JOE ELLIOTT Reflects On 2026 Las Vegas Residency/India Tour

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Thursday, 7th May 2026

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Def Leppard singer Joe Elliott was recently interviewed and talked about the 2026 Las Vegas Residency and India tour.

The Live 2026 UK/European summer tour leg starts on 13th June in Sweden.

Joe looked back on the tour so far and the upcoming return to Paris.

The Las Vegas Residency/India Tour 2026

Joe was interviewed by France 24 for their music show Arts24 and reflected on the recent shows in Las Vegas and India.

Joe once again said the band appreciated staying in one city for a whole month.

He also said the band were suprised by how many young people attneded the three shows in India in March.

Paris 2026 Show

Joe talked about the upcoming show in Paris, new music/2027 album release and how the band now record remotely.

This appearance was broadcast on the France 24 TV channel which is available in the UK and Freeview channel 255.

The Arts24 show is on at least three or four times daily.

Read some quotes below and view the full 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).

Def Leppard 2026.

Joe Elliott May 2026 Interview Quotes

It's great to have you. Now, you've recently had a residency in Las Vegas, and I was wondering, how did it go, and how did it compare to touring in the 1980s?

"Oh, it's very different. It's very different to touring in the 2020s, to be honest. The thing about a residency, it's just the simple things in life. Same bed for 35 nights. Amazing. I mean, I've been joking with everybody recently, saying I actually owned a house for less time than I lived in that hotel."

Really?

"It was great. We had the penthouse room, nobody on the floor except the band. Down an elevator and a few corridors and you're on the stage. It's great that people travel to see us rather than the other way around. We get to do a show that we would never normally be able to do in an arena situation."

"The stage comes up out of the floor for the opening song, and I was singing one number up in the balcony. Then myself and the bass player went out into the crowd on one song and got them going and stuff like that, because there are big wide walkways you can get off the stage onto."

"So you put on a show rather than doing a gig, and it was great fun to do."

India Tour

"We recently did three shows in India as well, which we'd never done before. That was a very interesting experience."

You're definitely one of the most iconic bands from the '80s, and to this day you see people proudly wearing your T-shirts. You can see patches at any metal gig. I mean, there's always at least five Def Leppard patches I get to see when I go out. How have you found connecting with younger audiences?

"Well, funny you should say that, because just coming back from India, that was the first thing we all said — how young the crowds were in India."

"Seriously, I don't think there was anybody over the age of 35 there, which is bizarre. But we see it all the time."

"I'm always a little reluctant to say out loud, 'Oh yeah, our audience is getting younger,' because a lot of people say that to try and make themselves look more relevant, and it's not necessarily true."

"They just do it because it makes them feel better. But it genuinely is true with us.

Young Fans

"I think we went through a period where there were not a lot of rock bands coming through for the younger generation to latch onto. So because of the lack of new artists, they're looking back."

"They're going beyond the '90s and your Pearl Jams and your Nirvanas, and they're going back to the AC/DCs, Def Leppard, Guns N' Roses, Bon Jovi — that kind of thing — because there's a legacy there."

"There are just some really great songs. All those bands had huge hits that remain hits, and they're playing on the radio all the time. I think there's a reliance there from our generation still being out there doing it as well. I think that really helps."

That's exciting. Also exciting is the fact that you're touring Europe in June and July, and you've got a date here in Paris on the 8th at the Accor Arena — the first time you're playing the French capital in nearly 30 years. France, but why have you been away for so long?

"Well, as I always like to say, you can't just turn up on the doorstep with a drum kit and some backline and go, 'Can we do a gig, please?' You have to be invited in.

I think the truth of the matter is, because the '90s were a very difficult time period for any band out of the '80s, you kind of had to ride out the turbulence."

"France is just one of those markets, if you want to use that word, where our popularity just didn't maintain. We were still big in Canada, America, and other areas of Europe and Britain, but France preferred to put us on festivals. So we did Hellfest a bunch of times."

Paris Show

Then when we got invited back, we were like, 'First time in 30 years? Okay, this is exciting,' because it shows there's an upward trajectory once again, which has been coming for the last decade or so in different areas of the world. Finally, hopefully now France as well."

Well, thank you, and we're really looking forward to it. It's going to be the last night of the tour, so it's doubly special in that respect. Extra celebration.

"But thank you for being honest about that sort of dip post-'90s."

"There's no point lying about it. It's not like we couldn't be bothered. I just don't think there was genuinely any interest. But there is again, and as I said, it's like turbulence — if you keep going, eventually it clears and you have nice blue skies. We stuck it out, and that was the biggest thing for us."