| Joe Elliott | |
|---|---|
Elliott live in Winnipeg, Manitoba on 13 August 2008. Photo by Matt Becker |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Joseph Thomas Elliott. Jr |
| Also known as | Joe, Zeff |
| Born | 1 August 1959 Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England |
| Genres | Hard rock, heavy metal |
| Occupations | Musician, singer-songwriter, producer |
| Instruments | Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Piano, Drums, Keyboard |
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Labels | Island, Mercury, Polygram |
| Associated acts | Atomic Mass, Def Leppard, Cybernauts, Down 'n' Outz |
| Website | http://www.defleppard.com |
Joseph Thomas "Joe" Elliott Jr (born 1 August 1959) is an English singer-songwriter, and musician, best known as the lead vocalist and occasional rhythm guitarist of the British rock band Def Leppard. He has also been the lead singer of David Bowie cover band, the Cybernauts and the Mott the Hoople cover band, Down 'n' Outz.[1] He is one of the two original members of Def Leppard and one of the three to perform on every Def Leppard album.
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Elliott was born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire and was educated at King Edward VII School. Elliott met Pete Willis, a member of a local band called Atomic Mass, in November 1977 when he missed a bus. After finding out that they were both musicians, Elliott met the rest of the band members in Elliott's bedroom. The band spent hours talking and listening to records. The band had not heard Elliott sing, but they were impressed by, "his attitude and his ideas about being in a band," and became the band's vocalist. The other members even took Elliott's suggestion to change their name to "Deaf Leopard." Elliott had invented the name for the band in youth. Tony Kenning suggested they change the name to "Def Leppard" to distinguish them from contemporary punk bands like The Flying Lizards and Boomtown Rats. The band claims that the similar-looking spelling of Led Zeppelin to Def Leppard was unintentional.[2] Elliott soon became an integral part of the band while also contributing his songwriting skills.
As a songwriter, Elliott has drawn from his eclectic tastes in music (ranging from pop-rock to folk) as sources of inspiration. He also often comments that the lyrics to Def Leppard's music are almost never personal; they are meant to be easily accessible to the listener. He also plays guitar and drums as well as piano and electronic keyboard.
Joe Elliott currently hosts a radio show on planetrock.com on Saturday nights.[3]
Elliott has worked with several side projects through his career such as participating in numerous tributes to other artists like Freddie Mercury, Alice Cooper, Mick Ronson, Ian Hunter and David Bowie. He had the honour of opening the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in 1992 by joining the remaining members of Queen and guitarist Slash to perform "Tie Your Mother Down".
He also has worked on several projects like The Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood's solo album Slide on This, Lori Spree's Those Faces, Ricky Warwick, The Almighty, and others.
He and fellow Def Leppard member/guitarist Phil Collen once had a side project together called Cybernauts. The project was short-lived, and the internet album that was available online has been deleted since its 2001 release.
Released in September 2003 through Sanctuary Records, Ricky Warwick's Tattoos & Alibis was produced by Elliott.
Joe Elliott sung the vocals in the Mott the Hoople cover band, Down 'n' Outz on their album My ReGeneration Vol. 1.
Elliott currently lives in Stepaside, Dublin, Ireland. He maintains a recording studio in his home called Joe's Garage in which he has recorded and produced many major artists, other artists have also recorded in Joe's Garage while he has been on the road with Def Leppard. Joe dated Denise Dakin from 1979–1989. His first marriage was to Karla Ramdhani in 1989; they separated in 1994 and divorced in 1996. He dated Bobbie Tolsma from 1999-2003. Joe married Kristine 1 September 2004, and their first child, Finlay, was born in December 2009.
In 2010, Elliott criticised the British music press, which he accused of ignoring his band and narrowing popular taste:
| “ | I wanted to be in the biggest band in the world. And we were a couple of times. People in Britain don’t realise. We don’t get the credit we deserve in Britain. 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. Jools Holland won’t have us on his show because we’re not cool enough. Rock’s ploughed its own furrow for 30 years but still music magazines don’t give rock its due and still rave on about Nick Drake. 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? There are more people than Bono and Michael Stipe to put on the cover of a magazine. Whether it’s Simon Le Bon, Gary Kemp, Bruce Dickinson or me, there are more musicians out there. It’s not just Lennon and Jim Morrison. Bands who have sold shitloads of records, whether it be us or Depeche Mode, are becoming footnotes.[4] | ” |
In 2008, Def Leppard performed live on stage at a Detroit Red Wings game. Midway through the set, Red Wing forward Darren McCarty drove a motorcycle across the stage with the Stanley Cup on the back. Another Detroit player, Kyle Quincey, handed the cup to Elliott, who unintentionally placed the Cup upside-down. Quincey then turned the Cup around, and when Elliott saw this, he quipped to the crowd, "Oh it's upside down. Well never mind. We're soccer boys, what do we know?" This incident aroused the ire of many hockey fans.[5]
With Def Leppard
With Down 'n' Outz