The JOE ELLIOTT Show 18th April 2026 Playlist/Transcript

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Sunday, 19th April 2026

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The Joe Elliott Show

Def Leppard singer Joe Elliott hosted another edition of his weekly radio show on 18th April on Planet Rock.

This week's show included songs by Iron Maiden, Phil Collins and U2.

The full playlist is shown below and a full transcript.

The show is available using the On Demand feature. It is also repeated on Tuesdays at 9pm and Thursdays at 4am.

The Joe Elliott Show - 18th April 2026 Playlist

01 - Iron Maiden - Run To The Hills
02 - Billy Idol - Rebel Yell
03 - Phil Collins - I Don't Care Anymore
04 - U2 - Song For Hal
05 - Clannad - In a Lifetime
06 - Japan - Suburban Love
07 - Pat Travers - Hooked On Music
08 - Status Quo - Gerdundula
09 - The Dummies - When The Lights Are Out
10 - Deep Purple - Highway Star

The Joe Elliott Show - 18th April 2026 Transcript - (Transcribed by dltourhistory)

Show Intro

Evening all, and welcome once again to The Joe Elliott Show, right here on the wonderful Planet Rock.

How are you? Good to be with you once again.

Got some wonderful music lined up for you tonight—very topical this week because it’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction revelation week. And guess who’s finally in?.

Iron Maiden

Yes—25 years after they were actually eligible to be nominated, and indeed inducted, they are finally going to be.

But I do have a sneaking suspicion that Nicko might turn up, because Nicko likes a bit of a party, and he would be a good person—not touring with them anymore—to represent the band. The rest of the guys will indeed be running to the hills, because it’s not really their thing, which is why I played that particular song.

It’s Iron Maiden, of course, from the album The Number of the Beast.

Billy Idol

So, sticking with Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, here’s a couple more for you.

And before that, Billy Idol.

Billy Idol has toured with Def Leppard in the past, and he’s a great stage presence. He started off, of course, back in the ’70s in Generation X, but he went on to have a very successful solo career—specifically in America—did really, really well.

And there, from his 1983 album, we just heard the title track, Rebel Yell. Congratulations, fellas.

Phil Collins

He’s in as a member of Genesis, of course, but he’s now in as a solo artist in his own right. Welcome to the Hall of Fame, Mr. Phil Collins.

And there he is, from the album Hello, I Must Be Going!, with a song that has a stupendous drum intro. It is called I Don’t Care Anymore.

Now, also inducted this year are the likes of Sade and Luther Vandross—great artists in their own right, but certainly not rock. Joy Division, New Order—borderline. Oasis—absolutely.

Wu-Tang Clan? Not for me. I shan’t be playing them on my show anytime soon.

But I tell you what I will be playing: this—a band already nominated into the Hall of Fame many years ago. This is brand new U2.

And before that, we heard U2 featuring Bono—but actually not really, because he didn’t sing on this particular song. It is lead vocals by The Edge.

It is from their very recently released EP Easter Lily. The song is Song for Hal, which we will dedicate this week to Moya Brennan.

Clannad

Yes, not in a month of Sundays did I think that I would ever play Clannad on my radio show—but let me explain.

When Def Leppard first moved to Dublin in 1984, we were befriended by a bunch of people—mostly U2, but a load of other Irish bands as well—who were very, very welcoming to us stepping into their territory. And one of those bands was Clannad.

A lifelong friendship was formed. Over 40 years, we’ve known those guys—an incredible band. And I wanted to honour them because just a few days ago, Moya Brennan, their lead singer, passed away very unexpectedly.

She was really, really talented, and she was a wonderful soul and a great friend of the band, as I said, for many, many years.

So I thought the best way to really sneak the band in was to play this song that Bono duetted on. It’s from an album called Macalla. It came out in 1985.

It is Clannad with In a Lifetime.

You are listening to The Joe Elliott Show, right here on the wonderful Planet Rock.

Coming up, we’re going to enjoy some Adolescent Sex with Japan.

Japan

And before that, we heard Japan from an album called Adolescent Sex—all 7 minutes and 29 seconds of Suburban Love.

Pat Travers

From his second album back in 1977.

And indeed, Nicko McBrain gets his second mention on this week’s show, because he played drums on that album.

It is Pat Travers from the album Makin’ Magic with Hooked on Music.

Status Quo

Now, earlier this week I was chatting with my friend Andy up in Sheffield, and we were discussing something. He said, “Listen, I’ll try anything once—except two things that I daren’t mention… and Morris dancing.”

And the second he said that, I couldn’t help but think: I want to see him do that to this next tune.

And before that, we heard Status Quo.

Can you really Morris dance to that? Well, I bet my friend Andy can—he probably won’t, though.

From the album On the Level, we just heard the wonderful Gerdundula.

The Dummies

Now, anyone that’s tuned into my show over the years may well have often heard that song before. I first came across that song in 1974 when it was a Slade B-side for one of their big hits—I can’t remember which one.

And then back in 2008 or 2009, it was covered by Cheap Trick on their album The Latest.

But somewhere in between, it was done again. In 1991, it was recorded by the band we just heard—The Dummies—who are actually Jimmy Lea from Slade and his brother, and a few of their mates.

The album is called A Day in the Life of The Dummies. It’s an album that features a bunch of Slade songs—either remakes of Slade songs or songs that were written by Noddy Holder and Jimmy Lea that were never recorded by Slade.

A very interesting album. The song is, of course, When the Lights Are Out.

Show Outro

And that, my dear friends, that is about it for this particular show. It’s been a real pleasure, as always.

I shall be back with you next week at exactly the same time, so please don’t go anywhere.

Until then, I shall leave you with this: Deep Purple, from the album Machine Head—but this is the 2024 remix by Dweezil Zappa version of Highway Star.

Until next week—see ya!.