Thursday, 24th December 2015
Screenshot by dltourhistory/1998
Lorelei Shellist the ex fiance of Def Leppard guitarist Steve Clark recently visited his grave site in Sheffield and was interviewed by the BBC.
Lorelei was in Europe recently and decided to visit Steve's grave on 12th December to hold a vigil along with some of Steve's old friends. She also visited The Admiral Rodney pub in Loxley which is located across the road from Wisewood cemetery.
This area is shown on the map below.
She posted a few photos online which can be seen below.
Lorelei also appeared on a BBC Radio Leeds show on 11th December called One On One. Hosted by DJ Martin Kelner who said he worked for Radio Hallam in Sheffield in the late 70s when Def Leppard recorded a session for them.
During the interview she talked about meeting Steve, her relationship with him during the Hysteria recording sessions and tour, her modelling career, running away from home, meeting Don Henley from The Eagles, her first marriage, working with Carole King, leaving Steve and his death in 1991, her current work in fashion, a Love Bites story, her other work, body surfing and Nashville.
The interview lasts for almost the entire one hour show starting at 5mins in.
She also chooses some songs during the show including The Eagles and Def Leppard (Love Bites - with a great anecdote about the song).
Listen to the full minute interview via the BBC link below.
After this she attended the 13th December show in Nottingham at Capital FM Arena.
BBC Radio Leeds - Lorelei Shellist Interview Quotes
Relationship With Steve Clark
"Well Steve. I met Steve in Paris, as I wrote in my book, and I was friends with his manager and I was - his manager called me up and asked me if I would sort of babysit Steve and Phil. Back in those days because they were coming to Paris for two weeks and he was afraid they'd get in trouble. So he thought I'd look after them. And they definitely got into trouble. He didn't expect that it was gonna be with me."
"We were both always travelling but over here in Europe it's so easy. It's an hour flight. So I would go to Ireland or London. He would come to Paris or we lived together all through the recording of the Hysteria record which took place in Dublin. Also outside of Amsterdam at Wisseloord Studios. And then eventually when the tour started in America we moved to New York and we got a place together there. So we were constantly always somewhere. He would come and visit me where I was doing the collections or I would go out on the road where he was. And in between we would take holidays."
DJ - Martin Kelner
"I knew Steve back in the 70s, late 70s. When he recorded with Def Leppard - when they recorded their first single actually in the studios of Radio Hallam. The radio station I used to work for. Ye sit is. What an amazing coincidence. So I knew him all those years ago. the quiet one from Def Leppard. The others were rambunctious I think was the word you used."
Lorelei Shellist
"Yeah well they were all rambunctious in those days. I remember Peter Mensch said they were like a bunch of cats. And it was trying to - to get them together was you know (like) trying to gather cats."
Def Leppard's American Success
""Yes well the Americans loved that kind of music and when they came along it was perfect timing because we had MTV and they were all so darn cute. And all the girls loved them but the guys loved them too because the girls were all so excited the guys were excited."
"Very broad Sheffield accents and real good Yorkshire lads and they still are. The ones - the Yorkshire boys are still really good guys."
Still in touch with the band?
"Oh yes. I'm gonna see them on Sunday night in Nottingham.."
Visiting Steve's Grave
"The Admiral Rodney pub where we used to go every Christmas when we would visit his family. But right across the street is the Wisewood cemetery. And you know it's coming up on the 25 year anniversary of his passing. So since I was over in Europe anyway. I thought this would be a really good time to go back and visit the grave. And sort of let's put you know a final tribute after 25 years."
Drinking/Drug Taking In The 80s?
"Oh yes. It was everywhere and you know for people like us. People were always offering it because you know they felt that of they offered their goodies. They would get to be with us. And so it was always there and it was always available and it was always free."
"It took my three years to realise that he actually had a problem it because I always thought that he was just happy to see me. We always had a thing where we wouldn't go more than two weeks without seeing each other. And then so it was always a celebration when we would see each other. So there was champagne or vodka or whatever. But after a few years I started to notice. Especially they were living in Dublin. And I remember one afternoon going out shopping with and then he wanted to duck into a pub and then he didn't ant to leave the pub. And I said you know what I don't want to spend the whole day sitting here in this pub. I'm outta here. I'll meet you back at the house and when he came back he was legless. And that's when I started to realise you know Oh my gosh this is a problem."
DJ - Martin Kelner
"I can remember going out for a drink a couple of times in Sheffield in the late 70s and you know like Sheffield working class guys you know they did like a drink."
Lorelei Shellist
"Well you you know it's part of the culture. Especially back then. It's probably - people have gotten more concious about that today. But back then it was part of the culture. You went and had a pint and that was what he did."
Tom Waits - Martha
"Well Martha was a big song on the radio on those days and that was the nickname that Steve gave me because we used to call each other by our nicknames as if we were 85 years old. We would talk in these old people's voices and imagine ourselves as old people and he would call me Martha and I would call him Maynard."
Meeting Steve
"Yeah well he was bleached blonde - well I bleached his hair blonde. But he was a blonde anyway. He was blonde like you're a blonde. And I just enhanced that a little bit in the hotel rooms on the road. But you know I didn't meet Steve until later. I was living in Paris and probably I had been - there was a nine year journey from then. I was about 23 or 24 when I met Steve and he just reminded me of all the surfers that I hung out with back home. As far as looks go but you know it wasn't like it was anything to do with what he looked like. It was just the moment we met. There was something. And it sort of - it took us on this journey."
Leaving Steve/His Death
Yeah I'd left him in an AA meeting. Well, like I said the drinking got really out of hand and he would get different. He was sort of like Jekyll and Hyde. He would become like someone else. It would be a person that I didn't know. He had a shadow side that came forward from the alcohol that was scary. And so one time he got abusive and then he got remorseful. And he went in for treatment and went to a treatment out in Arizona. And I went out there for the family week and that was when I learned about the disease of alcoholism big time. And also my disease as a co-dependent in sort of assisting him. In a way we were called enablers. I would always clean up the mess. I would pay the bills. I would take care of everything, take care of him. So therefore I was ignoring myself. Abandoning myself in that process and everything about him took front - yes it's called Al Anon. And that's for people who's lives are affected by other peoples drinking and it's a support group to help us to learn to take care of ourselves and remember who we are because we become the forgotten ones because all the focus is on the other person who's creating all this havoc."
Steve's Clothes
"You know I had fun dressing Steve Clark because he could wear anything and he loved fashion. And I used to make his clothes. Yeah he was thin and wore clothes really well and he liked to shop which is pretty rare for a guy. And also because he was a rock star he could wear things that were a little more flamboyant. So we had fun with that. But I would dress him in English tweeds with you know suede elbow patches and things like that. That was his country gentleman look. You know that was sort of his Duke Of Windsor look."
Love Bites
"Well Love Bites was a song that Steve was working on and I was living in Paris. And I was just getting ready to do the big prep show for Yves Saint Laurent and it was probably the highlight of my career. And he was going to be coming to see me in the show. But instead he got stuck in London working with Mutt Lange and Phil Collen, the other guitar player. And they were writing songs together and he couldn't leave until - he had to call me and tell me that he wasn't going to be there for my show and we had a little bit of an upset. And the next day I got a huge three dozen red roses and a cassette in the mail and this was the song on the cassette."
Tears For Fears - Everybody Wants To Rule The World
"Oh Tears For Fears. This was one of Steve's favourite songs and we , which song are we playing? (DJ reminds her of the song name) - Yeah, and don't they?."
- Listen to the interview at - bbc.co.uk
- Related Link - vintageinn.co.uk
- Related Link - runwayrunaway.com
- Def Leppard - Nottingham 2015 Show Page
- Def Leppard - Steve Clark Section
- Previous News - 13th December 2015