[ Def Leppard UK - Joe @ Elton John Show 1985 ]

SAT 14th Dec 1985: Wembley Arena, London, ENGLAND.


[Pic Joe Elliott/Elton John Dublin 1985. Scan by DLUK] :: Full Version in FRIENDS OF LEP

[SETLIST]

Highlander,
Tonight,
One Horse Down,
Better Off Dead,
Rocket Man (I Think It's Going To Be A Long Long Time),
Honky Cat,
Burn Down The Mission,
Someone Saved My Life Tonight,
The Bitch Is Back,
Song For You/Blue Eyes/I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues,
Restless,
Passengers,
Bennie And The Jets,
Sad Songs (Say So Much),
Shoot Down The Moon,
This Town,
Nikita,
I'm Still Standing,
Your Song,
Wrap Her Up,
Candle In The Wind,
Can I Get A Witness? (Joe Elliott backing vocals).


[Show Notes] :: A show during Elton's 'The World Tour 85/86' tour for the album 'Ice On Fire'. This album featured Queen bassist John Deacon on the song 'Too Young'. This show was the 4th of 9 sold out shows in a row at the venue during the 40 date UK/Ireland tour which finished in Belfast in January 1986. Elton had started it with 4 nights at the RDS in Dublin from November 14-17th. Joe attended one or more of these shows and was asked by Elton to appear at this London date. A pic of them together backstage at one of these shows, most likely the first, is shown above.

On the final song Joe sang backing vocals alongside Rod Stewart, George Michael, Nik Kershaw, John Keeble/Martin Kemp of Spandau Ballet. George had appeared on the latest single 'Wrap Her Up' and Nik played on the hit 'Nikita'. The bands first meeting with Elton mentioned below was the December 1983 taping of 'Too Late For Love' on UK TV show 'Supersonic' - as seen on the 'Historia' compilation. Elton also appeared on that show.

The audience recording of this show with the strange title 'Lord Choc Ice Goes Mental' was put out in 1993 marked as Exx-ellent Records (EXX52514-2). The title comes from a B-Side instrumental track called 'Choc Ice Goes Mental' credited to Lord Choc Ice. On the 1983 'I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues' & 'Kiss The Bride' UK/US 7" singles.
The show is also in circulation as a radio recording. Elton went on to record his next album 'Leather Jackets' at Wisseloord Studios in Holland during January, June, July and September 1986.

Show Story :: from Animal Instinct

Joe Elliott celebrated Christmas, 1985 by joining Elton John on stage at Wembley Arena in London with a few other minor pop deities like Rod Stewart, George Michael of Wham!, Nik Kershaw and Gary Kemp and John Keeble of Spandau Ballet. Joe and the other Leppards had met Elton in a TV studio two years before, at which time Ol' Four Eyes told the band he loved the Pyromania album. When he passed through Dublin on his '85 tour, Elton extended an invitation to Joe to come down to Wembley and take part in an encore singalong, Joe accepted, only to discover when he arrived for soundcheck that he didn't know the song Elton had picked for the grand finale, Marvin Gaye's Can I Get A Witness?. He spent a couple of hours before the show sitting in a car in the backstage area, trying to learn the words from a tape of Elton's show the previous evening.

"He put this daft wig on for the encores and then we came out. It was nice that he introduced me first, because there was no real way I was going to follow Rod Stewart and George Michael. He said 'Please welcome Joe Elliott from Def Leppard' and I got a pretty good reception, although there was probably a lot of people wondering 'What the heel is he doing here?'"

At the end Joe and Rod Stewart took their bows together and headed backstage for a celebratory drink.
"Rod had this brilliant black-and-white checked suit on, and when he got up to get a drink, he lifted his arm up and the suit still had the price tag on it. No one else was around, so I reached up, pulled off the tag, threw it in the trash and said 'I won't say anything about it if you don't'."
© Zomba Books 1987.


[Recording] :: "Lord Choc Ice Goes Mental" - 2CD Elton John recording.



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