7 Years Ago A LIFE ON THE ROAD w/ DEF LEPPARD's JOE ELLIOTT Premiered On UK TV

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Friday, 26th May 2023

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Def Leppard singer Joe Elliott appeared on Brian Johnson's A Life On The Road TV series in the UK on this day in 2017.

The show hosted by AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson premiered on SKY Arts TV in the UK on 26th May 2017.

It was later broadcast on 6th October 2019 in he USA by AXS TV.

Joe spoke to AC/DC's Brian Johnson in Dublin during March 2017 for the show which originally aired in May 2017 on SKY Arts TV in the UK.

Joe talked about the early days of Def Leppard, the first concert, musical inspiration, The Def Leppard E.P., opening for Sammy Hagar and AC/DC, High 'n' Dry/Mutt Lange, Early Success/Pete Willis, Pyromania, Rick Allen's Car Accident/Comeback, 1986 Dnington Show, Hysteria Album, Hysteria Tour/On The Round Stage, Laundry Baskets To The Stage, Steve Clark's Death, Vivian Campbell/Adrenalize/90s Period, 3 Continents In One Day World Record, Staying Together As A Band For 40 Years, VIVA! Hysteria Residency, Hysteria Cruise/Vocal Issues and Playing Hit Songs Live.

The 43 minute show started with Brian meeting Joe in the Temple Bar area of the city where he filmed the video for Down 'n' Outz 'One Of The Boys'. They are seen entering The Porterhouse bar where the entire chat takes place.

The lengthy chat covers the basic history of the band from day one up to 2017.

Read the full transcript of the show below along with a photo gallery.

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).

Brian Johnson's Life On The Road - Show Description

"Premiering later this month on Sky Arts, "Brian Johnson's Life On The Road" is a six-part series featuring the legendary AC/DC frontman in conversation with some of the biggest names in rock and roll history as they explore the realities of life on a global rock tour."

Meeting Metallica's Lars Ulrich, Roger Daltrey of The Who, Academy Award nominee Sting, Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason, Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant and Def Leppard singer Joe Elliott, Johnson lifts the lid on the stark realities of life on tour, from the wearying hard graft and sleepless nights to the electrifying thrill of performing on stage at iconic venues in front of sell-out crowds around the world."

Brian Johnson's A Life On The Road - Fan Photos

Screenshots by dltourhistory.

Brian Johnson's A Life On The Road - Quotes - (Transcribed by dltourhistory)

Brian Johnson Introduction

"Hi I'm Brian Johnson and I've spent a fair bit of my life on stage and on the road. And I thought it would be fun to some of me friends who've done the same ans survived. Some I'm meeting young Roger Daltrey from The Who. Petrol head Nick Mason from Pink Floyd. Chatting to Robert Plant about Led Zeppelin and beyond. To Sting about the early days of The Police. As well as Joe Elliott from Def Leppard and Metallica's Lars Ulrich. So let's hit the road."

Intro

Nrian - "Hi I'm here in Dublin and I'm here to meet a man who was born in Sheffield but he's lived here for over 30 years. I'm talking about a man and his band that have rocked stadiums all over the world and recorded multi platinum albums such as Pyromania and Hysteria. And I'm talking about none other than Def Leppard's frontman Mr. Joe Elliott."

"Def Leppard took the world by storm in the early 1980s and in their 40 years career have sold over 100 million records. Their life on the road has had more drama and tragedy than almost any other rock group. But they've always stuck together through thick and thin like a band of brothers."

"Joe wanted to show me his favourite Dublin pub and get me to sample his very own beer."

Early Days

Brian - "Do you know through the series here we're talking about A Life On The Road and you've certainly had a chequered history. Right through ups and downs and everything but it's all gotta start somewhere."

Joe - "I was obviously just one of these kids that was just obsessed with music. I was just born with that gene. My parents used to say to me that from the second I could crawl I crawled to the radio. I wrote my first song when I was 8 years old. About a girl leaving me. I didn't even know what a girl was, but all the songs I'd been listening to that's pretty much what was going on. And when I was at school I was obsessed with music. I didn't care about history then. 1066 and the Battle Of Hastings meant nothing to me but Keith Richards and, you know. The Beatles and The Tremolos and all these pop bands that were around. And I was like in on all this stuff."

Screenshot

First Def Leppard Concert 1978

Brian - "Didn't you do one of your first gigs in a school?."

Joe - "Yeah first gig we ever did just on the outskirts of Sheffield a place called Westfield School. We got together August '77. We were all 17, 18 year old kids and we rehearsed in this Spoon Factory just a stones throw from Bramall Lane for five quid a week. So it cost us all a pound each and we rehearsed nearly every day for like 9 months."

Early Def Leppard Shows/Westfield School//Playing Live

Brian - "Joe's musical heroes were Mott The Hoople, Queen, T. Rex and that was the kind of sound Def Leppard were looking for. But it was the balls-iness of Punk Rock that gave the band the belief that they could play live."

Joe - "We saw all these Punk bands bringing such energy to music which had long since kind of dissipated. And they couldn't play but it didn't matter and we were like well we can play a bit better than them. So we looked to bands like the Pistols and The Clash and The Damned and all that kind of stuff and we said if they can we can. So we arranged this gig through a friend of ours and it was Westfield School. And we just turned up. We were so nervous we took the bass drum out of the case. Filled it full of beer. Snuck the beers in and we were just getting hammered because we dare not go on you know. So we did this gig and the kids didn't like it. We were playing all this original stuff and they were all sat around the edges like what's this?."

Joe - "We got this fake encore from our friends that came. And we did Jailbreak by Lizzy. And then they all came down the front and went nuts and that was like a wake up call for us. It was like we need to write more songs like this."

Brian - "When you first started on stage people wanted copies didn't they and it was dangerous to play your own stuff."

Joe - "It was."

Def Leppard 2024.

Def Leppard / Latest Release

Photograph (Rough Mix Version) - (Digital Single)
Pyromania 40 Box Set - (Album - April 2024)

Def Leppard / Latest Tour

Def Leppard The Summer Stadium Tour 2024

Watch the show at - AXS TV
Def Leppard - A Life On The Road 2019 Show Page
Def Leppard - Television 2019
Def Leppard - 2020 Tour News
Previous News - 25th May 2024
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