DEF LEPPARD’S JOE ELLIOTT SAYS “NOBODY ELSE..SEEMS TO BE COMING THROUGH TO TAKE OVER [ROCK N’ ROLL]”
Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott recently spoke with the Associated Press. Fox 411 posted highlights from the interview and they appear below.
AP: Is Jethro Tull’s song Too Old to Rock and Roll: Too Young to Die! still relevant?
Elliott: He was probably just in his late 20s when he wrote it. Now (Jethro Tull frontman) Ian Anderson is in his 60s and still making great music. … Age doesn’t matter anymore. That’s the one thing that’s become a pattern over the last seven or eight years, with (Paul) McCartney still out there and the (Rolling) Stones still out there, and even Aerosmith and AC/DC getting up there. Billy Joel, Elton John. These are people that have been around since the ’60s and they’re still selling stadiums out. There’s nobody else that seems to be coming through to take over. They’re not stepping aside, they’re fighting. They’re fighting us, and we’re fighting the generation below us.
AP: Why do you keep going back out on the road?
Elliott: My generation grew up watching bands live. Yeah, we loved albums, but we never thought about how they were made. They just appeared. And you’d see the tours being announced. … I think that’s what attracted me to it. Seeing those people onstage and how us down on the floor were looking and cheering and going crazy, thinking this is pretty cool. I’d like some of that. I think that it’s the attraction of playing in front of people and creating music so you can go out and do that is what keeps us going.
AP: Did you have any idea that you would remain relevant for so long?
Elliott: No, not at all. When we first got together in ’77, ’78, there was no such thing as a band that had been around for 35 years.
AP: How did the new album come about?
Elliott: We got together in February 2014 for a month with the full intention of … just recording a couple of songs, maybe putting out an EP. By the end of February, we got 12 songs written, so we (were) like ‘Oh, ahh, I think we’ve got an album here’ by accident rather than design.
AP: Will you play anything from the new album on this tour?
Elliott: We won’t be playing any new songs because they just end up on YouTube in a really bad version filmed on somebody’s iPhone. We’ll play them when the album comes out and not just let them drift out into the ether.
AP: Has there been a shift in the so-called “rock star” lifestyle?
Elliott: We weren’t monks in the 1980s, but we weren’t as bad as everybody made out. We aren’t as boring as people might think, but we’re not exactly Motley Crue. … When we were doing ‘Pyromania’ and ‘Hysteria,’ we were all single and we didn’t have kids. Now we’re all married with children, so life has changed. Music is very important, but family is more important. Let’s be honest, we have to juggle both. It’s a case of getting everybody onboard.
In addition to a new album, Def Leppard have announced a summer tour with Tesla and Styx. Tour dates can be found here. Also, the band announced that they will be hosting a Caribbean cruise in 2016 called, Hysteria On The High Seas. More information about this event can be found here.
additional source: foxnews.com/entertainment
Blackberry Smoke and Rival Sons are two great rock bands.
So are The Pretty Reckless and Halestorm to name a few…
If Airbourne could get a bit more traction, they might be able to carry the baton. While they may sound a lot like AC/DC, at least they can fill the void of that classic sound, once these bands start to retire. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pn0w7vciQCE
Also, Kotzen is ridiculously talented and so underrated. He could easily wave the Rock N’ Roll flag as well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03fHvzOALFw
D from ET.com : )
Airbourne, absolutely!
Agreed, but what stadiums do these guys sell out or even play in?
Absolutely. They aren’t, and won’t be.
Is that your definition of a great rock band? Selling out a stadium? If that is your criteria, you are in for a lot of disappointment. The greatness of a rock band is not determined by the number of stadiums they sell out. Very naive point of view Michael B. Are you still getting money under your pillow when you lose a tooth?
Blackberry Smoke? The country rock? Hey, I like Molly Hatchet and Lynyrd Skynyrd too, but do we need a new and updated version with bland country rock?
No thanks.
Blackberry Smoke rocks! Give them a try.
More than just country, especially live.
Kinda like Skynyrd meets The Black Crows.
Check them out now, they’re gonna get huge.
Michael B following the “Ignorance is Bliss” philosophy of life.
Maybe you guys could put out a rock ‘n roll album quicker than 6-7 years.
Hey Eddie,
Still waiting on the taped piece with Joe Elliott that was supposed to be on TMS.
What’s the deal?
Bumped it because of Twisted Sister last week. Will get it in before end of season
Hey Eddie,
Glad to hear that I was wondering the same thing!!!! Joe appeared sorta perturbed that week on the show, not sure if it was the last minute deal or since he was doing the world wind promo for the upcoming tour.
I’m really digging the Moonkings album. I downloaded it after hearing Adrian Vandenberg on the podcast. It’s a great record.
There are some great rock bands out there. Rock fans find them and love them. But it’s going to take that perfect storm to knock down the wall that was put up in the 90’s. It’ll only take one band and the rest will follow. Unfortunately there isn’t an easy answer to how to make that happen. When the time is right and the right song or album comes along, the wall will come down and then all these great rock bands and lesser ones too will have their time to shine. But it’s long overdue.
On a side note, maybe if Def Leppard would step up and make another great album, it might help. They haven’t had a good album since Adrenalize, back in ’92. Yeah! Is a good album, but it’s all covers.