Watch Def Leppard wish Brian May a happy 76th birthday to the tune of Queen classic
Watch the brilliant video
Def Leppard have wished their good pal Brian May a happy 76th birthday today (19th July) by singing an acoustic ditty to the tune of Queen’s ‘Tie Your Mother Down.’
Taking to social media this afternoon, the Sheffield rockers wrote: “Join us in wishing our good friend @DrBrianMay a very happy birthday today! Keep on rockin'!”
The accompanying video shows four-fifths of Def Leppard backstage at a gig venue as they proceed to belt out a happy birthday tune to Sir Brian with Joe Elliott on lead vocals and acoustic guitar, and Phil Collen, Rick Savage and Viv Campbell on harmonies.
Set to the tune of Queen’s 1976 song ‘Tie Your Mother Down’, Def Leppard sing: “Happy birthday! Happy birthday! / Stay awake from the cake but a drink’s ok / Happy birthday! Happy birthday! Happy birthday Brian May!”
Watch Def Leppard wish Brian May a happy 76th birthday:
Brian May is good friends with Def Leppard and inducted them into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at Brooklyn's Barclays Center in March 2019.
During his speech, Brian spoke about joining Def Leppard at a Los Angeles gig in 1983 to play a mashup of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s ‘Travelin’ Band’ and Led Zeppelin’s ‘Rock and Roll’, which nearly ended with him being engulfed by flames.
Fortunately for Brian, Def Leppard frontman and Planet Rock DJ, Joe Elliott, was on hand to save him.
Brian explained:
“Cut to September ’83, I’m in Los Angeles, again we’re recording an album, which, this time, is The Works, I think, and I go out. This time, Def Leppard are playing the local arena, which is the legendary L.A. Forum. I go down there, very inconspicuous, I sit in the back, and when these boys hit the stage, I have to tell you — I have never seen anything like it. I’ve seen some great shows in the Forum, but I’ve never seen an audience react like that. They got to their feet, they never sat down and they screamed and shouted the whole way through the performance. Def Leppard killed that night. I went backstage to see them afterwards, they invited me, and just like when we first played in the States, all their moms and dads are there — very proud moms and dads, and I get introduced to them. And the boys say, “Will you come out and play with us tomorrow night?” So I said yes, and the rest is history. We played “Travelin’ Band.” It’s history because I nearly lost my career and my life because this is Pyromania and the production has all kinds of fire. Joe warned me, he said, “Watch out for the fireworks at the end, just be careful.” But I’m at the end, we finish “Travelin’ Band,” we’re up behind the drums and there’s a kind of chasm in front of us where the fire’s about to come out — I have no idea. I’m gone, I’m like giving it all this, and Joe’s going, “Brian, Brian!” And I’m thinking he’s just kind of appreciating me, you know? He’s going, “Brian, Brian, the fire!” Anyway this huge sheath of flame comes up in front of me, and just in time, Joe’s dragged me out of it — otherwise I wouldn’t be here tonight. So early on in their career, Joe Elliott saved my life!”
Elsewhere in his speech, Brian praised Def Leppard saying: “Not everybody realises that these guys are not just crowd pleasers. They also embody such an amazing technical excellence. They have it all.
“I regard all these guys as great friends and kind of part of my family, that’s why it’s so important for me to be here. I wouldn’t have let anybody else do this (induct them).”
He also hailed them as “a magnificent rock group, in the classic tradition of what a rock group really is” and “a bunch of magnificent human beings.”
The real names of famous musicians:
Cozy Powell’s real name: Colin Trevor Flooks
Alex Lifeson’s real name: Alexandar Živojinović
'Lifeson' is a semi-literal English translation of the Yugoslavian surname Živojinović, which means 'son of life'
Ginger Baker's real name: Peter Edward Baker
John 5’s real name: John William Lowery
Yngwie Malmsteen’s real name: Lars Johann Yngwie Lannerback
Rudy Sarzo’s real name: Rodolfo Maximiliano Sarzo Lavieille Grande Ruiz Payret y Chaumont
Eric Carr's real name: Paul Charles Caravello
Vinnie Vincent’s real name: Vincent John Cusano
Tina Turner’s real name: Anna Mae Bullock
King Diamond’s real name: Kim Bendix Petersen
Joey Tempest's real name: Rolf Magnus Joakim Larsson
Michael Monroe’s real name: Matti Antero Kristian Fagerholm
Mikkey Dee’s real name: Micael Kiriakos Delaoglou
Jonathan Cain’s real name: Jonathan Leonard Friga
Nikki Sixx's real name: Frank Ferrano
Steven Adler’s real name: Michael Coletti
Axl Rose's real name: William Bruce Rose
Bon Scott's real name: Ronald Belford Scott
Fish’s real name: Derek William Dick
Eddie Vedder's real name: Edward Louis Severson III
Peter Criss’ real name: George Peter John Criscuola
Freddie Mercury's real name: Farrokh Bulsara
Flea's real name: Michael Peter Balzary
Perry Farrell's real name: Perry Bernstein
Geddy Lee’s real name: Gary Lee Weinrib
Mick Mars' real name: Robert Deal
Tré Cool's real name: Frank Edwin Wright III
Courtney Love's real name: Courtney Michelle Harrison
Pat Smear's real name: Georg Albert Ruthenberg
Gene Simmons' real name: Chaim Klein Witz
Spike’s real name: Jonathan Gray
Iggy Pop's real name: James Newell Osterberg, JR.
Alice Cooper's real name: Vincent Damon Furnier
Slash's real name: Saul Hudson
Mike Dirnt's real name: Michael Ryan Pritchard
Ronnie James Dio's real name: Ronald James Padavona
Brody Dalle's real name: Bree Joanna Alice Robinson
Skin's real name: Deborah Anne Dyer
Nicky Wire's real name: Nicholas Jones
Amy Lee's real name: Amy Lynn Hartzler
Bill Wyman's real name: William Perks
Izzy Stradlin's real name: Jeffrey Isbell
Paul Stanley's real name: Stanley Eisen
Vince Neil's real name: Vincent Neil Wharton
Duff McKagan's real name: Michael McKagan
Jack Black’s real name: Thomas Jacob Black
Lemmy's real name: Ian Fraser Kilmister
John Paul Jones' real name: John Baldwin
Joan Jett's real name: Joan Larkin
Eric Clapton's real name: Eric Patrick Clapp
Siouxsie Sioux's real name: Susan Janet Ballion
Rachel Bolan’s real name: James Richard Southworth
David Bowie's real name: David Robert Hayward Stenton Jones
Little Richard's real name: Richard Wayne Penniman
Sid Vicious' real name: John Simon Ritchie
Ace Frehley's real name: Paul Daniel Frehley
Lou Reed's real name: Louis Firbank
Joe Strummer's real name: John Graham Mellor
Marc Bolan's real name: Mark Feld
The Edge's real name: David Howell Evans
Meat Loaf's real name: Marvin Lee Aday
Steven Tyler's real name: Steven Victor Tallarico
Ozzy Osbourne's real name: John Michael Osbourne
Jon Bon Jovi's real name: John Francis Bongiovi
Joey Belladonna’s real name: Joseph Bellardini
Jack White's real name: John Anthony Gillis
Bono's real name: Paul David Hewson
Sting's real name: Gordon Sumner
Billy Idol’s real name: William Michael Albert Broad
Geezer Butler’s real name: Terence Butler
Pat Benatar’s real name: Patricia Mae Giraldo
Bo Diddley’s real name: Ellas McDaniel
Muddy Waters’ real name: McKinley Morganfield
Stevie Nicks’ real name: Stephanie Lynn Nicks
Doro’s real name: Dorothee Pesch
Sebastian Bach’s real name: Sebastian Philip Bierk
Joe Perry’s real name: Joseph Pereira
Jimi Hendrix’s real name: James Marshall Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix)
Zakk Wylde’s real name: Jeffrey Phillip Wielandt
Maynard James Keenan’s real name: James Herbert Keenan
Blaze Bayley’s real name: Bayley Alexander Cooke
Biff Byford's real name: Peter Rodney Byford
M. Shadows' real name: Matthew Charles Sanders
Syd Barrett's real name: Roger Keith Barrett
Chris Jericho's real name: Christopher Keith Irvine
Ginger Wildheart's real name: David Leslie Walls
Paul Di'Anno's real name: Paul Andrews
Phil X’s real name: Theofilos Xenidis
Peter Green’s real name: Peter Allen Greenbaum
Nicko McBrain’s real name: Michael Henry McBrain
Noddy Holder’s real name: Neville John Holder
Steel Panther’s real names
Michael Starr: Ralph Michael Saenz, Satchel: Russell John Parrish, Stix Zadinia: Darren Leader, Spyder: Joe Lester.