songs from the Sparkle Lounge (2008), where they get to embrace their country persona. As mentioned in The Best Song from Every Def Leppard Studio Album post, “Hallucinate” would be a better choice because it’s a typical Def Leppard rocker, but the chorus in “Nine Lives” freaking slaps! Therefore, I’m leaving it as is.

Next up is a song that the band recently started playing live only last year, surprisingly enough, which is “Comin’ Under Fire” from Pyromania, and the die-hard fans are loving every minute of it! Sticking on the Pyromania route, the band busts out “Too Late for Love.” I always loved the “ohhhhh” parts during the chorus because they’re easy to sing along with. As a real treat for the die-hards, the next song on the agenda is “Rock Brigade” from On Through the Night (1980), the band’s debut album, which celebrated its 45th anniversary this past March. Yep, guitarists Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell are allowed to go nuts on the guitar, and be as loud as they want!

Moving onto Def Leppard’s sophomore album, High ‘n’ Dry (1981), the band plays “Another Hit and Run,” one of my favorite bangers from that album! When they played it for their 2013 Las Vegas residency as Ded Flatbird, I was so into it; I hope they consider adding this song to their setlist for the new residency because again, it’s a banger! We’ll take a short break from High ‘n’ Dry to show appreciation for a song that was recorded during the Hysteria sessions, but was re-recorded and released on the Adrenalize (1992) album instead, “Tear It Down.” In a way, this song is another tribute to former guitarist Steve Clark since that was his baby and unfortunately, it was the last song he performed live with Def Leppard before his death in January 1991. The riff, though, my gosh, I can imagine the band nailing this one if they gave it another shot. Going back to High ‘n’ Dry, the band plays one of their biggest hits, “Bringin’ on the Heartbreak,” which I’m not going to lie, I’m getting sick of this song, but gotta please the casual fans; oh well. The only good thing about this song is it leads into the instrumental, “Switch 625,” which eventually leads into drummer Rick Allen’s triumphant and iconic drum solo.

After a short break, Def Leppard return to the stage for the acoustic portion of the show and each member comes out on stage, one by one, like how it was done during their 2019 Las Vegas residency. Elliott says to the audience, “When we did these acoustic sets at our previous Las Vegas residency, which seems like forever ago, we enjoyed them so much that we made an unanimous decision to bring them back for this current Las Vegas residency at the lovely Colosseum at Caesars Palace. As mentioned earlier, we’re going to play some we haven’t played in a long time including this one!” This leads into one of my favorite songs from Slang (1996), “Where Does Love Go When It Dies.” Once the song ends, Elliott introduces one of the two songs on the setlist that they’ve never played live before and it’s from the band’s most recent studio album, Diamond Star Halos (2022), “Liquid Dust,” which actually works well with the acoustic setting because of its simplicity. Next up is one of the band’s most underrated ballads, in my humble opinion, “Long, Long Way to Go” from the X (2002) album. You know, Def Leppard should really consider giving “Love Bites” a break and replacing it with “Long, Long Way to Go” because it’s got all the same factors the former has: big harmonies, a memorable chorus, gorgeous guitar melodies, and passionate vocals from Elliott. The last song in the acoustic set is one they’ve played many, many times; “Two Steps Behind” from Retro Active (1993).

After another break, the band returns for the next song, “Stand Up (Kick Love Into Motion)” from Adrenalize, also known as the greatest song Def Leppard never played live. To set the mood just right, the lights are dim at the intro before bringing them back to life, once Allen’s drums kick in. Afterwards, Rick Savage plays a familiar bass line that we haven’t heard live in a while; the song is “Gods of War” from Hysteria. Campbell mentioned in a previous tour vlog that it’s a tricky song to play live because of the unique and somewhat bizarre riffs Clark created. However, he likes a challenge and I know he’ll be fine. The next song on the agenda is one that sums up Def Leppard perfectly, “Undefeated” from Mirror Ball: Live & More (2011). Being one of the more rocking tunes from their latter catalog, the band has a lot of fun with this one.

For the casual fans, the band busts out three Hysteria bangers. Up first is the title track, which features gorgeous visuals on the screens. In my review for Def Leppard’s London to Vegas box set, I complained about the visuals being somewhat distracting, but I get that they add to the vibe of their shows and that’s fine! Then, Elliott introduces the new boy of the band, Vivian Campbell, who kicks off one of my favorites from Hysteria, “Armageddon It.” Next up is a song that’s near and dear to my heart because I sang it all the time in college, “Pour Some Sugar on Me.” Elliott’s vocals aren’t what they used to be, but the backing vocals from Savage, Collen, and Campbell are so tight that they really enhance the performance. Elliott says good night to the crowd and that’s it, or is it?

For the encore, the band busts out “Mirror Mirror (Look Into My Eyes)” from High ‘n’ Dry, which is perfectly fine with me! Virtually watching them perform this song on their 2019 Las Vegas residency, it was like a dream come true because the band doesn’t play enough material from that album, other than “Let It Go,” “Bringin’ on the Heartbreak,” and “Switch 625.” The last two songs go together like ketchup and mustard, and they’re both from the Pyromania album. Elliott asks the audience if they can make a little more noise for the boy in the back, Mr. Rick Allen. Afterwards, he counts off “Rock of Ages” with those four magical words: “Gunter gleiben glauchen globen.” You bet your butt I’m going to shout, “Let’s go, Phil!” when his guitar solo comes on. Finally, Collen and Campbell walk to the front of the stage, and the band effortlessly transitions into “Photograph.” Recently, the screens have this old camera film thing going on where the photos are hung on a line and it’s very old-school, which I dig a lot! The photos also pay tribute to the band’s history, everything from the early days with former guitarists Pete Willis and Clark to the present day with Campbell, who’s been with them since 1992. 

Once “Photograph” ends, the band walks to the front of the stage, thanks the audience for coming, says their goodbyes, and that’s it! Well, that’s it for the first night of the week. As mentioned earlier, Def Leppard will do three shows a week on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. I tried my best to include the necessary hits mixed in with the deep cuts for the first setlist, but not to quote the band, we’ve still got a “long, long way to go.” Yes, the hits are important because it’s a nostalgia thing, but the deep cuts are just as important because they keep the show interesting for both the audience and the band, who have to play these songs continuously. The hits such as “Hysteria,” “Rock of Ages,” and “Photograph” will remain in the setlist for the next two nights, but there’ll be plenty more deep cuts to look forward to! Stick around to see what tricks I have up my sleeve for part two of my dream setlist for Def Leppard’s February 2026 Las Vegas residency!

Dream Concert Setlist (Tuesday)

1. “Stagefright” from Pyromania (1983)

2. “Animal” from Hysteria (1987)

3. “Nine Lives” from Songs from the Sparkle Lounge (2008)

4. “Comin’ Under Fire” from Pyromania (1983)

5. “Too Late for Love” from Pyromania (1983)

6. “Rock Brigade” from On Through the Night (1980)

7. “Another Hit and Run” from High ‘n’ Dry (1981)

8. “Tear It Down” from Adrenalize (1992)

9. “Bringin’ on the Heartbreak” from High ‘n’ Dry (1981)

10. “Switch 625” from High ‘n’ Dry (1981)

11. “Where Does Love Go When It Dies” from Slang (1996) (ACOUSTIC SET BEGINS)

12. “Liquid Dust” from Diamond Star Halos (2022)

13. “Long, Long Way to Go” from X (2002)

14. “Two Steps Behind” from Retro Active (1993) (ACOUSTIC SET ENDS)

15. “Stand Up (Kick Love Into Motion)” from Adrenalize (1992)

16. “Gods of War” from Hysteria (1987)

17. “Undefeated” from Mirror Ball: Live & More (2011)

18. “Hysteria” from Hysteria (1987)

19. “Armageddon It” from Hysteria (1987)

20. “Pour Some Sugar on Me” from Hysteria (1987)

21. “Mirror Mirror (Look Into My Eyes)” from High ‘n’ Dry (1981) (ENCORE BEGINS)

22. “Rock of Ages” from Pyromania (1983)

23. “Photograph” from Pyromania (1983) (ENCORE ENDS)

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Lana