  |
|
|
|
Def Leppard on Whitesnake TourJoe Elliott Interview on Def Leppard's Arena Tour with Whitesnake
In this Def Leppard interview, singer Joe Elliott talks about surviving the 90s and Def Leppard's current tour with UK cock rockers Whitesnake.
With new album Songs From The Sparkle Lounge released in April, Sheffield rockers Def Leppard are currently touring the UK's arenas with David Coverdale's Whitesnake. Clash of the Rock TitansSuite 101: Def Leppard and Whitesnake – that's quite a Monsters Of Rock pairing you've got... Joe: “Well the last big shows we played in the UK we brought Cheap Trick and Alex Harvey along to make it the same kind of event we were putting on in America where the people come along to see an artist they know. No new bands want to tour with a band like us right now so we'll take a band that does. The downside is there's no new blood, the upside is there's not a song you've never heard. People get their money's worth. It seems to work well and it's going to work well when we go out with Whitesnake.” Suite 101: The 90s were tough on bands like Leppard...has the demand come back for the whole stadium rock spectacle? Joe: Oh yes, but they were tough for a lot of bands - they were tough for the 90s bands too because by the end of the 90s there were no 90s bands left. If we're talking about bands like Alice In Chains, Soundgarden, Nirvana, Pearl Jam and some of the lesser bands from that era in music, Pearl Jam are the only ones left. We knew it was going to be hard – it was even hard for people like Maiden who were a lot heavier than us and who you would think would have kept a rock fanbase. You just have to bide your time and by the late 90s the goalposts had started to come back in sight for us.” Def Leppard Unveil New SongsSuite 101: After touring on greatest hits and cover albums is it exciting to be heading out with a brand new set of material? Joe: “It is exciting. We've just finished the album and we're very excited about it. It's our 11th baby and it's not wrinkly yet and we're very proud of what we've achieved with it so far. Now we've got to take it and give it a run and see how we go. The most important thing is it gives me the opportunity to say the most important thing I will ever say in my life when it comes to being a performer: 'Here's a song from my new album.' Because if I don't get to say that, I'm a nostalgia act. And then I die. And I don't want that to happen.” A Crowd Pleasing Def Leppard SetlistSuite 101: Presumably though we'll still get all the classics... Joe: “When you're a band that's been around for nearly 30 years like we have, if we're going to play seven or eight new songs then we're going to go into a small arena and do it as an event. When it comes to playing a proper gig we're gonna be playing what people want to hear and what we want to play. We don't want to be Radiohead and try to impress the press. We want to impress our fans, and if kids travel to Sheffield from Scun*horpe or Doncaster or wherever they come from, they want to hear Sugar and Animal and Photograph and they're gonna get 'em. I've been to gigs where a band's played seven tracks off their new album and I've seen half the crowd turn round and leave. I've seen it from the audience's perspective because I've been stood right in the middle of it when it happened. We're not going to be playing all 11 tracks off Songs From The Sparkle Lounge – that's a foolish self-destruct button to push. It's all about breaking the new songs in gently.” Click here for more from Joe on his essential Def Leppard tracks. Or here for his most Spinal Tap moment.
The copyright of the article Def Leppard on Whitesnake Tour in Glam Metal is owned by Paul Travers. Permission to republish Def Leppard on Whitesnake Tour in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
|
|
|
|
