DEF LEPPARD's JOE ELLIOTT Says Amazing DIAMOND STAR HALOS Was Joy To Record

Saturday, 30th April 2022

Def Leppard 2022

Def Leppard singer Joe Elliott has been interviewed by German radio and mentioned the recording process of new album Diamond Star Halos.

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

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

Joe spoke to Radio 21 in Germany recently with video available which can be viewed below.

Joe talked about the new Diamond Star Halos album, how it was started, the writing and recording, working remotely and how he feels it is a huge step forward for the band.

Joy To Record

Joe said the album was a "joy to record".

No More Traditional Recording

Due to how much they enjoyed the album making process Joe says the band will never go back to the traditional recording method of a band all in the same place at the same time.

Amazing Record

Joe described the new album as an "amazing record" whilst discussing the recording process during lockdown.

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/Radio 21 - April 2022 Interview Quotes - (Transcribed by dltourhistory)

Making A New Album In 2020

"It wasn't like a great plan, we've we've never been avoiding a follow-up to the Def Leppard album."

"It's just that we've been touring non-stop until the pandemic. And we were due out that year, but we'd we'd made a decision at the end of the the last tour which finished in Nashville November 2019. We made a game plan to get together in my studio in Dublin in early 2020. Which realistically that became March of 2020."

"Just to see what we had so we could make a start on writing some new music, knowing full well that we were going out on The Stadium Tour in June."

"Those rehearsals would start in May and they were coming to my place on the 22nd of March. So it was essentially by the time everybody got over the jet lag and we got going it was gonna be the month of April."

"We were never going to get an album finished. We were just gonna to get something started that we could carry on after the tour finished."

Starting New Album/Remote Recording/Writing Sessions

"And then the day that they were all due to fly in - lockdown boom!. Nobody's allowed to travel. There's no flights. Everybody's in isolation."

"So I got on the phone with Phil and said OK seeing as now we don't have an opportunity to look each other in the eye and say OK who's got what, you know, new song wise. I said to Phil, I said what do you think we should do. And he said well let's see what we can do remotely. You know we've dabbled with remote recording in the past."

"On previous albums we may have all been recording at my place and then everybody's had to go home. And we're missing a solo here or we're missing a backing vocal there. And they've all said it's not a problem. I'll do it at home and just email it over."

"So we've dabbled. We've done this for decades where we've finished bits off from other places. So we were inexperienced at doing an entire album remotely, but we've done remote recording and it's the same principle as when we're all in the same building, because we don't necessarily record everything all at once."

"We'll put down the basic track and then there's, you know, a plethora of guitar overdubs and backing vocals and lead vocals."

And so it was not really vastly different to how we would normally do it. Except we were in three different countries you know. And so in this initial 40-minute phone call with Phil we just got this vibe that it's like OK we're starting from scratch, we're going remote.

"It's it's relatively exciting to be able to stay at home for a few weeks longer, because we always out on the road. So we're never really at home for a long time."

Getting Together New Songs

"And we said OK let's pour everything we have onto this metaphorical table and see what we have you know. And I said to Phil how many songs you got. And he said well I've written one with a friend of mine called Sam Hollander. Which was the song Fire It Up."

"I've written, he'd written two others which were Liquid Dust and U Rok Mi. I begged him to put This Guitar on the table. He wrote that song in 2003 and I've always wanted to sing it. It's just been sitting around gathering cobwebs you know."

"So he basically had four at the time. I had three. Two of which I'd written on the piano. And one that of his was written on the Ukulele. So we were really open-minded as to like what direction this is gonna go in."

"And we instantly realised that for this amount of time we're going to be in lockdown, which at the time we had no idea how long that was going to be."

"We had seven songs to be getting on with remotely to see how they work, because we sent each other the demos and we liked the songs. So there was nothing to change except just record them."

"And then the lockdown kept getting moved, and it kept getting extende. And now we're into April, and we're into May. And as soon as we get into May we know the tour is postponed."

"So now we're totally open-ended to record and this is when we started writing new material. So me and Phil, we wrote five songs. Me and Sav wrote one. Sav wrote one on his own."

"So we had 14 songs to be getting on with and we just kept going. We just keptrecording and recording and recording."

Making Album Remotely/Having Fun

"And the way it worked was everybody was recording whatever they wanted, to the songs at home. And sending them to Ronan McHugh our producer/engineer. Who was gluing it all together in this fantastic Pro-Tools session that he'd put together."

"So essentially as he said to us 'Guys this is actually quite easy it's exactly the same principle as if we were all in the same building. it's just that instead of walking into the room to record, you're sending me over performances that you've done at home because everybody's got their own studio. So we've got all the sounds dialed in. So it was the most fun album we've ever made."

Pandemic Perspective/Making Music

"Absolutely, you know, you're looking at the pandemic and you're going this is awful. There's people dying, there's people cannot go and see their relatives in in old folks homes. They can't go to hospital to visit their relatives."

"They're either sick or they're dying and you're realizing that this is a deadly serious situation the whole world seems to be, you know. dealing with."

"What is our contribution to making this thing survivable. Our contribution is to stay safe. We're not doctors, we're not nurses, we're n ot scientists. We're musicians."

"So what could we do. What we could do is stay isolated and stay focused on what we decided to do. Which was not let however much time it was, which ended up being about two years, not letting that time go to waste."

"So we've been working relentlessly on thousands of different things. back catalogue stuff, future releases, current releases. merchandise. I mean everything you know."

"We just kept ourselves, in fact I was more busy during lockdown than i was before. So it was a fantastic way to stay focused. And other than you know putting on the hazmat suit once a week to go and do the weekly shop, we we all literally stayed in our own environments."

"You know I could go into the garden. Phil used to go in Laguna, he'd go down to the beach. because it was isolated down there. And we we just lived our lives as family people. We had more time with the family."

"Yet we could still make this amazing record. Which we didn't have to work on seven days a week. And we weren't all waiting around for one of us to finish their part so we could do ours."

"Essentially at any given time anybody in the band could be working on whichever song they wanted. And it all got sent to Ronan to glue together."

Never Going Back To Traditinal Recording/Album Guests

"It was a, it was a joy. I tell you this much. I don't think we will ever make a traditional album ever again. In the sense of all turning up in the one room, because this was way more, it was, it was way more fun."

"It was way more focused, and it was so freeing of all barriers. You know we were doing songs on the piano. We were bringing and bringing in Mike Garson from David Bowie's band to play the piano."

"Alison Krauss sings on two songs. And like I said, you know, we're using the piano more than we've ever used it in the past. Phil wrote Liquid Dust, sorry you, U Rok Mi on a Ukulele, you know, to start it off with at least."

"So there was so much enthusiasm and giddiness within the band. Like this is great how much fun is this. You know Phil would say to me I was down on the beach at six o'clock this morning, went for a swim, came home opened my email from me. To the demo or what i'd sent him to work on."

"And while I'm asleep he's working on it, because we had an eight-hour time difference, which worked in our favour. It was an amazing experience. It really was."

The Secret To Writing Great Songs/Guests

"I don't think we know what that secret is. I think we're forever looking for the holy grail. You know, the X Factor is essentially an invisible force that sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. I mean for example take whichever song you think is the most iconic, important or popular Def Leppard song there is."

"And then imagine every other song we've ever done. We've put exactly the same amount of effort, work, work ethic and and kind of heart and soul into every song we've ever done. But some of them catch and some of them don't."

"If you knew what it was then you're into the ultimate formula. And we don't really want to work in formulas. Which is why this record was so much fun to do if you like, because we indulged ourselves in a way that we've never done before."

"Yet it's not actually self-indulgent. All it was is if Phil said I've got a song I've written on a Ukulele, none of us went 'Well you can't do that'."

"And if I said 'Well I've written a couple of songs on the piano' nobody went well you can't do that. They said OK let's hear the songs, And as soon as everybody heard these songs they went 'That's a Def Leppard song'."

"There's no problem with that. It's changing how you would work things. I mean even Iron Maiden use the piano on their last album. It's not like an evil instrument and neither is melody."

"And neither is bringing in Alison Krauss who is the most gorgeous Blue Grass country singer that you'll ever hear. And a big Def Leppard fan."

"Which is you know, which was a lovely thing to get her involved and again it was organic. We didn't go hunting it down. I was talking to Robert Plant about soccer and he just said what are you up to."

"And I said you know don't tell anybody but we're making a new record. And he was I think he was just finishing with Alison on the second album. And as you know he said well I'm gonna have to tell Alison because you're her favorite band you know."

"And then our manager accidentally or coincidentally bumped into her manager and they were speaking about it. And then word got back to Alison."

"And we're like if she wants to sing on the album she's welcome. And she was like yeah I'd love to. So we had those two songs we didn't know which one we we she'd like the the best."

"So we sent them both and she texted me back within about an hour saying I can't pick I love them both. So I just texted her back well you can do them both then if you want and she did."

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