Edwin McFee for Hotpress met Def Leppard's Joe Elliott to hear about the reborn band’s lockdown LP, their time working with Alison Krauss, his mutual love-in with Ghost and much more. An excerpt follows...

Tobias Forge, the mastermind behind Swedish rockers Ghost, has confessed to being an admirer of Joe and the boys. Is Elliott similarly smitten with one of the most exciting bands of their generation?

“I love Ghost,” he grins. “Phil (Collen) introduced me to them about eight years ago and he was like, ‘It’s really weird, they look like Swedish death metal but sound really melodic.’ The new album Impera, oh my God, it’s just brilliant. I play them a lot on my radio show on Planet Rock. I hear some Leppard influence on some of their song structures. Fair play to Tobias. There aren’t that many musicians on the planet who admit to liking us these days (laughs). Him and Brian May is about it.”

Asked if he worried about getting back on the road in the Covid era, Joe responds, “I’m not worried health-wise. When you’ve been around as long as me, I’ve already had a lot of things happen and survived them. I got double pneumonia in 2014 and still managed to do the tour with my side band the Down ‘N Outz. I didn’t know I had it until the tour finished. The last gig was in Dublin and I went to my doctor the next day, and he said you’ve got double pneumonia and you’ve had it a while. I was like, that explains a lot!

“Health-wise, I know how to monitor how I am. I know if a singer catches this virus it’s a lot more serious than a drummer or guitar-player. Your fingers still work even if you feel like shit. Bu we’ve had lengthy breaks from the road before. We were either dealing with making albums, Rick’s accident in 1984, or the death of Steve Clark in 1991. We’ve been in some really horrible, dark places, but we survived them. We encountered lockdown and thought, piece of piss! We can do this. This is easy. It’s annoying for everybody, but when we come out the other side, we’re so fucking ready for this.”

Read more at Hotpress.com.

Def Leppard's twelfth full-length album, Diamond Star Halos, is out now. Listen to the album here, and below:

The artwork for Diamond Star Halos is art in itself. The design follows pedigree with their instantly recognizable album covers from their celebrated past. With images by world renowned photographer and director Anton Corbijn, styling concepts by Maryam Malakpour and graphics by the UK based Munden Brothers, the design truly follows the band’s influence through their eyes today.

Written by the band over the past two years it features 15 tracks including the anthemic, stadium-ready singles “Kick” and “Fire It Up”, with guest vocals from Alison Krauss on “This Guitar” and “Lifeless”.  The album title references T. Rex’s “Bang A Gong (Get It On)” with nods to T.Rex, David Bowie and Mott The Hoople across the album, which mixes the sound of their classic spirit with modern fire.

Diamond Star Halos can be ordered in multiple configurations, including a Deluxe Edition, 2LP Vinyl, Digital formats and more. Exclusive bundles including newly designed album merch have also launched. Order at the band’s official store, here.

Tracklisting:

"Take What You Want"
"Kick"
"Fire It Up"
"This Guitar" (featuring Alison Krauss)
"SOS Emergency"
"Liquid Dust"
"U Rok Mi"
"Goodbye For Good This Time"
"All We Need"
"Open Your Eyes"
"Gimme A Kiss"
"Angels (Can't Help You Now)"
"Lifeless" (featuring Alison Krauss)
"Unbreakable"
"From Here To Eternity"

"Fire It Up" video:

"Take What You Want" lyric video:

"Kick" video:

"Kick" bloopers:

Def Leppard performed a set of classics on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on May 25. Footage of the band performing “Rock Of Ages”, “Hysteria” and “Pour Some Sugar On Me” can be viewed below:

(Photo - Anton Corbijn)