In a new interview with Steve Baltin for Forbes, Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott discusses the band's nomination for possible induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, and how the greatest thing about the Rock Hall honor to him would be sharing it with the Leppard fans.

An excerpt from the interview follows:

Forbes: You're part of a long lineage and in a few months you could be in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame with them.

Joe Elliott: "We weren't looking for accolades when we got together as kids. We just wanted to be part of everything we grew up listening to. It was like, 'Wouldn't it be great if we could jump on this mad crazy train and have our own carriage?' The station we get on and get off at is kind of irrelevant as long as the ride is fun. And that's what we've been doing for the better part of 40 years. And when you've been around this long you do tend to ricochet off different artists of your past and connect with them, whether it be [Pete] Townshend and [Roger] Daltrey last October, when we played with them in Brazil, to knowing Brian May from Queen for 35 years now. And there are a million others in between, It's not like you feel like you belong, you just feel like you don't not belong."

Forbes: Have you thought about the Rock Hall over the years you have been eligible?

Elliott: "When we were made aware of that we kind of pushed it to one side and plowed on with our career cause the only thing we were really bothered about was making records, playing live, making more records, playing live more often in front of more people. That's what we do. And then all of a sudden the fans get involved and then we become interested because it literally is about the important people in our lives, which is our audience. And even though, as we all know, the fan voting is one vote out of a thousand votes or whatever it's the one vote the other 999 can't help but take notice of because it's all over the world. It's in every magazine, on every website, every radio station."

Read the full interview at Forbes

With the Fan Vote for the new class underway now, artists who receive the most votes will be revealed in December, with the induction ceremony schedule to take place on March 29th, 2019 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

The 2019 nominees include:

- Def Leppard
- Devo
- Janet Jackson
- John Prine
- Kraftwerk
- LL Cool J
- MC5
- Radiohead
- Rage Against The Machine
- Roxy Music
- Rufus featuring Chaka Khan
- Stevie Nicks
- The Cure
- The Zombies
- Todd Rundgren

Fans can vote daily, read official nominee bios and download curated playlists featuring the recommended discography of each nominee, here.

Def Leppard join a long list of legends to receive this coveted nomination in addition standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the impressive “Class of 2019.” With sales eclipsing 100 million albums and a reputation as one of rock’s most enduring and influential bands, this represents yet another massive milestone for the legendary British rock icons.

About the nomination, frontman Joe Elliott said, “We’re honoured and humbled to be nominated for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. This is the highest peak a rock band can summit. For us to recognized by the prestigious panel and rock fans, who also have a vote, is sensational. Def Leppard being considered amongst such a worthy class of 2019 nominees gives us an indescribable feeling of pride…mutually shared between myself and my bandmates. We hope to see everyone at the ceremony!”