From: "Mike N. Reinemann" Date sent: Wed, 3 Nov 1999 23:45:10 -0500 Subject: The Euphoria Continues Posted by Janet Crum on LepNet ====================== U Magazine Gulf News, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Nov. 1, 1999: The Euphoria Continues Def Leppard, which emerged from Sheffield as part of the New Wave of British hard rock in the '70s, toned down rock's traditional heavy riffs, emphasising more on melody. The band is in Dubai as part of their Euphoria Tour. Leslie Wilson Jr. interviewed Joe Elliot, lead vocalist of Def Leppard. He unveils their untold story. Read on... "We just can't wait to get to Dubai. We're really excited about playing there, and in Abu Dhabi. For us it's a whole new experience and adventure. When we go somewhere we've never been, it makes everything a little bit more exciting..." Def Leppard's cheerleader, matador, spokesperson, and lest we forget, lead vocalist, Joe Elliott, makes the admission to this writer in a telephonic chat from the U.K. with very little prompting and no hint of fraudulence. "I've always believed that a lot of what we have to do, is to take what we do, to places we've never been to. That's why the shows in the Middle East are so important to us." Def Leppard are kicking back on the road to promote their newest album, Euphoria. "We really like the sound of our new album. It's probably one of the best we've ever done," stresses Elliott, who formed Def Leppard back in 1977 with bassist Rick Savage and drummer Rick Allen. The band, which emerged from Sheffield as part of the new wave of British Hard Rock, actually owed more to the glam-rock and metal of the early '70s. By toning down rock's traditional heavy riffs and emphasising more on melody, Def Leppard skilfully used the fledgling MTV culture to their advantage. Blessed with photogenic good looks and an ability to craft a series of exciting rock songs and videos, the band were a certified hit. By the middle of the '80s they were considered the definitive hard-rock band of the decade, if not era. Many bands have rocked harder and in ways, more flamboyantly, like Steve Tyler's Aerosmith for one, but few were able to capture the spirit of the times and take a music that was soon to be sub-classified as 'stadium rock' to a higher level. There followed a series of chartbusting albums ­ On Through The Night ('80), High 'n Dry ('81), Pyromania ('83), Hysteria ('87), Adrenalize ('93) and Retro Active ('93) and Def Leppard were recognised as one of the most popular rock bands in the world. Despite their success, they were about to suffer two strokes of misfortune. First, drummer Allen lost his left arm in a new year's eve car accident and then guitarist Steve Clark died from an overdose of illegal substance and liquor. However, the band recovered, gaining strength and confidence from their attitude and virtuoso. As a further tribute to their skills and resilience, they followed up '95s Vault, a greatest hits collection, with more gigs and concerts. Then came Euphoria and the Dubai gig. Elliott has experienced it all, the highs and the lows, of being a rock star and he shared his memories with U magazine. On what it takes... I've been doing this thing for over 20 years and it gets better and better every day. The more I do it the more I like it. I love the touring, playing in front of people... the whole aspect of being a rock star is great. I can't think of ever wanting to be anything else. I do find it hard to switch off. After so many years, it seems like it's all I can do and want to do! Earliest influences... When I was four or five years, I used to pretend I was Paul McCartney, with a little plastic guitar. So you could say the Beatles were my first influence, but it also had a lot to do with what my Mum and Dad were listening to, the radio and stuff like that. Also I remember liking the Rolling Stones. But when I grew up and started discovering my own music, I was heavily influenced by the 'glam' bands like Slade, T-Rex and Sweet. Guys like Mott The Hoople. They made a big impact on me. What I liked was they brought three-minute rock songs back, rather than the eight and 10 minute numbers some of the progressive bands at the time were doing. I liked the sound of 'glam' bands... I also liked the short, sharp songs. His role in Def Leppard... Def Leppard is pretty much a co-operative thing. The best idea wins, sometimes that one idea can come from everybody, and sometimes somebody has 10 great ideas. My role, first and foremost, is just to be the singer. But as somebody once said, 'there's always more to being in a band than being in a band'. When I go on stage I'm like a cheerleader, a bullfighter, a matador, a spokesperson. Right now I'm the guy you're talking to. I'm part of a very well organised team. On the image factor... Image is kinda important, but no matter what image you present, you've got to have the songs, the right songs. An image is subjective. Some people don't have an image and that becomes their image. With us we've always tried to present the band as best we can. TV is important too, because it helps portray your image, but I always believe that radio will be more important. As a result, we've always seen our songs as a means, not an end. We are always willing to try anything in the interests of furthering a song or sharpening a hook. On their best album... We've always been trying to craft the perfect album, one that nobody has ever made before. that's why we took our time between albums. There's four years between Pyromania and Hysteria and five between Hysteria and Adrenalize. I think from the earlier stuff, Hysteria would probably be one of our strongest albums. But I believe that Euphoria almost matches it. We won't really be able to judge it properly untill it's a few years older. But I can confidently say that Euphoria is one of the best albums we've ever done. On their best song... Paper Sun, from Euphoria, is everybody's current favourite. I also like In Your Face a lot. It's hard to really say which is the best song, because we like them all, as such there isn't any say 'favourite' sort of thing. But since you asked, I would say Pour Some Sugar On Me from Hysteria is a standout. It's hard-hitting as it's slick and it has become a sort of standard bearer for pop metal. Best gig... Playing at Sheffield, no question about it. There were over 40,000 fans and it was our first hometown gig, the first big concert in Sheffield. Since then Bon Jovi and the Rolling Stones have played there. But we were the first and it sticks in our minds. Size of record collection... Huge. Anything above 3,000 albums. Most of them are rock by nature, but there's a lot of other stuff as well. I buy a lot of records. Song you wish you had written... >From an artistic point of view, All The Young Dudes which David Bowie wrote and Mott The Hoople covered and turned into an album. From a financial point of view, anything by the Beatles. Band you wish you played with... I'd love to have played with the Beatles, they were my first memorable influence. Also the Rolling Stones, Mott The Hoople, maybe Elvis, Jimi Hendrix, T-Rex, because I never ever did get to see them perform live. I go to a lot of concerts. I've seen the Stones, Pink Floyd, Led Zepplin, Oasis, Prince. But it's disappointing not to have seen guys like Elvis and Hendrix. I also never ever got to see Mott The Hoople. Best rock vocalist (besides himself!)... Paul Rodgers. It has to be him. He's easily the best singer rock ever produced. The stuff he did with Free, Bad Company and individually was like no one else. There were some great singers like Zepplin's Robert Plant and Rod Stewart when he was with the Faces. I particularly didn't think too much of Ian Gillian. He did some good stuff with Deep Purple early on, but he's a bit over-rated, I'd say. Paul Rodgers is the guy for me. He's the real master. Five favourite albums... Closing Time by Tom Waits ('73), Appetitie For Destruction by Guns 'n' Roses ('87), Mott by Mott The Hoople ('73), The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust by David Bowie ('72) and Physical Grafitti by Led Zepplin ('75). On the current music trends... The word trend shouldn't apply to music, but it does. When something new comes along there's good and bad within. Much of the current stuff is not necessarily my taste. I'm not into dance music. I like my music to be more earthy, more real... a little more reliant on people thinking and playing, instead of just using programmable machines. -----------------