Joe Elliott
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| Joe Elliott | |
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 Joe Elliott live in 2007
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Joseph Thomas Elliott |
| Born | 1 August 1959 Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England |
| Genre(s) | Heavy metal, Hard rock, Glam metal, Pop rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, Songwriter, Producer |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards, Bass, Drums |
| Years active | 1977 - present |
| Label(s) | Island, Mercury, Polygram |
| Associated acts | Def Leppard Cybernauts |
| Website | http://www.defleppard.com |
Joseph Thomas Elliott (born 1 August 1959, in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, and educated at King Edward VII School) is the lead vocalist of the British Heavy Metal band Def Leppard.
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[edit] Career with Def Leppard
Elliott met Pete Willis, member of a local band called Atomic Mass, by chance in November 1977 when he missed a bus. After finding out that they were both musicians, Elliot met the rest of the band members and auditioned, first as a guitarist. The band was impressed by his singing and hired him as a vocalist. The other members even took Elliott's suggestion to change their name to "Deaf Leopard," which was later changed to "Def Leppard" to distinguish them from punk bands, as including an animal in the band name was popular in the punk community in Britain at the time. It has also been suggested that the intentional mis-spelling was partly a homage to "Led Zeppelin." Elliott soon became an integral part of the band, 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 not personal; they are meant to be easily accessible to the listener. He also plays guitar and drums as well as piano and electronic keyboard.
[edit] Side Projects
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 guested 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 mid-90s release.
Released in September of 2003 through Sanctuary Records, Ricky Warwick's Tattoos & Alibis was produced by Elliott.
[edit] Personal life
- Elliott currently lives in Dublin, Ireland, with his wife Kristine whom he met while she was working in wardrobe for Def Leppard.
- He maintains a recording studio in his home called Joe's Garage in which he has recorded and produced many major artists. Artists have also recorded in Joe's Garage while he has been on the road with Def Leppard.
[edit] Trivia
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- Elliott auditioned for Def Leppard (then known as Atomic Mass) singing Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven." He missed the octave change in the song, but the band was so impressed with his looks and enthusiasm that they hired him anyway.
- During Def Leppard's early days, Elliott worked in the store room at osborn Mushet Tools in Sheffield, while sweeping up he would pretend to be AC/DC frontman Bon Scott.
- Elliott can be seen (with Kiss style make-up) playing drums in the band's music video to the song Rocket (at about 1:48 into the video). The song was a tribute to the 1970s bands they grew up listening to. In that scene, actual drummer Rick Allen is seen along the other bandmates fronting the band, all donning makeup in a tribute to the glam bands of their youth.
- Unlike bandmate Rick Savage who supports Sheffield Wednesday, Elliott is an avid Sheffield United fan.
- He collects toast.
- Elliott has stated on many occasions that his favourite band is Mott the Hoople.
- His other big influences are David Bowie, T.Rex, and Queen.
- Has battled the mumps twice throughout his life, being stricken with them the second time while recording the band's hit album, Hysteria.
- Is good friends with Ricky Warwick, having produced, and performing back up vocals on Ricky Warwick's Love Many Trust Few album. Rick has also returned the favor performing backup vocals on several of Def Leppard's albums.
- He had a lock of hits in the 80's including "Come On Eileen" and "Take on Me".
- He is naturally left-handed, although he plays guitar right-handed.
- He is a vegetarian.[1]
- He is a huge football (soccer) fan, has attended World Cups, and filmed commercials for Fox Soccer Channel.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Joe Elliott Biography on Def Leppard Frequency
- Joe Elliott @ Def Leppard UK
- Joe Elliott Discography @ Def Leppard Related Recordings
- Joe Elliott Fanlisting
