Def Leppard's Joe Elliott: My Life in 15 Songs
It was close to 40 years ago that the five lads in Def Leppard, then just teenagers, came roaring out of the gloomy industrial environs of Sheffield, England. But for singer Joe Elliott, it seems like not quite so long ago. "I feel like it's been half that amount of time," he says. "Because when you don't like what you're doing, time drags. But when you enjoy something, it goes too quick. And we've never stopped enjoying it."
Now 56, Elliott is having a very good time indeed. The singer is speaking with Rolling Stone from an undisclosed, but quite tropical-sounding, vacation spot, where he's "chilling with friends and family. We're having a barbecue in about an hour," he says. "It's just good to be in a nice, warm place instead of wet, overcast Dublin where I live."
Career-wise, things aren't too bad, either. Last year, Def Leppard released their 11th studio album, simply titled Def Leppard, and they're currently gearing up for another massive U.S. Tour, during which the band will spend six months on the road, from May through October, hitting arenas across the country. Earlier this year, Def Leppard had to cancel some dates after Elliott had a bit of a vocal scare, but he says he's currently on the mend. "You've gotta think about what happened to me this past January as what would happen to Peyton Manning if he pulled a muscle in his arm," Elliott explains. "You just take four, five, six weeks off to let it heal, then you get into some training and you're back again. Now I can walk and run and sing and … do interviews!
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