Joe Elliott Singles Out Ian Hunter As His Rock God And Explains How They Established A Special Bond

Def Leppard lead singer Joe Elliott was asked about his ultimate rock god during an interview with BBC Radio, and apparently, it’s Mott the Hoople lead vocalist Ian Hunter and the friendship of the two started when they first met all the way back in 1977.

As many of you know, Ian Hunter was a musician and songwriter before joining Mott the Hoople with whom Hunter worked as their lead singer from its inception in 1969 to its dissolution in 1974, however, once the band achieved some commercial success, and attracted a small but devoted fan base, he managed to have greater accomplishments as a solo musician after the disbandment of the band.

During a recent interview, Joe Elliott revealed that it’s Ian hunter who is his rock god and told the story of how the two musicians first met and built a close relationship. Apparently, two lead singers first met on June 4, 1977, when Joe Elliott and his friends went to a concert of Hunter. After the show, they managed to sneak backstage and that’s when he first met Ian Hunter and had his first conversation with his ‘hero’ as Elliott referred to him.

Three years after meeting for the first time with his inspiration, Joe Elliott once again met Ian Hunter in New York, however, this time he’s also a respected musician and from that on the two kept on seeing each other as well as working together for Def Leppard’s show a few times.

Here is what Joe Elliott said:

“I first met Ian on the 4th of June 1977 at the Doncaster Gaumont. Me and a couple of friends of mine had traveled from Sheffield to go watch the gig. We were 17 and 18 years old, it was the summer, it was a beautiful day, we spent the whole day wandering around Doncaster, then eventually got to the show, watched the ‘Overnight Angels,’ fantastic gig, great album, great gig.

We snook backstage afterward, as you could in those days, and up the stairs along the corridor, knocked on the door, and Earl Slick, his guitar player, opened the door and let us in. And we had photos were taken, stood and chatted with him for about half an hour and then I finally got to meet my hero.”

He continued:

“Well, cut to three years later, and I’m in a band, and I’ve made an album, and it’s 1980, I’m in New York on a day off, and Ian Hunter is playing The Ritz in New York. So our record company organized tickets and passes and I met him again but this time as a musician that he’d kind of heard of – if you like.

And all the way through the ’80s, we kept bumping into each other, I would go to his gigs and eventually, I started getting up performing with him. I think I’ve done ‘All the Young Dudes’ about 6,000 times with Ian, and he’s even been up on stage with Def Leppard and done it a couple of times so there’s a bond there.”

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