00:00As a rock and roll hall of famer, songwriters, hall of fame member, lifetime member that I
00:10actually saw in his new book, the card that makes him a lifetime member. Of course, singer,
00:17songwriter, guitarist, actor, author, philanthropist, ringleader of the band Bon Jovi,
00:24Jon Bon Jovi. Thank you, Bob. I am Jon Bon Jovi and I am a Def Leppard fan. I was a fan before I
00:48became a friend. Before I had ever written Runaway, I heard the band from Sheffield who
00:53were bringing on the heartbreak. These guys were my age from a working class city called Sheffield
00:59in England, which was thousands of miles away from a place called Sayreville in New Jersey.
01:05Yet there was something that I was drawn to. The melody, the guitars, the young guys with the
01:11audacity to put it out there in front of major recording acts and not flinch. We first met in
01:171986 on a festival show in Germany and I quickly realized that these guys were going to be my
01:23friends. They had just come off the huge success of Pyromania with monster songs that defined what
01:30rock radio would sound like. And Bon Jovi was just releasing our third album, Slippery When Wet.
01:35We hit it off immediately. Hanging out with Joe and the guys felt like hanging with my own band,
01:41but with a different accent. We stayed in touch. And as they went on to record Asteria and we recorded
01:49New Jersey, it was the MTV era and what we refer to as the gold rush. Now, there have been many a long
01:57night in various cities after each other's shows and many celebrations, fun times and laughs, and even
02:05the heartbreaks and loss. There's just some things that you're able to share with a brother from across
02:11the ocean that you just both understand. The music at Def Leppard was born and raised in our
02:18generation, but has continued to reach new audiences who have made it their own for four decades and
02:24counting. Their work ethic, their resilience, their ability to tour year after year, their influence
02:31on some of music's biggest names, including the reigning queen, Taylor Swift, is legendary.
02:36Their legacy is, in fact, etched in stone. From their induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
02:43to this spot on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the name Def Leppard will always be. So to my friends,
02:51Joe, Sav, Phil, Vivian, and Rick, I want you to know that I am grateful that I was the one that you
02:57asked to celebrate this honor by inducting you on this day. May our friendship grow, but never grow old.
03:06I hope you guys love this day and live forever on this, the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
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