Joe Elliott

Joseph Thomas Elliott (born 1 August 1959) is an English singer-songwriter, best known as the lead singer and one of the founding members of the hard rock band Def Leppard. He has also been the lead singer of the David Bowie tribute band the Cybernauts and the Mott the Hoople cover band Down 'n' Outz. Elliott is known for his distinctive and wide-ranging raspy vocals. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Def Leppard on 29 March 2019.

Early life

Joseph Thomas Elliott was born in Sheffield to Joseph William Elliott (1930–2011) and Cynthia Gibson. He was educated at King Edward VII School.Template:Cn

Def Leppard

At the age of 18, Elliott tried out for the band Atomic Mass as a guitarist following a chance meeting with band member Pete Willis after missing a bus in November 1977.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> During his audition, it was decided that he was better suited to be the lead singer.<ref>Frame, Pete (1999). Pete Frame's Rockin' Around Britain: Rock'n'roll Landmarks of the UK and Ireland. p. 211. Music Sales Group.</ref> Elliott proposed the name "Deaf Leopard", which was originally a band name he thought of while designing band posters in art class.<ref name="Rolling Stone">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Cbignore</ref><ref>Konow, David (2003). Bang Your Head: The Rise and Fall of Heavy Metal, p. 131. Turnaround, Template:ISBN.</ref> At another band member's suggestion, the spelling was slightly modified to make the name seem less like that of a punk band.<ref>Laura S. Jeffrey (2011). Def Leppard: Arena Rock Band. P. 26, 27. Enslow Publishing, LLC,</ref>

Throughout 1979, Def Leppard developed a loyal following among British hard rock and heavy metal fans and were considered among the leaders of the new wave of British heavy metal movement.<ref>Macmillan, Malc (2012). The N.W.O.B.H.M. Encyclopaedia. p. 148. Iron Pages Books (3 ed.). Berlin, Germany: I.P. Verlag Jeske/Mader GbR.</ref> Their growing popularity led to a record deal with the major label Phonogram/Vertigo (Mercury Records in the US). Def Leppard's original management, MSB, a local duo consisting of Pete Martin and Frank Stuart-Brown, were fired after Martin and Elliott got into a fistfight over an incident on the road. The band approached Peter Mensch, who became their new manager.<ref name="veoh.com">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Def Leppard's debut album, On Through the Night, was released on 14 March 1980. The album hit the Top 15 in the UK.<ref name="GB" >{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Their second album, High 'n' Dry, was released on 6Template:NbspJuly 1981. The band's video for "Bringin' On the Heartbreak" became one of the first metal videos played on MTV in 1982, bringing the band increased visibility in the US.<ref>Daniel Bukszpan, Ronnie James Dio (2003) The Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal</ref> After the album's release, European and American tours followed. The band opened for Ozzy Osbourne and Blackfoot.<ref>Band Biography. DefLeppard.com. Template:Webarchive</ref> Their third album, Pyromania, was released on 20 January 1983. The lead single, "Photograph", turned Def Leppard into a household name, supplanting Michael Jackson's "Beat It" as the most requested video on MTV and becoming a staple of rock radio. The song sparked a headline tour across the US.<ref>Bob Batchelor, Scott Stoddart The 1980s Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007</ref> Fuelled by "Photograph", "Rock of Ages", and the third single "Foolin'", Pyromania went on to sell six million copies in 1983 (more than 100,000 copies every week in that year) and was held from the top of the US charts only by Michael Jackson's Thriller.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> With the album's massive success, Pyromania was the catalyst for the 1980s pop-metal movement.<ref name="Pyromania">Pyromania: Def Leppard Allmusic. Retrieved 17 November 2011</ref> As a testament to the band's popularity at the time, a US Gallup poll in 1984 saw Def Leppard voted as favourite rock band over the Rolling Stones, AC/DC, and Journey.<ref>"Rock drummer loses arm". UPI.com. Retrieved 13 December 2018</ref>

After over three years of recording, Def Leppard's fourth album, Hysteria, was released on 3Template:NbspAugust 1987.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> One of the first singles from the album, "Animal", started their run of ten consecutive US Billboard Hot 100 Top 40 singles.<ref name="BillboardSinglesChart">[[[:Template:BillboardURLbyName]] Def Leppard: Song Chart History] Billboard. Retrieved 17 November 2011</ref> The fourth single, "Pour Some Sugar on Me". The song hit No. 2, on the Hot 100 and Hysteria finally reached the top of the US Billboard 200 in July 1988.<ref name="BillboardAlbumChart"/> Although "Pour Some Sugar On Me" was not initially a big hit in other countries (number 18 in the UK, number 22 in Canada, and number 26 in Australia), it has come to be regarded as the band's signature song, and was ranked No. 2 on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of the 80s" in 2006.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In October 1988, the power ballad "Love Bites" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100.<ref name="BillboardSinglesChart"/> About reaching No. 1 with "Love Bites", Elliot reflected: "It's strange because we’d been to No. 1 with the album. So now we wanted a No. 1 single because we'd never had one. So it was like, 'come on! come on!' When we got there, it was, as you can imagine, a 'yes!' moment."<ref name="auto">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Hysteria is one of only a handful of albums that has charted seven singles or more on the US Hot 100: "Women" (No. 80), "Animal" (No. 19), "Hysteria" (No. 10), "Pour Some Sugar on Me" (No. 2), "Love Bites (No. 1), "Armageddon It" (No. 3), and "Rocket" (No. 12).<ref name="BillboardSinglesChart"/>

Def Leppard's fifth album, Adrenalize, was released on 31 March 1992.<ref name="BillboardAlbumChart">[[[:Template:BillboardURLbyName]] Def Leppard: Album Chart History] Billboard. Retrieved 17 November 2011</ref><ref>Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums. London: Guinness World Records Limited</ref> The first single, the anthemic "Let's Get Rocked", was an instant hit and remains the band's highest-charting song ever in several countries, including the UK (No. 2), Canada (No. 3), Australia (No. 6) and Germany (No. 22), while reaching No. 1 on the US Rock Tracks chart and No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100. The band performed the song at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards where it was nominated for Best Video of the Year.<ref>1992 MTV Video Music Awards Rock on the Net. Retrieved 17 November 2011</ref>

On 23 October 1995, the band entered the Guinness Book of World Records by performing three concerts on three continents in one day (Tangiers, Morocco; Sheffield, England; and Vancouver, Canada).<ref>The Guinness Book of Records, 1997 p.272</ref>

On 5 September 2000, Def Leppard were inducted into Hollywood's RockWalk on Sunset Boulevard by their friend Brian May of Queen.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The band, along with Queen, Kiss, and Judas Priest, were the inaugural inductees of VH1 Rock Honors on 31 May 2006.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

In 2010, Elliott criticised the British music press, which he accused of ignoring Def Leppard and narrowing popular taste: Template:Cquote

Elliott is known for his distinctive and wide-ranging raspy vocals.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Elliott was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Def Leppard on 29 March 2019 at a ceremony at Brooklyn's Barclays Center.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Def Leppard were inducted by Queen guitarist Brian May.<ref name="brian may rock hall">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Other work

Elliott has also been the lead singer of the David Bowie tribute band the Cybernauts and the Mott the Hoople cover band Down 'n' Outz.<ref name="Noisecreep1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

At one time, Elliott co-owned a Sheffield sports bar with Tim Cranston, a Canadian former ice hockey player for the EIHL team Sheffield Steelers.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Personal life

Elliott's first marriage was to Karla Ramdhani in 1989; they divorced in 1996. Elliott met Kristine Wunschel in 2003 while she was working on the crew for the X album tour, and they were married on 1 September 2004. Their first child was born in 2009, and they are also parents to a daughter born in 2016.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and another daughter born in 2020.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Elliott is a supporter of Sheffield United.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Discography

File:Elliott and Campbell - Def Leppard.jpg

Elliott with Def Leppard in 2005

with Def Leppard

• On Through the Night (1980)
• High 'n' Dry (1981)
• Pyromania (1983)
• Hysteria (1987)
• Adrenalize (1992)
• Slang (1996)
• Euphoria (1999)
• X (2002)
• Yeah! (2006)
• Songs from the Sparkle Lounge (2008)
• Def Leppard (2015)
• Diamond Star Halos (2022)

with Cybernauts

• Cybernauts Live (2000)

with Down 'n' Outz

• My ReGeneration (2010)
• The Further Adventures Of... (2014)
• The Further Live Adventures Of... (2017)
• This Is How We Roll (2019)

with Kings of Chaos

• "Never Before" from the compilation album Re-Machined: A Tribute to Deep Purple's Machine Head (2012)

Soundtrack appearances

Title	Release	Other artist(s)	Soundtrack
"All The Young Dudes" (live)	2018	Queen, Ian Hunter, David Bowie, Mick Ronson, Phil Collen	Beside Bowie: The Mick Ronson Story soundtrack
"This Is For You"

External links

• Joe Elliott at DefLeppard.com
• Joe Elliott on Planet Rock