Legendary Rock Guitarist, 62, Gets Praise From Fans After Brave Stage Return

Vivian Campbell is back. The Def Leppard guitarist, 62, is celebrating his return to the concert stage eight months after he was sidelined with a health procedure.

In January, Campbell went through a bone marrow transplant as part of his treatment in his battle against Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The procedure appears to have been successful as Campbell posted on Instagram on May 15, “Great to be back in the game” along with a black-and-white photo shot by Ryan Sebastyan of the guitarist onstage. That night the band played at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot in San Juan.

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Fans reacted excitedly to the news, including some notables.

“See you this weekend Viv!” wrote Sirius/XM radio personality Eddie Trunk, while photographer Sebastyan added, “My bestie is back!!! 🙌🙌.”

“That’s my buddy. Fighting that s**t off and strapping on his Paul. Very happy for you my brother,” added another.

“I’ve seriously prayed for this day for you! So good to see you on stage. ❤️,” another fan added.

Related: Legendary Band Fires Drummer for Second Time in a Month

Back in January, Def Leppard’s Facebook account shared a message from Campbell about his health battle.

“Thank you for all the recent messages and support. As you all may know, I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma several years ago. I recently had a bone marrow transplant as part of my treatment plan, and it’s safe to say that thus far it’s been a very successful transplant! I just have to keep my head down and my spirits up for the next 100 days of primary recovery,” he wrote.

Since then, Campbell has been counting down the days until he was able to get back on stage. “Almost time to go back to work. So excited!” he wrote on Instagram on April 8 along with a photo of his guitar and a small amplifier.

The post was greeted by a ❤️emoji by his bandmate, Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen, who has been through his own struggles. He lost his left arm in a tragic car accident on Dec. 31, 1984, and had to relearn to play the drums on a specially designed electronic drum kit.