Def Leppard News - JOE ELLIOTT Confirms DEF LEPPARD's Box Set Will Include Rare 1980 Songs

Tuesday, 7th January 2020

JOE ELLIOTT Confirms DEF LEPPARD's Box Set Will Include Rare 1980 Songs

By dltourhistory

Def Leppard singer Joe Elliott was interviewed by a member of Tesla recently and confirmed details of the new Early Years box set.

Joe spoke to Tesla guitarist Frank Hannon for his Far Out! Podcast to promote the Down 'n' Outz and The Stadium Tour.

This was episode 8 of his new podcast series which began in late 2019. The interview took place in December just before Christmas.

Joe talked about The Stadium Tour 2020, ticket sales, Down 'n' Outz band history, This Is How We Roll album/song, Vocals/American Influences/Last Man Standing, Goodnight Mr. Jones, Song Lyrics, Frank Playing With Def Leppard, High 'n' Dry Album, Rocks Off Played Live Again?/Early Years Box Set, On Through The Night Album and His Two Radio Shows.

Early Years Box Set/Oxford 1980 Show

Joe again talked about how good the Oxford 1980 live show and confirmed the tracklisting with the first two albums, The Def Leppard EP included along with this live show. No other material is included over the five discs.

Joe confirmed during the chat that both 'When The Rain Falls' and 'Medicine Man' will be released for the first time officially as part of the 1980 Oxford show on 'The Early Years '79-'81' box set due out on 20th March (according to retailers).

'When The Rain Falls' was first mentioned in the 1987 'Animal Instinct' biography. A recording first surfaced in 2010 when the fan recording from the London Lyceum show was posted online from April 1980.

That show also included both Medicine Man (with an intro and main riff later used for Rock! Rock!) and 'Lady Strange'. Joe has now confirmed the Oxford show did indeed have the same setlist as the London show.

A radio recording of 'Medicine Man' was made public in 1980 when the BBC broadcast highlights from the Reading Festival headline set. But this is the first time it has been released officially long with most of the other OTTN tracks as live versions.

In fact only versions of 'Wasted' and 'Rock Brigade' from 1983 and 2013 have been on official releases before now and with only the current line up or the Steve Clark era band playing them.

On Through The Night 40th Anniversary

Joe talked briefly about re-recording songs from The Def Leppard E.P. for the album including 'Rocks Off'.

The Stadium Tour 2020

He also once again commented on the strong first day ticket sales for the 2020 tour.

Listen to the full 43 minute interview below.

Joe's part starts at 7:24 mins in and lasts until the end.

Visit the Tour News section. For more news on future tour plans.

Visit the Album News section for more news on new music (based on band member quotes).

Def Leppard 2020.

Far Out! Podcast/Frank Hannon - Joe Elliott Interview Quotes - (Transcribed by dltourhistory)

The Stadium Tour 2020/Ticket Sales

"Yeah we were hoping. We were really hoping it would be good. Like they say good out of the box. You know like the first couple of days. But it has, I think it's gone beyond everybody's expectations. I mean it makes you fell like a little boy again when you see the numbers that are flying around. And the excitement that it's creating."

"You know people like us that have experienced that kind of euphoria or, excuse the pun, hysteria in the past. To experience it again, you know, you've been there and you've done it so it's easy to just take it for granted. But we are actually doing the opposite. We're feeling like it's a blessing and such a gift and a privilege to be in this position one more time."

"To play in front of what's gonna be an enormous amount of people on every night. With such a great line up of bands. You know I mean it's just gonna be like one huge big travelling circus. You know it's gonna be like a, it's a festival. It's gonna be like a full on festival that just travels from stadium to stadium."

"I can't wait for it to start. I'll be honest. It's gonna be big man. It's gonna be big."

Frank Playing With Def Leppard

"No I don't remember that but I do remember you getting up and playing with us at the Allentown State Fair. Sometime in the early 2000s. When the Frank Hannon Band opened for us. And you got up on stage with us and you did Let It Go. I think it was Let It Go off High 'n' Dry."

"I remember that really well. I don't remember doing (Love Bites)...I may not have done that soundcheck. Sometimes I don't soundcheck. And maybe, you know, if you'd have done an instrumental version of it. Or Phil sang it or something I don't know."

"But I absolutely remember you getting up on stage with us and us doing Let It Go in front of thousands of people and the smile on your face was to die for man. it was so just. You know because I'm a music fan. I'm a fan. So when I see the fan in somebody else. I see the other person in me. I think people that lose. When you lose the fan in you as a musician. Or some people never had it. But when you lose it, half of your ability to perform the songs and maybe keep creating more starts to wane, because you must be thinking oh it's just a job."

"It's nine to five. I don't wanna do this any more. And like dude I get more excited the older I get. I'm as crazy about music now as I was then. And you that night were the epitome of like a younger me if you like you know. Just big old smile playing the riffs and like this is my thing. It would've been like me getting up on stage with Mott and doing All the Young Dudes or something like that."

"Which I have done many times with an inane grin on my face as well so. I totally get it and I remember it very well indeed."

Rocks Off Played Live Again?/Early Years Box Set

"Yes and no. No by the current line up 0f the band. I can't ever see us playing it live, because you know. It's OK to jettison parts of your career. Especially when the two guitar players that played on Rocks Off are no longer in the band. But there is a box set coming out early next year called The Early Years and it's the first two albums and a live recording of the band from April 1980 at the Oxford New Theatre in the UK."

"Where Rocks Off is played live in front of a very enthusiastic audience. We recorded it back in the day you know. Got The Rolling Stones mobile in. And then the tapes sat around for 30 odd years you know. 39 to be quite honest. So much so that we had to bake them to make sure that they were safe to play. And then we transferred them into Pro Tools to make sure that they were totally safe."

"And then we mixed it and we were surprised how good it is for a bunch if kids. Rick was 15 or 16 years old. Sav was 17. I mean what a rhythm section they were you know. And Pete and Steve together. There was a great band in the making on that record, you know, on that live performance."

"We were, it was the beginning of a great journey. You hear the energy. It's insane. The timings all over the palce. I'm not singing as well as I could like later on in life. As I've said many times you peer through the uncertainty of my voice and you can hear a great band behind me."

"But it was a great starting block you know. It really was. it was the bottom part of the rocket that you need to get you up into orbit. And the live recordings of those songs. it's mostly, it's mostly the first album. Most of the first album and a couple of songs that would end up on High 'n' Dry vut in a different format. There was a song called When The Rain Falls which became Let It Go. There's an embryonic version of Lady Strange which is not a great deal different. I think there's three songs which ended up on High 'n' Dry. Two f them with different titles you know."

"Oh no there's a song called Medicine Man. The song called Medicine Man which actually turned into Rock Till You Drop two years later, three years later. You know so it's a very interesting little time capsule. And that's coming out in about three months time. So yes you get to hear that live version but I don't think see us playing it."

"It;s just called The Early Years. It's the early years. It's, you know, '79 to '81. It's got the EP, it's got the first album, couple of B-Sides, High 'n' Dry, with the remixes 'cause there were no bonus with High 'n' Dry but we did do remixes in '84 and I think they're on it. But the important thing to a fan I would imagine is this never heard before live recording from 1980."

On Through The Night Album

"We didn't have enough material when we were doing that first album which is why we re-recorded Overture. And then we re-recorded Rocks Off just to be a straightforward album track. Just a different version to the one on the EP. But as we lived with it for three weeks I think it was Tom Allom who said just put some audience on it for fun. And we did. We weren't really trying to pretend it was really live. We were just, I don't know. It was just studio. It was like one of those in joke studio things that it just happened. I can't remember who suggested it. Why or when. But it was during that three weeks we did the album. And somebody said oh let's just make it sound different. Let's put some live noises on it. And we probably lifted it off some Judas Priest live album or something I don't know. it's a memory long forgotten by me."

Def Leppard 2019.