![]() JOE ELLIOTT DEF LEPPARD DOWNLOADThe thing about Download is, it's become a spiritual place for the band. That moment comes as close to saying that's when Def Leppard went undefeated.Įlliott: I suppose you're right. The Life: There's a very moving chapter on the new "Mirror Ball" DVD of you acknowledging the site of Rick Allen's full-time return to drumming back in 1986. I think that's about as close as you can get to being undefeated. We keep coming out, and we keep fighting to remain in that position that we've achieved. If we're talking about a band in general terms, I'd say a band like ourselves, it's 20 years this lineup and still going strong and we've redefined ourselves. It's a case of, they've lost the battle, but they've not lost the war. I think a band that remains together is undefeated, even though they've taken a few losses along the way. It's more of a metaphor for "knock me down, I'll get back up." It's that "us against the world" kind of thing. But as Chumbawamba would have said, you get back up again. But what makes a band undefeated?Įlliott: I think, in truth, there is no such thing because with a band you don't lose you get knocked down. The Life: In sports, "undefeated" is a quantifiable term. He dissected the stadium appeal of "Undefeated," and the direct connection of its lyrics to sports, in the process revealing that the similarity between a team and a band runs deeper than just sports analogies. But the traditions of American teams are mostly unfamiliar to him, a Sheffield native single-mindedly obsessed with English soccer for most of his life, he says.Įlliott, 51, spoke with The Life the day before Def Leppard began their summer tour in Palm Beach, Fla. Elliott, who actually received death threats as a result of the incident, says he doesn't know if he's been forgiven by mocking bloggers and angry fans. "Undefeated," the first single and one of three new studio tracks off their new live album, "Mirror Ball" ( iTunes | Amazon), captures that determination complete with the floorboard-stomping rhythm of a classic sporting event anthem.ĭef Leppard made sports crawl headlines two years ago, when singer Joe Elliott unknowingly upended the Stanley Cup during an NHL opening night concert. Their perseverance is not much different from a sports team that keeps fighting to win a playoff. But relentless touring, followed by the death of guitarist Steve Clark in 1991, led to another four years before bouncing back with the 3 million selling "Adrenalize." By then the sound of popular music had changed, leaving Def Leppard virtually ignored throughout the '90s before rebounding as a popular summer tour draw throughout the past decade. The resulting "Hysteria" was an even greater victory. JOE ELLIOTT DEF LEPPARD SERIESJoe Elliott says he put himself in the position of a boxer when writing "Undefeated." AP Photo/Jonathan ShortĪfter winning with 1983's "Pyromania" album, Def Leppard spent an exhausting four years trying to repeat that success with a series of false starts, compounded by drummer Rick Allen losing his left arm in an auto accident at the end of 1984. Coming together in Sheffield in 1977, the working class English kids with the lofty goal of becoming the biggest band in the world have weathered every setback that would have derailed most groups. If any band can be classified as undefeated, it's Def Leppard. ![]()
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