http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2008/jun/01/9

Me and my travels (Joe Elliott)

    * Interview by Jon Bennett
    * The Observer,
    * Sunday June 1 2008

The best holiday ...
I ever had was the first one I went on without my parents, when I was 17. Me 
and a bunch of lads went to stay in a B&B in Skegness. There were eight of us 
and, oh man, we had a laugh; it was completely mad - pogoing to the Stranglers 
in nightclubs, locking lads out of their room so that they would have to climb 
over the roof naked. I'd never drunk before and it was just girls, beer and 
vomiting and then more of the same. It probably prepared me for life on the 
road.

My first holiday ...
Was in a static caravan in Wales. We used to go to caravan parks around 
Anglesey and all you had was Radio Luxembourg, no TV, and if it rained the 
caravan would rock and sink into the mud. Entertainment was playing Scrabble, 
but it was great.

My favourite hotel ...
To be honest, I'm a bit of a snob now; give me a Four Seasons anywhere in the 
world and I'm happy. Also, they've just opened a Ritz-Carlton in County 
Wicklow, Ireland, which is stunning and has great views.

To get around on tour ...
We used to have our own plane with the band's name on the side. It was a dream 
come true. You drive to a local airport. There's none of this checking in 
stuff; you just get on the plane. It was only a little 12-seater - it wasn't 
like a Led Zeppelin Boeing 757 that we'd hollowed out and put condom machines 
and stripper poles in. It was Elvis's old plane, a G1, the only one that he 
physically flew. It was still in service so we rented it. You don't buy a plane 
if you're going to be on the road; you rent it. It was painted black and had 
purple trim with Def Leppard on the side, which is a bit cheesy but you've got 
to do it.

We gave up on the plane ...
After we went through a bit of turbulence and the plane shot 1,500 feet into 
the air in a second and a half and the propellers were about to freeze, so the 
pilots had to nose-dive the plane. That gave us zero gravity for about a second 
and a half so everything in the plane started to float, including us, and when 
we got gravity back we shot backwards at 220mph into a toilet door. Three of 
the band decided after that they didn't want to fly any more. I took it as a 
glitch and would still like the plane, but the majority vote wins. When we went 
back to buses we split into three different units. You've got a veggie bus, a 
family bus and the attack bus, which is the one with the drinking and the music 
that I'm on.

It took us 10 years ...
To do well in Britain. We started in 1977 and didn't have a hit here until 1987 
but at the same time we were almost outselling Michael Jackson in the States. 
Touring over there was great, much easier than going round Europe because of 
the lack of borders. Here you would get to the German border and the Gestapo 
would have your hubcaps off looking for dope and keep you there for three hours 
just because you had long hair. Six weeks of that and you never want to go back.

The best audience in the world ...
Much as I'd rather say Sheffield, it is Montreal. Why, I do not know. I mean, 
they're half-French, for Christ's sake, but they get it. It's weird.

I'd love to never go back ...
To Belgium but, sadly, I'm going there this summer. When we played there last 
time I felt like we were a cinema screen; they were just sat there watching us 
with their arms folded.

This summer ...
We're off touring Europe, and then we head back to the UK with Whitesnake. I'm 
really looking forward to it. I love the fact we're still on the road. I was 
born to be a factory worker really, so for me the chance to get on stage at 
Wembley 30 years after we started is amazing.

- Def Leppard's album, Songs from the Sparkle Lounge, is out now. The band are 
touring in June and July. More info is available at defleppard.com