VIVIAN CAMPBELL news concerts

The 63-year-old Belfast rocker was diagnosed with the blood cancer Hodgkin’s lymphoma back in 2013 and, alongside still performing with Def Leppard and Last in Line, he has received numerous treatments over the years.

In January 2025, Vivian underwent « very hardcore chemo » leading up to a bone marrow transplant, and he told fans afterwards he was « overjoyed » to announce he was « completely in remission for the first time in 12 or 13 years. »

In a new interview with El Salvador radio station Radio YSKL FM, Vivian revealed that his cancer has returned, however it doesn’t affect his positive outlook on life.

« Well, I think you have to keep moving forward and I do think that that’s what helped me, even when I was at a really low ebb with cancer treatment,” he said.

« The fact that I could still continue to work, that gives me something to live for, something that you enjoy, that you’re passionate about, that you can wake up in the morning and look forward to. I think that deflects, that takes away from focusing too much on cancer. »

« There’s only been one time that I felt it was gonna kill me,” Vivian admitted. “In the winter of 2023, I got really scared about what was happening and the pace at which it was happening.

« I realised at that point that I had to do a donor transplant. It was my only hope to survive. And that’s what I did. I did that in January of ’25. I did a donor transplant.

« Unfortunately, it didn’t stick. So the cancer has returned. And I’m continuing treatments to manage it.

« I’ll probably have to do another transplant within a few years with another donor to try and see if maybe that would cure me. But in the meantime, I’m certainly not slowing down. I’m doing as much with my life as possible, not just with Def Leppard and Last in Line. I’m also rally driving because I always wanted to do that. »

Everyone at Planet Rock wishes Viv the very best with his ongoing treatment