Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott recently joined Classic Rock for an interview and reflected on the resemblance between Def Leppard and Queen’s sound.
With the rise of alternative rock in the 1990s, Def Leppard’s fortunes began to be affected. After a few attempts to reach back into the public consciousness, they released the album ‘Euphoria’ in 1999. Following its release, Def Leppard entered the mainstream again and achieved chart success with the album’s first single ‘Promises.’
Their next album, ‘X,’ marked a shift toward pop music and moved the band’s musical direction further away from Def Leppard’s hard rock roots. Released in 2002, ‘X’ ended up becoming Def Leppard’s least successful release, peaking only at number 11 on the US Billboard 200 chart.
In 2008, Def Leppard released their album titled ‘Songs From The Sparkle Lounge.’ This album debuted at number 5 on the US Billboard 200. After this record, the band released ‘Def Leppard’ in 2015. Featured in this album, ‘Are You Man Enough’ shares bare resemblances with Queen’s ‘Another One Bites The Dust.’
Speaking to Classic Rock, Joe Elliott talked about Def Leppard’s upcoming record ‘Diamond Star Halos’ and explained whether this album is the best Def Leppard record since 1998. He stated that this album is a feel-good record that reflects escapism. The singer then mentioned ‘Euphoria,’ describing it as ‘patchy.’
Elliott also mentioned 2002’s pop album ‘X’ and ‘Songs From The Sparkle Lounge,’ stating the latter featured some great songs. Moreover, he recalled Def Leppard got prominent again with their eponymous album in 2005. The singer then mentioned that ‘Man Enough’ sounded like ‘Another One Bites The Dust,’ but he added that Def Leppard has always sounded like Queen.
In the interview, Classic Rock asked Joe Elliott the following:
“‘Diamond Star Halos’ is Leppard’s fifth studio record since 1998. Is it also the best from this period?”
Elliot then responded:
“It’s such a cliché to say that, but I do love this new one. It’s a feel-good album. It’s escapism. In hindsight, [1999’s] ‘Euphoria’ was a decent attempt, but the polite word for it would be ‘patchy.’ We made a pop record with [2002’s] ‘X.’ We recorded some of it in ABBA’s studio, dancing around to Waterloo, and maybe that rubbed off. [2008’s] ‘Songs From The Sparkle Lounge’ had some great stuff, like ‘Love.’
But we really got our mojo back with the Def Leppard album [2015] and songs like ‘Man Enough’ – which sounded like ‘Another One Bites The Dust,’ but so what? We’ve always sounded like Queen! And with the new one, we’ve made a great album in bizarre circumstances. We ended up recording it completely remotely. And we’ve been sitting on it for a year!”
According to Elliott, Def Leppard made their upcoming record in bizarre circumstances — they recorded it entirely remotely during the pandemic. ‘Diamond Star Halos’ is set to release on May 27, and it will mark Def Leppard’s first new album in seven years since their 2015 eponymous record.
