DEF LEPPARD's JOE ELLIOTT On Radio 2 Sounds Of The 80s (Transcript/Audio)

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Saturday, 16th August 2025

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Def Leppard 2025

Def Leppard singer Joe Elliott's April 2022 appearance on BBC Radio 2 was repeated recently with audio available.

The appearance was first broadcast in April 2022.

It was repeated on 9th August to promote the upcoming Radio 2 In The Park show.

My 80s Moments/Mastermix

The segment hosted by Gary Davies included the Mastermix with songs from Hysteria and Pyromania.

It also included Joe selecting four songs for the My 80s feature.

Read Joe's quotes again below and follow the link to listen to the audio.

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 2022.

Sounds Of The 80s with Gary Davies - 9th August 2025 Show Quotes

Gary Davies

Tonight on The Master Mix, we turn our attention to one of Britain's biggest rock bands, who happen to be our headliners at Highlands Park in Chelmsford on Sunday the 7th of September.

Talking about Def Leppard, of course — their only UK gig this year is with Radio 2 in the Park.

And as I mentioned, guess who's warming up for them?

Yeah, only me — with a banging Sounds of the 80s set.

Still some final tickets left for the Sunday, which also features Suede, Soul II Soul, Louise, Olly Murs, Anastacia, David Gray, and our very own Sophie Ellis-Bextor.

Just head to bbc dot co dot uk / radio2inthepark and snap them up while you still can.

But let's get back to Def Leppard, who released four albums in the 80s, each one getting bigger and bigger until they struck gold with 1987's Hysteria.

And here come their biggest 80s hits on The Master Mix.

Gary Davies

Our Def Leppard Master Mix.

So, we played you:

"Women",

then "Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)",

"Pour Some Sugar on Me",

"Rock of Ages",

"Hysteria",

"Armageddon It",

"Photograph",

"Animal".

Surely, every one of those will probably make their set list next month.

So excited to see Def Leppard perform.

And let's stay with Def Leppard and find out which four 80s tunes give frontman Joe Elliott Hysteria!.

BBC Radio 2 - My80s Joe Elliott Song Picks

01 - U2 - Where The Streets Have No Name

"Hi Gary I'm Joe Elliott and this is My 80s."

"My first choice is Where The Streets Have No Name by U2."

"I love this song for many reasons. It's a fantastic opening track to a fantastic album that is the Joshua Tree."

"The accompanying video for this song was just mind blowing. And it just really opened up every avenue for that band to become massive which they did and remain to be huge too."

"And I was in and around them while they were recording it because Def Leppard and U2 were both in Dublin in the mid 80s recording albums."

"Ours was Hysteria and theirs was The Joshua Tree."

"So we were kind of running into each other all over town and discussing what we were up to and how far we'd got into our records."

"And so it's just interesting to see how it was building from the inside."

"But seeing it from the outside what a great video and boy what a great song."

02 - Kate Bush - The Dreaming

"My second choice is the title track of Kate Bush's 1982 The Dreaming."

"The 80s is a time where production was becoming very important. Almost as important as the songs themselves or the performance of the actual artist."

"With Kate Bush you had all three rolled into one."

"She was an incredible performer, fantastic songwriter and an absolutely brilliant producer and arranger."

"And in this album the amount of different sounds that she achieves out of her voice is absolutely incredible."

"And this title track just about sums up the entire album."

"Beautiful piece of work."

03 - Peter Gabriel - Red Rain

"My third choice is occasional collaborator with Kate Bush and ex-Genesis lead singer Mr. Peter Gabriel."

"It is from his 1986 album So. And it is the opening track Red Rain."

"Once again this is all about the production and the performance."

"Peter Gabriel's voice is so distinctive but more importantly so commanding."

"What's not to like."

04 - Prince And The Revolution - Purple Rain

"So with honourable mentions to Start Me Up by The Rolling Stones. Welcome To the Jungle by Guns N' Roses and Two Tribes by Frankie Goes To Hollywood."

"This is my ultimate 80s choice. It is Prince with Purple Rain."

"It is one of the most brilliant and beautiful songs that I've ever heard."

"The hairs on the back of my neck and on my arms stand up every time I hear this song on the radio."

"So beautifully performed."

"I saw him do this live at least half a dozen times and it was so incredibly moving live."

"It was almost like going to church. It really was that good."

"This is my ultimate 80s classic choice."

"it is Purple Rain by Prince."

BBC Radio 2 - Def Leppard Mastermix