DEF LEPPARD Frontman JOE ELLIOTT – “We Were Always Sabbath Fans But Never Wanted To Be BLACK SABBATH… We Never Wanted To Be That Heavy”

In a new interview with The List, Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott discusses the band’s new self-title album, their beginnings, and what attracted Elliott to rock in the first place.

Q: Def Leppard seem to be in high demand again how’s the tour going?

A: “Amazing really. You turn up in Birmingham, Alabama, and there’s 18,000 people or 22,000 in Salt Lake City, 20,000 in Indianapolis. We’ve sold out so many shows, probably the most tickets we’ve sold since the Hysteria tour. And that’s without the new album even being out. I think there’s a survival of the fittest which already adds onto you tag as an iconic rock band or whatever people think we are. We’ve had the same line up for 23 years, it’s the real deal and I think that makes a big difference.”

Q: How did you first get together?

A: “I kinda started it I suppose. Rick Savage [bass] brought Pete Willis [guitar] and Tony Kenning [drums] round to my mum and dad’s house. They wanted to be a band but couldn’t find a singer. I bumped into Pete one day by accident, if I’d have caught the bus I was supposed to catch I wouldn’t have seen him, sliding doors moment big time. I bumped into Pete: ‘do you wanna get a band together Pete?’; ‘We’ve already got one, we’re looking for a singer’; ‘I’ll do it!’ And they’re round at my house two days later and I got the gig because I had a fantastic record collection. It was that organic. When you look back on it it’s ridiculous but it worked.”

Q: And what attracted you to rock in the first place?

A: “It was always going to be along the lines of what I grew up listening to, when they all came round and say my record collection they all saw we listened to the same stuff. The harder edged stuff was Queen, AC/DC, Zeppelin but also the pop stuff: Slade, The Sweet, Mott the Hoople, T-Rex, David Bowie. The first song we ever learned to play was “Suffragette City” it wasn’t “Paranoid”. We were always Sabbath fans but never wanted to be Black Sabbath. We never wanted to be that heavy. We wanted the power of AC/DC mixed with the variety of Queen – that was the perfect blueprint for a rock band.”

Read the complete interview at The List.

Def Leppard’s new self-titled studio album (Mailboat Records) debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Top Rock Albums and Top Independent Albums charts. The album also took the #5 spot on Billboard’s Top Current Albums, #10 spot on the Top 200 and #9 on the Overall Digital Album Sales chart, as well as claiming 15 top 10 debuts around the world.

Def Leppard was recorded earlier this year at frontman Joe Elliott’s studio in Dublin, Ireland. The release features 14 tracks in total and marks their first new collection of material in seven years.

Def Leppard tracklisting:
“Let’s Go”
“Dangerous”
“Man Enough”
“We Belong”
“Invincible”
“Sea Of Love”
“Energized”
“All Time High”
“Battle Of My Own”
“Broke ‘N’ Brokenhearted”
“Forever Young”
“Last Dance”
“Wings Of An Angel”
“Blind Faith”

Bonus tracks:
“Last Dance” (Demo) (Japan)
“We Belong” (Alternative Vocal Take) (Classic Rock Fanpack)

“Let’s Go” (UK radio edit) (Classic Rock Fanpack)

Album promo:

“Let’s Go” video:

“Dangerous”:

Album commentary videos:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3: