Def Leppard has not Deserted the UK

Def Leppard has been accused of deserting the UK, turning their backs on the UK based fans when that is far from the truth. Joe says that the radio and TV that has deserted the band, not Leppard that has deserted the UK.

Is there also something in store in the near future for Rocker Joe Elliott and wife Kristine? Joe Elliott married Kristine in 2004 and this article in 2006 is Joe revealing something for the near future as he states "I thought I'd be a bad father but after putting 27 years in the band, I know I can do both quite well now." He and wife Kristine are planning a family and I think Joe will make a great dad. Will Rocker Joe Elliott be getting diapers and baby clothes as presents instead of bras and panties that are often thrown up on stage during a show?

He broke the heart of millions when he married in 2004 including my own but he's happy and as long as he's happy, that's what counts.


As the tour gets ready to kick off, Def Leppard has been rehearsing like mad to get themselves ready to once again, entertain us with the classics and more and surprises are in store for the fans as the countdown to the Cincinatti Ohio date draws near.

They open on the East Coast this tour but back during the Rock of Ages tour, they did an about face and opened on the West Coast. Fans, I will be reporting live from the road when they come to the West Coast and give you pics and tidbits of information on the energy of the shows. Stay tuned.

Fully aware that Leppard are far from flavour of the month in his homeland, Elliott wants to assure fans that it is merely radio and TV that have deserted the band, not Leppard that have deserted the UK. After their current batch of summer dates here, Leppard will be back playing 20,000 seater venues in the US. Its a tough job, but someones got to do it.

Were very fortunate that, even at our age, we have a lot of attractive women come to see us, laughs Joe. Were the hard rock Tom Jones  panties, bras and God knows what else get thrown at the stage. We could open a store with 500 garments a night.

Hes also a fan of current Sheffield favourites The Arctic Monkeys, still adores living in Dublin and is even planning a family with his second wife Kristine, whom he married in 2004.

We got to know each other for six months before we started dating, says Joe. It just kind of happened  weird really.

For the longest time I always thought Id be a bad father. I put so much effort into Leppard I didnt think Id have any time. But Ive given 27 years of my life to the band and I think I can do both things quite well now.

Going Def for a Living

The Mirror says

Clad in standard issue rock star leathers and shades, Joe Elliott is a commanding, if slightly out-of-time, figure as he offers a firm handshake in the lobby of Hollywoods Standard Hotel. It has been many years since Def Leppard  the band he formed in Sheffield in 1977  were chart-topping radio favourites in Britain.

But with sales of over 65 million in the US, they still fill out the enormodomes  and no one thinks that Joe is called Jeff Leppard. For full article click here. Mirror

Songs From the Sparkle Lounge

Joe Elliott says they've completed 11 songs for their new album which when completed, they will launch a world tour. Joe Elliott says the name comes from a room the group maintained backstage during its 2006 tour dates, where the musicians would congregate with co-producer and live sound technician Ronan McHugh to work up and record ideas.

They had to have something on a moments notice in case they were inspired to record something or get something down. Writing on the road is definitely something different for the band and as Elliott has said, they've done more gigs than they have albums and during the last four years, they've been on tour every year, which is a change of pace from when they would sometimes go as long as four years in between tours.

Now, I wonder if Joe Elliotts hush hush about the new album has to do with what happened with the Yeah album and the premature review Andrew Mc Neice of http://www.melodicrock.com/ gave the album before it was even released, alerting the Def Leppard camp that there was a leak.

When they were still in the middle of recording Yeah in 2006, a review by Andrew Mc Neice showed up in his site, giving it a D- for lack of a better term as to the rating as doing well in sales and on the charts. Frontman Joe Elliott was indeed upset when it was found out the album had been leaked and wondered who in their den of Leppards had given Mc Neice a copy that wasn't even complete.

Was his premature review due to the fact that he'd been had by a track listing sent to him that basically spelled out SUCKER in huge capital letters and he'd bought it and released the track listing on his site only to find out it was false? Fingers were pointed, accusations thrown and tempers flared. If you notice, there has not been any reviews of Sparkle Lounge there so maybe everyone just wants to wait till it's debut. Rumor has it that Def Leppard and Andrew McNeice have decided to call a truce so maybe there will be a happy ending.

Perhaps this is why there is the big secret or is it simply that Def Leppard wants us to be pleasantly surprised when the album debuts and they know that this album is going to do well in the charts and with the fans that love them? We shall see as the tour kicks off in just another four days and excited fans check to make sure they keep their tickets handy and their cameras loaded with fresh film and recharged batteries.


What song from High and Dry do you think they will sing? If you care to comment, send me an e mail to therockchronicles@yahoo.com and I can post them for you.

For official tour information, please visit www.defleppard.com and I hope to see you at the shows.

Man Raze to release its Debut album

September 30th, Man Raze will release their Debut album featuring Phil Collen of Def Leppard and you can download a free track called "Turn it Up" at www.manraze.com. Phil Collen is on the road with Def Leppard this summer and the tour is less than a week away, starting off in Cincinatti Ohio and they will be working their way west.

After recently appearing on the radio show Rockline, fans are revved up for this summer's tour and I will be reporting my own experiences in seeing Def Leppard and hopefully provide you with lots of good pictures of the guys from my shows and report any experiences of meeting up with the guys as well.

While on tour, you won't be hearing anything from the new and upcoming album entitled Sparkle Lounge, instead they will be pulling from the catalogue of old classics such as Pour Some Sugar On me, Rock of Ages, Animal and the band has informed us they will be singing a song from their album High and Dry they've never performed before and it will be a surprise.

Fans are trying to get the secret to this new tour and getting the band to reveal it's surprises but Joe Elliott said "You will just have to wait and see." Meantime, check out The BRAND NEW Man Raze site and check out the first song and the video blog. Perhaps the Man Raze fans can ask Phil on the road about the upcoming album and get a tidbit of information on when they can expect a tour from them.

Interviews with the fans

I will be conducting some interviews with the fans of Def Leppard over the next week. If you wish to be interviewed, submit your requests to therockchronicles@yahoo.com and I will get with you and we can go from there.

This is a series of interviews with YOU, the fans and you will get to speak out about the band, the new album and the upcoming tour and more. For the first time in history, YOU the fan get to be in the spotlight.

Hopefully in the near future, I will get to conduct an interview with the band themselves and post here. If you want an interview, submit your entries by no later than August 8th, 2007, thank you.

Def Leppard On Rock Line

Def Leppard entered the studio once again on Rockline, interviewed by Bob Coburn and he asked them about the upcoming tour and the new album they are coming out with, for now titled Sparkle Lounge.

Fans of Def Leppard got to call in and ask them questions and from what I heard and read on their forum, fans are a bit sketchy on the title of the new album. Joe in the interview offered fans the chance to vote on it on the DefLeppard.com website. This should excite fans and thinking back to when they were deciding on the songs for the Rock of Ages CD, they were inspired by the fans in choosing the songs for their album.

As the summer tour is about to begin in less than a week, Bob Coburn gave us an insight as to what we have to look forward to in the future with Def Leppard. Def Leppard is at work on the new album in between doing interviews and now with the summer concert coming up, they will be busy travelling.

Joe was asked if he had any future side projects planned and he said no, they are just interested in finishing up the album and he said that he wouldn't do a solo album either unless someone held a gun to his head, otherwise why be in the band. He was also asked why do another tour instead of finishing the album and where the money is being made nowdays, CD sales, merchandise and Joe said that for one, they invest a lot back into the band and that touring works best for them, live is best. Plus they would have to tour through the winter, which they didn't want to do. Speaking from experience, I saw them live in Spokane back in November of 2005 and there were bitter cold winds and snow and Phil was sick and if the lead singer is sick, it makes it hard for him to perform as it would all of them.

To hear a repeat of rock line, go to http://www.rocklineradio.com/ and you can hear it if you missed it the first time.