DEF LEPPARD To Release Own Version Of BAD COMPANY Song SEAGULL

Thursday, 15th January 2026

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Def Leppard members Joe Elliott and Phil Collen have been interviewed and confirmed a second version of Bad Company song Seagull will be released.

The 'Can’t Get Enough: A Tribute To Bad Company' album was released on 24th October 2025.

Including a cover of 'Seagull' featuring Joe Elliott and Phil Collen.

Bad Company Video Interview

Joe Elliott and Phil Collen have now taken part in a video Q and A talking about Bad Company and their involvement in the album.

Seagull Def Leppard Version

During the video, which is mostly about Bad Company's influence and music, they discuss the making of 'Seagull'.

Joe revealng that there is also a full Def Leppard only version which they are "saving for later".

Indicating a release at some point.

For anyone who remembers Joe's mention in later 2024 of the band covering a classic rock song for a commercial (that was not released), this might well be the song he referred to (...or not).

Joe also mentioned the plan of the band releasing two new singles in 2026 to coincide with the Las Vegas Residency and the summer UK tour.

The last 'new' single was the cover of 'Stand By Me' from 'Bank Of Dave 2: The Loan Ranger' in January 2025.

Read Joe and Phil's quotes below and watch the video.

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/Phil Collen January 2026 Quotes - (Transcribed by dltourhistory)

Bad Company came out of a powerhouse lineup of musicians from Free, Mott The Hoople, and King Crimson. What struck you most about their chemistry and musical identity when you first heard them?

Joe Elliott

When I first heard Bad Company, it just felt to me like a natural progression of Free.

To most people, when you hear a song, you hear the singer.

With the greatest respect to Mick Ralphs, he could have been Paul Kossoff playing Can’t Get Enough, which is the first thing I ever heard.

It’s not a million miles from All Right Now in that respect.

So I was, what, 12, 13, 14 years old or something.

The first thing I recognized was Paul Rodgers.

I’d been a huge fan of Free, so I was really familiar with his voice.

I knew it was him.

And then, of course, having read the papers, I knew it was Bad Company.

So the first thing that you hear, if you’re familiar with Free, is the fact that the drums are similar and the singer is similar.

And the funny thing is Boz Burrell, who’s a fantastic bass player who came out of King Crimson, is very similar in his style to Andy Fraser from Free.

That’s probably why they picked him, because it didn’t fall that far from the tree, as it were.

This new apple had just been harvested from the rock tree.

And yeah, that would be my introduction to Bad Company, and that’s probably what drew me in.

But it was the song.

Can’t Get Enough was a fantastic song.

Bad Company had a way of making songs feel both big and intimate at the same time. What do you think was the secret to that balance?

Phil Collen

So Paul Rodgers’ voice — he could pretty much do anything he wanted.

He’s got one of those classic, archetypal voices that you want.

He was like one of those early blues-rock singers that everyone tried to emulate.

So I think you would listen to him.

You’d listen to the stories he would tell, and that’s why it connected.

And they were cool.

That was the thing about them.

Free were really cool when they came out, and Bad Company just pushed that even a little bit further.

So there was a coolness factor to it as well, and his voice just slayed it.

Paul Rodgers has often been called one of the greatest rock vocalists. What have you taken from his vocal style and stage presence into your own work?

Joe Elliott

Paul Rodgers is indeed one of the greatest rock vocalists of all time.

The reason for that is he’s not inspired by rock.

He was inspired by R&B.

If you talk to Paul Rodgers, he’ll tell you that the people he grew up with were Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, and Marvin Gaye, and then he turned that into rock.

People like me from the next generation down sang rock influenced by rock.

So it was always going to be more second generation.

I took absolutely nothing from Paul Rodgers except admiration, because I don’t have anything like his voice.

He’s a soul singer.

I’m not.

I can sing a Paul Rodgers song.

In fact, I’ve sung quite a couple.

I did Little Bit of Love by Free on the YEAH! album.

In fact, Paul really likes our version of that.

And of course, more recently, Seagull for this Bad Company tribute album, which is coincidentally called Can’t Get Enough.

So, massive amounts of admiration.

Stage presence — I actually thought his stage presence when he was fronting Queen was more extravagant than he ever was in Bad Company.

That’s because he occasionally played guitar, and more so than any footage I ever saw of Free.

So again, two different styles.

I didn’t really take anything from it other than I just admired him.

Why do you think Bad Company's song catalog continues to resonate with new generations of rock fans?

Phil Collen

So the classic formula that they naturally had, that’s why people copy them.

Going back to archetypes, they were a blues-rock band that actually had commercial success.

You had Led Zeppelin and stuff like that, but they didn’t quite cross over in the same way.

There was something about Free — All Right Now, My Brother Jake, all those great songs.

And then Bad Company, it was a natural progression to that.

People liked that.

I think that’s why there are so many stereotypes that copy that style, because they were legit.

"Seagull" isn't one of the obvious, high-charting singles. What draws you to that track specifically over their more well-known hits?

Joe Elliott

The reason me and Phil Collen are on the song Seagull, quite honestly, it was a request from Paul.

He wanted us to sing that one.

I don’t know why.

You’ll have to ask Paul Rodgers, but I’m so glad he chose that one.

Because obviusly the first album I ever owned was Bad Company, sorry, the first Bad Company album I ever owned was their debut album.

So of course I’m really familiar with every song on it.

Seagull ends the album, and it’s a beautiful way to end it.

It’s nothing like everything else.

You’ve got all the bombastic stuff like Can’t Get Enough, and then you have this beautiful acoustic tune that’s almost a lament.

And it’s in my range to sing.

So I didn’t have to pretend to be Paul Rodgers.

I could be me singing a Paul Rodgers melody.

So it was more of a request than us choosing it.

But so glad we were asked to do it, because it’s one of my favourite songs they ever recorded.

You-ve given "Seagull" a completely different arrangement. Was there a defining moment in the studio where you knew the new direction was working?

Phil Collen

They'd already, Simon Kirke had done some drums.

Joe Elliott played acoustic.

And Paul had done some parts on it as well.

For me, I just thought some heavy guitars, some ripping guitars, and some really melodic lead playing would suit it.

And just a bit more of an aggressive version.

Because with Def Leppard, you have to make it a little different while remaining true to the original song.

The original "Seagull" has a stripped-down, haunting simplicity. How did you approach reimagining it without losing that emotional weight?

Joe Elliott

Well the beginning part of Seagull is what it is.

It’s an acoustic guitar in D, and it's just a simple turnaround of chords.

But over the years, Paul Rodgers has played that song in his set he and developed it further than Bad Company ever did it on the record.

Like going heavy at the end.

And that was the version he asked us to do, because he wanted to bring Simon Kirke in on it.

On the original I think, Simon only does a tambourine.

But on the Paul Rodgers’ recordings from the mid-noughties, when Jason Bonham was playing drums, they brought drums in halfway through.

And that’s the version he wanted to do.

So we were more than happy to oblige.

The interesting thing is that there are actually two versions of Seagull.

There’s the version with Joe, Phil, Simon, and Paul.

And then there’s the Def Leppard version, which we’re saving for later.

If you could describe Bad Company's legacy in one word, what would it be - and why?

Joe Elliott

Underrated.

Bad Company — totally underrated.

I can’t believe it’s taken this long for them to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

They deserved it many, many years ago.

Long, long, long before we ever got in.

And we’ve been in six years, because we only formed in 1977.

And they've been around three or four years before us.

They have amazing songs.

The legacy speaks for itself.

Because they made album after album after album of brilliant music.

Specifically the first three — Bad Company, Straight Shooter, and Run with the Pack.

Absolutely just chock-a-block full of fantastic songs.

So it’s all in the legacy.

Can’t Get Enough: A Tribute To Bad Company

01 - Ready For Love (Bad Company & Hardy) - 4:45
02 - Shooting Star (Bad Company & Halestorm) - 6:36
03 - Feel Like Makin' Love (Bad Company & Slash/Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators) - 5:37
04 - Run With The Pack (Bad Company, Blackberry Smoke & Paul Rodgers feat. Brann Dailor) - 4:39
05 - Rock N Roll Fantasy (Bad Company & The Struts) - 3:15
06 - Bad Company (Bad Company & Charley Crockett) - 3:41
07 - Rock Steady (Bad Company & Dirty Honey) 4:53
08 - Burnin' Sky (Bad Company & Black Stone Cherry) - 4:07
09 - Seagull (Bad Company, Joe Elliott/Phil Collen & Paul Rodgers) - 4:38
10 - All Right Now (Bad Company & The Pretty Reckless) - 5:17