POISON frontman Bret Michaels has confirmed that his band is in talks to tour with DEF LEPPARD later in the year.

Speaking to CNN about his upcoming activities, Michaels said,

"I've got a huge announcement, which actually just happened this morning. DEF LEPPARD and POISON are gonna go out on the road this summer. And the reason that's exciting for me [is] I know it will be the rock tour this summer."

"POISON and DEF LEPPARD, with all those big hits, being out there, we put out a great show, we've got a huge fanbase, but the one thing the fans get, we always keep the ticket prices down and deliver an absolutely awesome, kick-ass rock show."

The announcement of a possible tour featuring POISON and DEF LEPPARD will undoubtely come as a surprise to most fans of the two heavyweight rock acts, both of whom have continued to do good business on the road despite the fact their most recent studio albums have failed to light up the charts.

Last summer, POISON was involved in a war of words with DEF LEPPARD singer Joe Elliott over Elliott's comments at a June 2008 press conference at the Sweden Rock Festival, in which Joe said bands like POISON and MÖTLEY CRÜE had ‘no substance in their music’ and therefore relied more on their image in the '80s.

Michaels held his own press conference the next day and responded to Elliott's comments, saying, ‘We have not sold out, and continuously, for 20 years every arena because we care about just our appearance. The music comes first.’ He then added, ‘(DEF LEPPARD) shouldn't be knocking anyone about their music since they just did a show called 'Dancing With The Stars' in the U.S. and they got crucified because they fucking lip-synched the entire show, so before they bust anyone's balls, I've never lip-synched a fucking thing in my life — ever! It's the pot calling the kettle black."

The Tangra interviewВ with Joe Elliot madeВ a big buzz international buzzВ В as well as JoeВ saidВ "Ronnie James Dio Go Fuck yourself"В В 

See more pictures from the Def Leppard/Whitesnake show in Sofia 2008.