Def Leppard did something on this day in 1995, no band had ever done before: they performed three full sets in three different continents in one day.

In support of their first greatest hits album, Vault, the Brits hopped on a plane and jetted to Tangiers, Morocco to play a spot no modern artist had ever performed, the mysterious Caves of Hercules.

Before the gig, bassist Rick Savage and vocalist Joe Elliott were asked about the unusual venue for the 24 hours that would get them into the Guinness Book of World Records.

"We've played some strange gigs in our career. We've never played in a cave before. It will probably sound like a big empty cave," Savage said.

"Yeah toilets, lots of toilets but never a cave," joked Elliott. "Yeah I just hope that there's no bats that come flying out when we hit the first chord. Never been to Morocco before. This is a first for I think everybody in the band."

For most of its existence it was believed the caves were bottomless. While modern science burst that bubble, the merry men of Elliott, Savage, Rick Allen (drums), Phil Collen (guitar), and Vivian Campbell (guitar) put the caves back on the map that day as they played an acoustic set of their hits and covers by David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, and T. Rex.

Although the gigs are supposed to be acoustic for the exception of Allen's drums, Savage's acoustic bass never made the flight to Africa so the roadies had to find him an electric one, which is seen in the photo above.

Next the band flew to London, England where they played to 600 fans at the Bottom Line.

"The London gig was great, apart from Sav's acoustic bass not working," Allen said on his way to the airport after the show.

"It was nice to see a few more fans - a good five or six hundred people. There was some good banter between us. Now we have to pack for a nine-and-a-half-hour flight to Vancouver," he said.

Who booked this barnstorm gimmick? Surely there are ways to hit three continents without having to fly nearly 10 hours to get from the second gig to the third?

Perhaps it was less about the practicality and more about the publicity. It worked. The band was covered in all the press, from music news, to MTV, and even the Associated Press.

After London, they flew to Vancouver, Canada for the final gig.

In what must have seemed like an eternity, the band flew all the way to the western part of Canada from London and didn't get on stage until about a half hour after they had planned to rock out to the lucky contest winners and VIPs in Vancouver.

Once there all the equipment worked. Joe's voice did its thing. And the sound at the iconic Commodore Ballroom was spot on.

The band played many of their hits, covers, and even a tune that would eventually come out on their forthcoming album, "Where Does Love Go When It Dies," that the ghosts in Hercules' caves didn't get to hear.

"The audience was stunning," Elliott said. "It was like Beatlemania, with people moshing - moshing! - during our acoustic set. It's great to be back in America knowing that we can still be as valid as ever in '95."

America? Technically Canada is in North America, so we'll let it pass.

Because their travel agent was a bit crazy (granted this was pre-Internet), after the Commodore show, the boys got on another plane for a epically long trip to Asia for their next promotion. Elliott was game for it though.

"By the time we'd finished the set I was so buzzing I wasn't tired any more," the singer said. "Me and my girlfriend stayed up all night and had some drinks, and we're straight off to Singapore on a 22-hour flight tomorrow. Somehow I'll lose a Wednesday because of it all. I want my Wednesday back!"

Savage agreed, "You wouldn't want to do [the three continent gimmick] every week, but we have fond memories of it. It was a good idea to finish in Canada, because the Canadians have been very very supportive and the audience is possibly one of the best."

Speaking of Asia, that's where Def Leppard will be come November. Catch them as they rock a pair of gigs in Yokohama then they jet to Australia for a few dates in a co-headlining tour with Motley Crue.

Tickets available on the Def Leppard website.