DEF LEPPARD's JOE ELLIOTT Says DIAMOND STAR HALOS Album Is Career Defining Record

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Friday, 27th May 2022

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Def Leppard 2022

Def Leppard singer Joe Elliott has been interviewed and mentioned the new Diamond Star Halos album.

'Diamond Star Halos' is the band's 12th studio album.

As announced on 17th March it will be released on Friday 27th May 2022.

This morning Joe appeared on The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show again again following his two appearances in Marc/April to premiere new songs.

He spoke to Zoe Ball live from Los Angeles after the Whisky A Go Go show had finished.

Joe talked about playing again, the Whisky A Go Go show, making Diamond Star Halos, Alison Krauss, Mike Garson and again repeated his UK tour news but without any dates.

View the full 12 minute interview via the show link below.

Joe's part starts at 1:14:32 and lasts until 1:26:03.

Diamond Star Halos

Joe said he feels that this is a career defining album for the band.

Album Story/Remote Recording

He also recounted the story of how the album came to be made.

Album Guests

Joe once again told the story of how ALison Krauss came to be on the new album.

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).

The Joe Elliott/The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show - 27th May 2022 Quotes - (Transcribed by dltourhistory)

Diamond Star Halos Album

Zoe Ball - "Brilliant. Tell us about the album. The fans have been so patient. Seven years it's taken. but you have said that if it haven't been for lockdown it might not have happened."

Joe Elliott - "Yeah well, you know, the truth is we've actually been sitting on this album for the best part of 18 months."

Joe Elliott - "We didn't want to release it into the middle of a full on pandemic. Now that we seem to be, I know it's still around, but we're kind of learning to live with it. Same way that we'd live with a heavy cold or the Flu or whatever."

Joe Elliott - "It seemed obvious to us that the tour would happen this year. And we didn't wanna release te album last year and then be waiting a year to tour it."

Joe Elliott - "We wanted to tie the two together. So we sat on it for about 18 months. But the album was born the day the pandemic or lockdown happened. Every body was supposed to come to my studio in Dublin, Ireland."

Joe Elliott - "For four weeks and just for a bit of fun. See what we had. but that got cancelled. So we decided to try doing that particular session. In, like 100 percent remotely."

Joe Elliott - "Which we've dabbled in the past but we've never done it obviously 100 percent. And then when the tour got postponed we had this open opportunity to just keep going."

Joe Elliott - "So what turned out to be a kind of a writing session turned into a full blown album. And we just kept going. We had no end date. We had no delivery date."

Joe Elliott - "We were just having total fun and it was really inspiring working individually rather than in one room."

Joe Elliott - "Instead of having five alpha males fighting and vying for space, everybody's left to their own devices to just come up with songs. And we came up with 15 songs."

Joe Elliott - "And, you know, for us it's a career defining record. 45 years into our career to do an album that we believe is this good and this, you know, vibrant. Is pretty impressive I think."

Joe Elliott - "Sorry I'm blowing my own trumpet a bit. But yeah born in lockdown, delivered in lockdown. Sorry, delivered in a pandemic but at least I think we're moving on."

Take What You Want

Zoe Ball - "Fans going crazy for it. Let's hear something from the album. Do you want to introduce Take What You Want Joe."

Joe Elliott - "Yeah I'd love to. OK this is Joe Elliott on The Zoe Ball Show and this is the opening track of our brand new album Diamond Star Halos. This is Take What You Want."

Zoe Ball - "Oh come on. Joe Elliott from Def Leppard is on the show with us this morning. That's from the new album Take What You Want. Oh Joe it sounds so good."

Joe Elliott - "Good at this time of day as well. I mean that's gonna wake a few people up."

Zoe Ball - "It really is. I tell you what it sorted me out. I was very sleepy this morning. I have to say the album is superb. Alison Krauss appears on a couple of tracks. How did that come about. Are you old friends?."

Joe Elliott - "Well actually yes she interviewed me for Q Magazine in 1996. She was actually the journalist. She was trying to get inside my head to figure out the harmonies, 'cause a lot of our harmonies are very country leaning because of our old producer Mutt Lange."

Joe Elliott - "So we've known her since then but it all came about in 2020. When Wolverhampton Wanderers were playing Sheffield United in the FA Cup. And I was having some very jolly banter with Robert Plant."

Joe Elliott - "And they won so he was baiting me, which is fine. And he just happened to say OK kid so what are you up to and I said look don't tell anybody but we're making a new album."

Joe Elliott - "And he said well, I'm gonna have to tell Alison 'cause annoyingly you're her favourite band. So she found out through Robert and then word got back that we'd love her to sing on the record. And word got back to us that she'd be happy to do it."

Joe Elliott - "So we came together and we sent her a couple of songs that we thought she might like and said pick which one you like. And she said I can't pick I like them both. So we said OK fine then do them both."

Joe Elliott - "So we have Alison Krauss on two songs. And you might like this one. We also have Mike Garson David Bowie's keyboard player/pianist from Aladdin Sane onwards plays piano on two tracks as well."

Joe Elliott - "So we were offering the love out there to anybody that wanted to join in on this album."

Listen to the interview on the BBC website.

Buy 'Diamond Star Halos' Online

Amazon - Regular CD
Amazon - Deluxe CD
Amazon - Vinyl
Amazon - MP3

Diamond Star Halos - Tracklisting

01 - Take What You Want - 4:14
02 - Kick - 3:42 - (Collen) - Amazon - (MP3)
03 - Fire It Up - 3:19
04 - This Guitar [feat. Alison Krauss] - 3:50
05 - SOS Emergency - 3:25
06 - Liquid Dust - 4:01
07 - U Rok Mi - 3:33
08 - Goodbye For Good This Time - 4:27
09 - All We Need - 4:46
10 - Open Your Eyes - 4:19
11 - Gimme A Kiss - 3:12
12 - Angels (Can’t Help You Now) - 4:57
13 - Lifeless [feat. Alison Krauss] - 4:19 - (Collen/Elliott)
14 - Unbreakable - 3:46
15 - From Here To Eternity - 5:37