Joe Elliott

About Joe Elliott

Def Leppard - and rock music as a whole - may have been very different indeed had Joe been better at time keeping.

As legend goes, it was Joe's tardiness, and subsequent missing of his bus home, that allowed him to meet and engage in a conversation with Pete Willis - guitarist with local band, Atomic Mass (which consisted of Rick Savage, Pete Willis and Tony Kenning) Joe was invited to audition for the band as a guitarist. It was quickly decided that Joe's skills were much more suited for the front of the stage, though, and he was recruited as lead singer.

A change of name later, first to Deaf Leppard and then to Def Leppard, and the band had their first rehearsal in November 1977.

A growing live reputation saw the band receive airplay, and the band's landmark debut album 'On Through The Night' followed in March 1980. The rest is rock history. Drummer Rick Allen losing his arm in an horrific car crash. The multi-platinum Pyromania, Hysteria and Adrenalize. Steve Clark's tragic early death. Vivian Campbell joining the band. The MTV videos.

In 2010, Joe joined Planet Rock, bringing his love of Mott The Hoople, T Rex and Thin Lizzy to the airwaves. Since then, Joe has presented over 500 shows on Planet Rock, from our studios, from his home, and from all across the globe on tour with Def Leppard!