Joe Elliott Feels Bad For Playing The Hits
The Def Leppard frontman would occasionally like to go deeper into the band's catalogue
Classic Rock Magazine reports that in a new interview Joe revealed that he would like to play a few deeper cuts from Def Leppard's back catalogue, but they are tied down by fans' expectations : "People come to hear what they know. The only place people go psychologically prepared for an hour of brand-new music is an open mic night in some little bar.
"You don’t go to Madison Square Garden expecting to hear two hours of brand new Paul McCartney, Def Leppard, Roger Waters or the Who. You go to see Quadrophenia, something you’ve owned for 40 years. That’s what these gigs are.
"There’s always a little thread on the website: ‘They never changed the set,’” he says. "But you change the set and 99% of the audience start to moan they didn’t hear the hits.
"You can’t cater to the minority. You just can’t. But occasionally you get these pangs of guilt where you do.
"You throw in a B-side to make them happy – and 99% of the audience stand there going, ‘What the hell’s that?’ You feel very isolated up there when you don’t get a reaction to a song.”