Below is an exclusive excerpt from the book I GOT SOMETHING TO SAY! (Collections, Recollections & Personal Reflections About Def Leppard), specifically from the chapter spotlighting Def Leppard’s lead singer, Joe Elliott.
Available worldwide at these book outlets (select your preferred format):
Amazon: Paperback | Kindle
Apple: Apple Books
Google: Google Play Books
More chapter excerpts: Inside Vault‘s Vault & More! | Single Spotlight: “Love Bites”
Chapter: The Ballad of Joe (Reflections & An Appreciation)
I felt compelled to dedicate a chapter to Joe Elliott, to recognize and celebrate some of his accomplishments, which are all the more impressive when further dissected, and to also reflect on and share some of my fondest interactions with him that I felt his fans would enjoy reading about.
First, I have to say that one thought that has repeatedly popped into my head while delving into some of the memories for this book is that I was in my early to mid-20s when these events occurred. (To put that further into perspective, Joe was in his mid-30s.) Hence, the realization: I’m now about twice the age I was back then, and, as of this writing, Joe is in his early sixties! Where has the time gone!?
Anyway… Do you really, really wanna do this now? OK… Let’s go!
In my opinion, there’s a particular song that fittingly describes Joe and his journey to rock stardom. And, ironically, it’s not a Def Leppard song.
The song I’m referring to is…”Irene Wilde.”
Assuming that some readers haven’t heard of this song before, here’s some context: it was released in 1976, written and performed by Ian Hunter. Ian was the lead singer of the tragically underrated glam band Mott The Hoople, a favorite of Joe’s, whose classic ’70s anthem “All The Young Dudes” is considered Joe’s all-time favorite song.
Ian Hunter departed Mott The Hoople and went on to enjoy a successful solo career, which included hit songs like “Once Bitten, Twice Shy” (yes, the same song Great White remade in 1989) and “Cleveland Rocks” (a remake of that song was used for the opening credit sequence of “The Drew Carey Show”). Do you recall Barry Manilow’s 1979 hit song “Ships”? That, too, was a remake of an Ian Hunter song. (There are so many more Ian Hunter songs that deserve just as much attention, but I’ll leave it at that.)
Ian Hunter was one of Joe’s music idols growing up, back when he aspired to be a “rock star,” even daydreaming about it during his day job at a Sheffield spoon factory.
In 1976, Ian released his solo album All-American Alien Boy, which included a vast array of enjoyable song offerings, but there was one specific track — a piano ballad — that, to this day, stands out as a fan favorite, especially when performed live: “Irene Wilde.”
Ian’s lyrics for the song are autobiographical. Irene Wilde is the name of a girl from his youth, the object of his unrequited love, and even though her name is reflected in the song’s title, it’s really all about Ian and his own personal journey.
More specifically, Irene Wilde rejected Ian at his hometown’s bus station at the age of sixteen. This is all beautifully told in the song’s heartfelt opening lyrics: “When I was just sixteen, I stood waiting for a dream, at Barker Street bus station every night…”
But there is a deeper, underlying meaning to the song’s supposed message about rejection: it’s about overcoming, embracing a challenge, and using it as a motivational quest to achieve whatever goal you set out to accomplish.
In Ian’s case, it’s what drove him to want to be the music artist he would ultimately become (“In my mother’s living room, I composed so many tunes…”) and keeping the faith that he would never let up until he reached his dream, as noted in what would be the song’s most poignant lyrics: “I’m gonna be somebody, someday.”
Now let’s circle back to Joe, who in 1975 was already envisioning his imaginary band “Deaf Leopard” selling out venues with its imaginary concerts. I can’t help but think that 16-year-old Joe — the same age Ian Hunter harkens back to in “Irene Wilde” — repeatedly listened to that song in January 1976 (the year of the album’s release) and felt the same motivation and passion, singing right along with his music idol, “I’m gonna be somebody, some day.”
I’m sure it struck a chord with Joe, no pun intended.
By 1977, Joe’s vision already began to take shape: he had hooked up with Pete Willis and Rick Savage. And by 1978, his “Deaf Leopard” band idea would morph into “Def Leppard,” Steve Clark would join the band, and the rest is history. Within five years, the band would be headlining their Pyromania tour. I’m gonna be somebody, some day — goodbye spoon factory!
“Irene Wilde” is about triumphing over seemingly insurmountable odds, never giving up, and making a dream come true. Joe’s success with Def Leppard is his “Irene Wilde,” further bolstered by the fact that the song originated from one of his music heroes.
Not only did Joe achieve his dream, he went on to befriend the music idols who provided him with that motivation: Ian Hunter was no longer just a favorite artist he’d listen to on a vinyl record or radio station but a friend and mentor; Joe would go on to perform his beloved “All The Young Dudes” with Ian Hunter countless times in concert.
The same can be said of Queen, another band that had a huge influence on Joe (and the rest of Def Leppard). What a gratifying achievement to go from simply being a major Queen superfan to actually becoming dear friends (see what I did there?), as it was Queen’s legendary guitarist Brian May that Def Leppard chose to induct them into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. (Brian graciously did just that with a heartfelt, eloquent speech.)
I’m reminded of an unforgettable conversation I had with Joe back in the mid-’90s during the Slang tour when we discussed a topic we both loved: glam music. The song I brought up, which led off the glam discussion, was Def Leppard’s remake of “Action.” (The original version appeared on Sweet’s album Desolation Boulevard, which also included “Ballroom Blitz,” one of their biggest hits.)
Def Leppard’s “Action” was included on Retro Active, which had been released a few years prior to this particular discussion with Joe. My initial comment to him was about what a superb job the band did in remaking Sweet’s classic — on Retro Active as well as live in concert — transforming it into an even more power-driven, melodic rocker.
This segued into me asking Joe my next question, something I genuinely wondered, yet admittedly asked only half-jokingly and out of my own selfish interest, being a glam rock fan of acts like Mott the Hoople, Ian Hunter, Queen, T-Rex, Sweet, David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust, Slade, Mick Ronson, and so on.
I asked Joe: “Why don’t you guys record more glam remakes, like a Mott The Hoople song?” Joe’s eyes lit up and he smiled, then responded with a laugh, “They won’t let me!” He was jokingly referring to the rest of the band, motioning to some of the other band members who were scattered around the hotel suite-turned-bar room we were in, then adding that he’d love to perform more — a lot more — of the glam classics he grew up with if it were only up to him.
What was so memorable to me about this discussion was that, at least for a brief moment, it no longer felt like I was having a conversation with Def Leppard’s lead singer; instead, it seemed like I was talking to the kid from Sheffield who aspired to follow in the footsteps of the music idols he so endeared, discussing a subject that brought him absolute joy.
I found it so interesting looking back at this conversation in subsequent years (and decades), thinking about how gratifying — and frankly, inevitable — it must have been for Joe to begin working on side projects like the David Bowie tribute band Cybernauts (which also included Phil Collen), and, ultimately, his passion project Down ‘n’ Outz, initially a Mott The Hoople tribute band that would end up also releasing original glam-influenced music material of their own.
In hindsight, Joe’s deeper involvement in the glam rock universe makes a lot of sense, as the seeds for these types of projects were planted long ago: Retro Active not only included Sweet’s “Action” (which had already been released as a B-side on Def Leppard’s “Make Love Like A Man” single), but also Mick Ronson’s “Only After Dark” (originally a B-side on the “Let’s Get Rocked” single).
Retro Active also included an updated version of Def Leppard’s vintage track “Ride Into The Sun,” this time with a brand new, rockin’, honky-tonk piano introduction performed by none other than Joe’s music-hero-turned-close-friend, Ian Hunter.
Years later, not only did Def Leppard release Yeah! in 2006, a covers album showcasing each band member’s musical influences from the ’60s and ’70s, but Joe’s Down ‘n’ Outz band (solely a tribute band at the time) ended up being the opening act for the Ian Hunter-led Mott The Hoople reunion tour in 2009.
It’s not surprising that Down ‘n’ Outz’s third album, This Is How We Roll, featured original material. Some may consider it serendipity, but I wholeheartedly believe the project was decades in the making, with Joe’s long-brewing aspirations finally coming to fruition.
As silly as it may sound, my reaction when listening to the album for the very first time was a lot of…smiling. That’s it, just smiling. I know that doesn’t qualify as much of a critique but it took me right back to my glam music discussion with him from the ’90s. Roughly thirty years later, This Is How We Roll was the byproduct of Joe’s ceaseless glam ambitions being taken further — much further — and far beyond simply recording more covers.
The new music brought to mind a kid living it up in a glam rock candy store whose aisles overflowed with varieties of David Bowie, Mott The Hoople, Ian Hunter, and numerous other artists, with songs that not only showcased Joe’s childhood music influences but also included hints of Def Leppard sprinkled throughout — how could they not?
Here is a quick sampling of the little nuances I heard after a couple of listens:
“Walk to Babylon” — The song’s melody echoes the “You’re all that I want…” chorus from Def Leppard’s “We Belong,” which Joe penned. Reportedly, “We Belong” was initially conceived by Joe as a Mott The Hoople-like “All The Young Dudes” anthem, so the correlation isn’t all that surprising.
“Boys Don’t Cry” — At the song’s 2:30 mark, Def Leppard’s “All we want to hear is the audience applause” lyric (and portion) from the song “On Through The Night” (off of the High ‘n’ Dry album) comes to mind.
“Creatures” — The spoken lyric “These human games” at the 2:47 mark took me immediately back to Mott The Hoople’s track “Saturday Gigs,” which features Ian Hunter speaking the classic lyric, “A grown-up game” right before the song builds to its crescendo.
“Let It Shine” — The prominent keyboards evoke Mott The Hoople’s keyboardists (Verden Allen as well as Morgan Fisher), whose contributions made for some of Mott’s most unforgettable piano-driven songs, one example being “Through The Looking Glass.”
“Music Box” — Stirs up thoughts of Ian Hunter’s lovely little gem titled “The Ballad of Little Star.”
“White Punks On Dope” — While this track is a cover of a song originally recorded by The Tubes, Down ‘n’ Outz’s version features Ian Hunter-esque piano playing which conjures up memories of Mott The Hoople’s classic song “The Golden Age of Rock ‘n’ Roll” as well as “All The Way From Memphis” (which incidentally is the medley Ian himself played at the beginning of Retro Active‘s updated version of Def Leppard’s “Ride Into The Sun.”)
These are just some examples.
I encourage you to listen to those Down ‘n’ Outz songs, as well as revisit the older songs referenced, and see if you agree!
Music attributions similar to the ones mentioned also sneak into Def Leppard’s songs periodically. Some examples: The chorus for “Demolition Man” brings to mind Sweet’s “Ballroom Blitz” chorus; “Back In Your Face” and its ‘heys‘ emulate the predominant Hey! repeated throughout Gary Glitter’s “Rock and Roll Part 2” (aka “The Hey Song”); the “We Belong” lyric “If you cast the first stone, I will roll it away” is no doubt a wonderful wink and tip of the hat to Mott The Hoople’s song “Roll Away The Stone”; Def Leppard’s “Nine Lives” lyric “I’ve been bitten once, but I won’t be twice shy” is a quaint reference to Ian Hunter’s song “Once Bitten Twice Shy”; the arrangement of Def Leppard’s ballad “Love” undoubtedly echoes Queen’s song “Jealousy.” And so on.
By the way, the title of this chapter is itself an ode to the classic Mott the Hoople song “The Ballad of Mott,” which seemed quite fitting considering the subject matter. Joe’s music roots remain proudly on display to this day; in case you weren’t aware, his well-known “Don’t forget us, we won’t forget you” farewell line at Def Leppard’s shows originated with Ian Hunter, who would say the phrase at the end of Mott The Hoople’s shows.
During the times I had the opportunity to have a chat with Joe, one of my first (and favorite) questions I’d ask him was…
Want to keep reading? Get your copy of “I GOT SOMETHING TO SAY” today!
More chapter excerpts: Inside Vault‘s Vault & More! | Single Spotlight: “Love Bites” | Single Spotlight: “Rocket”
Available worldwide at these book outlets (select your preferred format):
Amazon: Paperback | Kindle
Apple: Apple Books
Google: Google Play Books
