DEF LEPPARD's JOE ELLIOTT Shares His QUEEN Fan Story On BBC Radio 2

Friday, 28th April 2023

Def Leppard 2023

Def Leppard singer Joe Elliott was recently interviewed by BBC Radio 2 as part of their Queen 50 year celebrations.

The new album Drastic Symphonies will be released on Friday 19th May.

The album will feature 16 classic Def Leppard songs reworked and reimagined with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios in London.

The first single 'Animal' was released to digital and streaming services on the same day as the announcement - listen below.

BBC Radio 2 Interview

Joe recently appeared on the Radio special 'Queen: The Fan's Story' which was a one hour special where various musicians shared their own stories of being a Queen fan.

This was part of a series of programmes celebrating 50 years since the band's debut album was released in 1973.

Joe spoke about becoming a fan in 1974 after hearing the 'Sheer Heart Attack' album and his friendship with Brian May.

read all of Joe's words below and listen again (while you still can) via the link.

The Freddie Mercury Tribute Show's 31st anniversary was recently marked having taken place in April 1991 at Wembley Stadium (which today celebrates its 100th year anniversary).

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).

Joe Elliott/BBC Radio 2 Queen: The Fan's Story - March 2023 Interview Quotes

Joe's Fan Story

"Hi. I'm Joe Elliott. I came into Queen quite late which was the norm for me."

"I discovered David Bowie on his fourth album. I discovered a lot of bands on their third or fourth album. And I discovered Queen on their third album."

"Which gave me the luxury of being able to back track to their first two albums. A friend of mine had bought an album called Sheer Heart Attack in 1974."

"And he said you need to come and hear this. Of course I would no doubt see Killer Queen on Top Of The Pops and definitely hear it on the radio. And I was absolutely sold."

"At the time they were a rock band in the sense of you could hear they sounded a little bit like Sweet because of the harmonies. A little bit like Uriah Heep because of the big guitars."

"But there was something just beyond that that Queen had."

"The arrangements. The fact that they had three great singers in Freddie Mercury, Roger Taylor and Brian May."

"The songs were all very different 'cause they were mostly written individually by each member of Queen."

"So you had four styles of music. They just took it to the next level every time they released an album."

"And we got to A Night At The Opera and heard Bohemian Rhapsody. A six minute single with a middle part that was operatic."

"It had never been heard of before. They even used silence to their advantage which no other band had ever really done."

"And their career just went on and on and on. And sadly for me I never got to see them live until way after the fact."

"It was 1984. And by then we'd become friends with Brian May who'd even been up on stage with Def Leppard and jammed with us."

"And a lifelong friend he has been to this band and to me ever since 1983 when we first met him."

"I've seen them many times since '84. I've seen them with Fred. I saw them with Paul Rodgers and of course I've seen them with Adam Lambert."

"But their catalogue of music. It just stands up on its own."

"As one of the greatest catalogues by one of the greatest bands of all time."

Listen to the show on the BBC iPlayer.

Def Leppard 2023.

Def Leppard - The World Tour 2023 Dates

May

Mon May 22, 2023 Sheffield, England @ Bramall Lane
Thu May 25, 2023 Mönchengladbach, Germany @ SparkassenPark Mönchengladbach
Sat May 27, 2023 Munich, Germany @ Koenigsplatz (King's Square)
Mon May 29, 2023 Budapest, Hungary @ MVM Dome (Budapesti Multifunkcionális Sportcsarnok)
Wed May 31, 2023 Krakow, Poland @ Tauron Arena Krakow

June

Fri Jun 2, 2023 Prague, Czech Republic @ Prague Rocks *
Sat Jun 3, 2023 Hannover, Germany @ Expo Plaza
Wed Jun 7, 2023 Solvesborg, Sweden @ Sweden Rock Festival *
Fri Jun 9, 2023 Hyvinkää, Finland @ RockFest *
Sun Jun 11, 2023 Trondheim, Norway @ Trondheim Rocks (Bryggeribyen EC Dahls Arena) *
Wed Jun 14, 2023 Copenhagen, Denmark @ COPENHELL *
Fri Jun 16, 2023 Clisson/Val de Moine, France @ HELLFEST (Main Stage 1) *
Sun Jun 18, 2023 Dessel, Belgium @ Graspop Metal Meeting *
Tue Jun 20, 2023 Milan, Italy @ Ippodromo del Galoppo di San Siro
Fri Jun 23, 2023 Lisbon, Portugal @ Passeio Marítimo de Algés
Sat Jun 24, 2023 Rivas-Vaciamadrid, Spain @ Auditorio Miguel Ríos
Tue Jun 27, 2023 Thun, Switzerland @ Stockhorn Arena

July

Sat Jul 1, 2023 London, England @ Wembley Stadium
Sun Jul 2, 2023 Lytham/Lytham St. Annes, England @ Lytham Festival (Lytham Green) *
Tue Jul 4, 2023 Dublin/Rathfarnham, Ireland @ Marlay Park
~~Thu Jul 6, 2023 Glasgow, Scotland @ Hampden Park~~ - VENUE CHANGED
Thu Jul 6, 2023 Glasgow, Scotland @ Glasgow Green

August

Saturday, August 5th, 2023 Syracuse, NY @ JMA Wireless Dome
Tuesday, August 8th, 2023 Columbus, OH @ Ohio Stadium
Friday, August 11th, 2023 Fargo, ND @ Fargodome
Sunday, August 13th, 2023 Omaha, NE Charles Schwab Field Omaha
Wednesday, August 16th, 2023 Tulsa, OK @ Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium
Friday, August 18th, 2023 El Paso, TX @ Sun Bowl Stadium

* = Festival.

Def Leppard World Tour 2023

Def Leppard 2023.