Joe Elliott

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Joe Elliott
DefLappardO2061218-24 (49913647568) Cropped.jpg
Elliott in 2018
Background information
Birth nameJoseph Thomas Elliott
Also known asZeff
Born (1959-08-01) 1 August 1959 (age 65) [1]
Sheffield, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • musician
Instrument
  • Vocals
Years active1975–present
Member of
Formerly of
Website defleppard.com

Joseph Thomas Elliott (born 1 August 1959) is an English singer-songwriter, best known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of the hard rock band Def Leppard. He has also been the lead singer of the David Bowie tribute band the Cybernauts and the Mott the Hoople cover band Down 'n' Outz. [2] He is one of the two original members of Def Leppard still in the band and one of the three to perform on every Def Leppard album. Elliott is known for his distinctive and wide ranging raspy singing voice. [3]

Contents

Early life and Def Leppard

Joseph Thomas Elliott was born in Sheffield to Joseph William Elliott (1930–2011) and Cynthia Gibson. He was educated at King Edward VII School. Elliott met Pete Willis (a member of a local band called Atomic Mass) in November 1977 after missing a bus. Upon finding out that they were both musicians, Willis invited Elliott to meet the rest of the Atomic Mass members. The band spent hours talking and listening to records in Elliott's bedroom. Elliott tried out as a guitarist and, though the band had not heard Elliott sing, they were impressed by "his attitude and his ideas about being in a band" and he became the band's vocalist instead. The other members also took Elliott's suggestion to change their name to "Deaf Leopard." Elliott had invented the name for a band in his youth. Bandmate Tony Kenning suggested they change the band name to "Def Leppard" to distinguish them from contemporary punk bands like The Flying Lizards and the Boomtown Rats. The band claims that any apparent similarity of the name Led Zeppelin to Def Leppard was unintentional. [4]

Personal life

Elliott's first marriage was to Karla Ramdhani in 1989; they divorced in 1996. Elliott met Kristine Wunschel in 2003 while she was working on the crew for the X album tour, and they were married on 1 September 2004. Their first child, Finlay, was born in December 2009, and they are also parents to a daughter, Lyla, born July 2016. [5] [6] [7] He announced on SiriusXM in March 2022 that he and his wife Kristine had another daughter named Harper who was born in February 2020.

Controversies

During a performance on 7 September 1983 in Tucson, Arizona, Elliott attempted to rile the crowd during the "Rock of Ages" crowd sing-along. He told the crowd: "Last night, we played in El Paso, that place with all the greasy Mexicans, and they made a lot more noise than that." Then, on 30 September, he apologised on an El Paso radio station for the racial slur he made while referring to the city on 7 September. The band later followed up the apology with donations to Hispanic charities. [8]

Elliott previously co-owned a Sheffield sports bar with Tim Cranston, a Canadian ice hockey player for the local Steelers. [9]

In 2010, Elliott criticised the British music press, which he accused of ignoring his band and narrowing popular taste:

It's nice to walk down Oxford Street without being recognised but then again when music magazines write about us they take the piss because we're not as cool as Johnny Marr, who isn't as successful as us by a million miles [...] Rock's ploughed its own furrow for 30 years but still music magazines don't give rock its due [...] How many more front covers do Paul McCartney and Morrissey need? Our album will sell more than Morrissey's so why don't we get the same kind of respect?" [10]

Before a July 2019 show in Hamilton, Ontario, Elliott was recorded on video saying that the city's FirstOntario Centre "stinks like 10,000 asses". The video surfaced in January 2020. [11]

Discography

Elliott with Def Leppard in 2005 Elliott and Campbell - Def Leppard.jpg
Elliott with Def Leppard in 2005
With Def Leppard
With Down 'n' Outz
With Kings of Chaos
With Cybernauts
With various artists

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Def Leppard</span> British rock band

Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in Sheffield in 1976. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage, Joe Elliott, Rick Allen (drums), Phil Collen, and Vivian Campbell. They established themselves as part of the new wave of British heavy metal of the early 1980s. Their greatest commercial success came between the early 1980s and mid–1990s.

<i>On Through the Night</i> 1980 studio album by Def Leppard

On Through the Night is the debut studio album by the English rock band Def Leppard, released on 14 March 1980. The album was produced by Tom Allom. It charted at No. 15 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 51 on the Billboard 200. The album features re-recorded versions of "Rocks Off" and "Overture", tracks from the band's original independently released EP, The Def Leppard E.P.. Other tracks are re-recorded versions of early demos, some of which later appeared on the 2020 box set The Early Years 79–81. The album was certified gold by the RIAA on 18 November 1983 and platinum on 9 May 1989.

<i>Hysteria</i> (Def Leppard album) 1987 studio album by Def Leppard

Hysteria is the fourth studio album by English rock band Def Leppard, released on 3 August 1987, by Mercury Records. The album is the follow-up to the band's 1983 breakthrough, Pyromania. Hysteria's creation took over three years and was plagued by delays, including the aftermath of drummer Rick Allen's accident that cost him his left arm on 31 December 1984. Subsequent to the album's release, Def Leppard published a book titled Animal Instinct: The Def Leppard Story, written by Rolling Stone magazine senior editor David Fricke, on the three-year recording process of Hysteria and the difficult times the band endured through the mid-1980s. Lasting 62 minutes and 32 seconds, it is the band's longest studio album to date.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Clark</span> English guitarist (1960–1991)

Stephen Maynard Clark was an English musician. He was a guitarist and songwriter for the hard rock band Def Leppard until his death in 1991. In 2007, Clark was ranked No. 11 on Classic Rock Magazine's "100 Wildest Guitar Heroes". In 2019, Clark was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Def Leppard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phil Collen</span> British guitarist (born 1957)

Philip Kenneth Collen is an English musician who is best known as the co-lead guitarist for the rock band Def Leppard. Collen joined the band in 1982 during the recording of the Pyromania album. Before joining Def Leppard, Collen had performed with a number of bands in the burgeoning British glam metal scene. Outside of Def Leppard, he has been involved in a number of side projects; those projects include the trio Man Raze, with which he is the lead singer and sole guitarist.

<i>Yeah!</i> (Def Leppard album) 2006 studio album by Def Leppard

Yeah! is the ninth studio album by English rock band Def Leppard. It is the first cover album by the band. It was originally intended to be released on 20 September 2005, but it was announced on 31 March 2006 that the album would be released on 23 May 2006. The album charted at No. 16 on the Billboard 200 and No. 52 on the UK Albums Chart.

Cybernauts were a David Bowie cover band, formed as a tribute to Mick Ronson, featuring Def Leppard members Joe Elliott and Phil Collen, former Spiders from Mars members Trevor Bolder and Mick "Woody" Woodmansey, and keyboardist/vocalist, Dick Decent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All the Young Dudes</span> 1972 single by Mott the Hoople

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rocket (Def Leppard song)</span> 1989 single by Def Leppard

"Rocket" is a song recorded by English rock band Def Leppard in 1987 from the album Hysteria. It was released in January 1989 as the seventh and final single from the album and reached the Top 15 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles Chart. It is the band’s final single to be released with guitarist Steve Clark before his death in 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armageddon It</span> 1987 single by Def Leppard

"Armageddon It" is a song by the English rock band Def Leppard from their 1987 album Hysteria. It was released as a single in 1988 and went to No. 3 in the United States, becoming their 3rd top 10 hit. It also reached the top 10 in Canada and New Zealand and the top 20 in Ireland and the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Golden Age of Rock 'n' Roll</span> 1974 single by Mott the Hoople

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ian Hunter (singer)</span> British musician (born 1939)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hysteria (Def Leppard song)</span> 1987 song by Def Leppard

"Hysteria" is a song by English rock band Def Leppard. It is the tenth track on their 1987 album of the same name and was released as the album's fourth single in November 1987. The song became the band's first top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 10.

<i>Ian Hunter</i> (album) 1975 studio album by Ian Hunter

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Down 'n' Outz</span> English rock band

Down 'n' Outz are an English rock band featuring members from Def Leppard, The Quireboys, and Raw Glory. The group covers bands and artists related to Mott the Hoople including Mott, British Lions, and Ian Hunter. Their debut album, My ReGeneration, was released in 2010, and was followed by a DVD release of the band's show at Hammersmith Odeon. The band's second studio album, The Further Adventures Of... was released in April 2014. The band's third studio album, This Is How We Roll was released in October 2019.

<i>My ReGeneration</i> 2010 studio album by Joe Elliotts Down n Outz

My ReGeneration is the debut album by Joe Elliott's Down 'n' Outz, the band featuring members of Def Leppard, The Quireboys and Raw Glory. The album features covers of songs by artists related to Mott the Hoople, such as Mott, British Lions and Ian Hunter. A ten-track version of the album was available with the 23 June 2010 edition of Classic Rock magazine, prior to the full album's release on 13 July of the same year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Viva! Hysteria (concert residency)</span> 2013 concert residency by Def Leppard

Viva! Hysteria was a concert residency by English rock band Def Leppard where the band played their 1987 album Hysteria in its entirety.

<i>And There Will Be a Next Time... Live from Detroit</i> 2017 live album by Def Leppard

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adrenalize World Tour</span> 1992–93 concert tour by Def Leppard

The Adrenalize World Tour – also known as the Adrenalize "Seven Day Weekend" Tour – was a concert tour by English hard rock band Def Leppard to support the Adrenalize album, released in March 1992. It was their first tour without guitarist Steve Clark, who died in January 1991 while the album was recorded. Former Dio and Whitesnake guitarist Vivian Campbell joined six weeks before the tour began.

References

  1. Jeffrey, Laura S. (2010). Def Leppard: Arena Rock Band. Enslow Publishers. p. 16. ISBN   978-0-7660-3234-7.
  2. Wiederhorn, Jon (14 June 2010). "Def Leppard Frontman Launches Mott the Hoople Cover Band – Noisecreep". Noisecreep . Retrieved 17 June 2010.
  3. "Standing the test of time". Tuscaloosa News. 21 October 2017.
  4. Fricke, David. 1987. Animal Instinct: The Def Leppard Story. Zomba Books, London. ISBN   0-946391-55-6.
  5. "Rock of Ages: Life lessons with Def Leppard's Joe Elliott". Reuters.com. 12 July 2018.
  6. "Def Leppard Band Member Joe Elliott (Lead Vocals)". Deflepparduk.com. Leppard Tour History
  7. "Kristine Elliott / My Def Leppard". Mydefleppard.com. 1 May 1972. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  8. "Racial slurs | Michael Hutchence and Me". Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
  9. "Retro: The stars of Players Café". Sheffield Star . JPIMedia. 24 February 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  10. "Joe Elliot: Def Leppard don't get enough respect". Metro. 20 July 2010. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
  11. "FirstOntario Centre stinks like '10,000 asses,' says Def Leppard as debate around arena continues". Cbc.ca. Retrieved 18 February 2020.