Joseph Thomas "Joe" Elliott (born 1 August 1959) is an English–Irish rock singer, best known as the lead singer and one of the founding members of the

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest ha ...

band

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), ...

. He has also been the lead singer of the

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

tribute band the Cybernauts and the

Mott the Hoople Mott the Hoople were an English rock band formed in Herefordshire. Originally known as the Doc Thomas Group, the group changed their name after signing with Island Records in 1969. The band released albums throughout the early 1970s but fai ...

cover band

Down 'n' Outz Down 'n' Outz are an English rock band featuring members from Def Leppard, The Quireboys, and Raw Glory. The group covers bands and artists related to Mott the Hoople including Mott, British Lions, and Ian Hunter. Their debut album, '' My Re ...

. He is one of the two original members of Def Leppard still in the band and one of the three to perform on every Def Leppard album. Elliott is known for his distinctive and wide ranging raspy singing voice.

Early life and Def Leppard

Joseph Thomas Elliott was born in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire ...

to Joseph William Elliott (1930–2011) and Cynthia Gibson. He was educated at King Edward VII School. Elliott met

Pete Willis Peter Andrew Willis (born 16 February 1960) is an English musician, songwriter and guitarist, best known as a founding member of the band Def Leppard. He co-wrote many tracks and played guitar on the band's first three albums: ''On Through the ...

(a member of a local band called

Atomic Mass The atomic mass (''m''a or ''m'') is the mass of an atom. Although the SI unit of mass is the kilogram (symbol: kg), atomic mass is often expressed in the non-SI unit dalton (symbol: Da) – equivalently, unified atomic mass unit (u). 1&n ...

) in November 1977 after missing a bus. Upon finding out that they were both musicians, Willis invited Elliott to meet the rest of the Atomic Mass members. The band spent hours talking and listening to records in Elliott's bedroom. Elliott tried out as a guitarist and, though the band had not heard Elliott sing, they were impressed by "his attitude and his ideas about being in a band" and he became the band's vocalist instead. The other members also took Elliott's suggestion to change their name to "Deaf Leopard." Elliott had invented the name for a band in his youth. Tony Kenning suggested they change the band name to "

" to distinguish them from contemporary punk bands like

The Flying Lizards The Flying Lizards were an experimental English new wave band, formed in 1976. They are best known for their eccentric cover version of Barrett Strong's "Money", featuring Deborah Evans-Stickland on lead vocals, which reached the UK and US re ...

and

Boomtown Rats The Boomtown Rats are an Irish rock band originally formed in Dublin in 1975. Between 1977 and 1985, they had a series of Irish and UK hits including "Like Clockwork", " Rat Trap", "I Don't Like Mondays" and "Banana Republic". The original lin ...

. The band claims that any apparent similarity of the name

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ...

to Def Leppard was unintentional. Elliott soon became an integral part of the band while also contributing his songwriting skills. As a songwriter, Elliott has drawn from his eclectic tastes in music (ranging from pop-rock to folk) as sources of inspiration. He has noted that the lyrics to Def Leppard's music are rarely personal; they are meant to be easily accessible to the listener. He also plays guitar and drums as well as piano and keyboard. Elliott currently hosts a radio show on Planet Rock radio on Saturday nights.

Side projects

Elliott has worked with several side projects through his career such as participating in numerous tributes to other artists like

Freddie Mercury Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer and songwriter, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. Regarded as one of the greatest singers in the ...

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guilloti ...

Mick Ronson Michael Ronson (26 May 1946 – 29 April 1993) was an English musician, songwriter, arranger, and producer. He achieved critical and commercial success working with David Bowie as the guitarist of the Spiders from Mars. He was a session musici ...

, Ian Hunter and

. He appeared alongside guitarists

Brian May Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and astrophysicist, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen. May was a co-founder of Queen with lead singer Freddie Mercury and ...

and

Slash Slash may refer to: * Slash (punctuation), the "/" character Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slash (Marvel Comics) * Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'') Music * Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band * Nash ...

along with the other members of

at the

Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness was a benefit concert held on Easter Monday, 20 April 1992, at Wembley Stadium in London, United Kingdom for an audience of 72,000. The concert was produced for television by Ray Burdis, ...

in 1992 to perform "

Tie Your Mother Down "Tie Your Mother Down" is a song by the British rock band Queen, written by lead guitarist Brian May. It is the opening track and the second single from their 1976 album '' A Day at the Races''. On its original release as a single in 1977 the ...

". Elliott also has worked on several projects including guitarist

Ronnie Wood Ronald David Wood (born 1 June 1947) is an English rock musician, best known as an official member of the Rolling Stones since 1975, as well as a member of Faces and the Jeff Beck Group. Wood began his career in 1964, playing guitar with a ...

's solo album '' Slide on This'', Lori Spee's ''Those Faces'',

Ricky Warwick Ricky Warwick (born 11 July 1966) is a Northern Irish musician and the lead singer of the rock bands Black Star Riders and Thin Lizzy. He is also the frontman for the Scottish hard rock band The Almighty, with whom he achieved chart success in ...

and The Almighty. Elliott and fellow Def Leppard member

Phil Collen Philip Kenneth Collen (born 8 December 1957) is an English musician who is best known as the co-lead guitarist for the rock band Def Leppard, joining the band in 1982 during the recording of the ''Pyromania'' album. Prior to joining Def Leppa ...

once had a side project together called Cybernauts. The project was short-lived, and the internet album that was available online has been deleted since its 2001 release. Released in September 2003 through Sanctuary Records, Ricky Warwick's ''Tattoos & Alibis'' was produced by Elliott. Elliott sang the vocals in the

cover band,

on their album ''My ReGeneration Vol. 1''. In 2012, Elliott went on tour with the Rock N Roll All Stars, a band that consisted of many of rock's most recognized performers. The band downsized and became the Kings of Chaos. The primary members with Elliott are

Duff McKagan Michael Andrew "Duff" McKagan (born February 5, 1964), sometimes credited as Duff "Rose" McKagan, is an American musician. He played bass for twelve years in the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late ...

(

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff ...

, Velvet Revolver and Loaded), Matt Sorum (Guns N' Roses and Velvet Revolver),

Gilby Clarke Gilbert J. "Gilby" Clarke (born August 17, 1962) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He had a 3-year tenure as the rhythm guitarist of Guns N' Roses, replacing Izzy Stradlin in 1991 during the Use Your Illusion To ...

(Guns N' Roses), and

Steve Stevens Steve Stevens (born Steven Bruce Schneider; May 5, 1959) is an American guitarist. He is best known as Billy Idol's guitarist and songwriting collaborator, and for his lead guitar work on the theme to ''Top Gun'' – " Top Gun Anthem" – for ...

(

Billy Idol William Michael Albert Broad (born 30 November 1955), known professionally as Billy Idol, is a British-American singer, songwriter, and musician. He first achieved fame in the 1970s emerging from the London punk rock scene as the lead singer o ...

's band). Others who rounded out the group were: Glenn Hughes (

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Originally formed as ...

) and Sebastian Bach (formerly of

Skid Row A skid row or skid road is an impoverished area, typically urban, in English-speaking North America whose inhabitants are mostly poor people " on the skids". This specifically refers to poor or homeless, considered disreputable, downtrodden or fo ...

). The band released the cover song "Never Before" by Deep Purple.

Personal life

Elliott currently lives in

Stepaside, Dublin Stepaside () is a village on the outskirts of Dublin located on its southside, located in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. The area is situated south of Dundrum. Location and access A suburb of Dublin, Stepaside lies on the R117 regional ...

, Ireland and also has a residence in Los Angeles. He maintains a recording studio in his Dublin home called Joe's Garage in which he has recorded and produced many major artists. Other artists have also recorded there while he has been on the road with Def Leppard. Elliott is also a

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

fan, having contributed music to the Sheffield-based film ''

When Saturday Comes ''When Saturday Comes'' (''WSC'') is a monthly magazine about football, first published in London in 1986. "It aims to provide a voice for intelligent football supporters, offering both a serious and humorous view of the sport, covering all the ...

''. 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, Finlay, was born in December 2009 and are also parents to a daughter, Lyla, born July 2016. He announced on SiriusXM in March 2022 that he and his wife Kristine had another daughter named Harper who was born in February 2020.

Controversies

During a performance on 7 September 1983 in

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

, Elliott attempted to rile the crowd during the "Rock of Ages" crowd sing-along. He told the crowd: "Last night, we played in El Paso, that place with all the greasy Mexicans, and they made a lot more noise than that." Then, on 30 September, he apologised on an El Paso radio station for the racial slur he made while referring to the city on 7 September. The band later followed up the apology with donations to Hispanic charities. In 2008, Def Leppard performed live on stage at a

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference, and are ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...

game. Midway through the set, Red Wing forward

Darren McCarty Darren Douglas McCarty (born April 1, 1972) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward, best known for his years playing with the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL). McCarty has been known for taking on the role of th ...

drove a motorcycle across the stage with the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

on the back. Another Detroit player,

Kyle Quincey Kyle Quincey (born August 12, 1985) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenseman. He most recently played for HIFK of the Finnish Liiga. Quincey played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Ki ...

, handed the cup to Elliott, who unintentionally placed the Cup upside-down on its stand. Upon realizing his error, Elliott quipped to the crowd, "Oh it's upside down. Well never mind. We're soccer boys, what do we know?" The incident angered many ice hockey fans. Elliott later said, " ery other sporting cup I've ever seen, was wider at the top than the base ..Like most of my fellow Brits, I'd never seen it before until it was handed to me sideways by which time I had a 50/50 chance of getting it right." Coincidentally, Elliott had previously co-owned a Sheffield sports bar with Tim Cranston, a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

ice hockey player for the local

Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

. In 2010, Elliott criticised the British music press, which he accused of ignoring his band and narrowing popular taste: Before a July 2019 show in Hamilton, Ontario, Elliott was recorded on video saying that the city's

FirstOntario Centre FirstOntario Centre (originally Copps Coliseum) is a sports and entertainment arena at the corner of Bay Street North and York Boulevard in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1985, it has a capacity of up to 19,000. History Hamilton was lef ...

"stinks like 10,000 asses". The video surfaced in January 2020.

Discography

;With Def Leppard *'' The Def Leppard E.P.'' (1979) *''

On Through the Night ''On Through the Night'' is the debut studio album by the English rock band Def Leppard, released on 14 March 1980. The album was produced by Tom Allom. It charted at No. 15 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 51 on the ''Billboard'' 200. The album ...

'' (1980) *''

High 'n' Dry ''High 'n' Dry'' is the second studio album by the English rock band Def Leppard, released on July 6, 1981. ''High 'n' Dry'' was Pete Willis' last full-time album with Def Leppard. It charted at No. 38 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and No. 26 on t ...

'' (1981) *''

Pyromania Pyromania is an impulse control disorder in which individuals repeatedly fail to resist impulses to deliberately start fires, to relieve some tension or for instant gratification. The term ''pyromania'' comes from the Greek word (''pyr'', 'fi ...

'' (1983) *''

Hysteria Hysteria is a term used colloquially to mean ungovernable emotional excess and can refer to a temporary state of mind or emotion. In the nineteenth century, hysteria was considered a diagnosable physical illness in women. It is assumed that ...

'' (1987) *''

Adrenalize ''Adrenalize'' is the fifth studio album by English rock band Def Leppard, released on 31 March 1992 through Mercury Records. It is the first album by the band recorded without guitarist Steve Clark who died in 1991 and the only one recorded a ...

'' (1992) *'' Live: In the Clubs, in Your Face'' (1993) *''

Retro Active ''Retro Active'' is a compilation album by the English rock band Def Leppard, released in 1993. The album features touched-up versions of B-sides and previously unreleased recordings from the band's recording sessions from 1984 to 1993. The a ...

'' (1993) *''

Slang Slang is vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in spoken conversation but avoided in formal writing. It also sometimes refers to the language generally exclusive to the members of particular in-gr ...

'' (1996) *''

Euphoria Euphoria ( ) is the experience (or affect) of pleasure or excitement and intense feelings of well-being and happiness. Certain natural rewards and social activities, such as aerobic exercise, laughter, listening to or making music and d ...

'' (1999) *'' X'' (2002) *'' Yeah!'' (2006) *'' Songs from the Sparkle Lounge'' (2008) *'' Mirrorball: Live And More'' (2011) *''

Viva! Hysteria ''Viva! Hysteria'' is a double live album by the English rock band Def Leppard released on the 22 October 2013. The album was recorded on 29 and 30 March 2013 during the band's residency of the same name at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino (La ...

'' (2013) *''

'' (2015) *''

The Story So Far – The Best Of ''The Story So Far – The Best Of'' is a compilation album by the English rock band Def Leppard. The album has a similar track listing to previous compilations, however it is the first to include tracks from the band's recent studio efforts '' ...

'' (2018) *''

Diamond Star Halos ''Diamond Star Halos'' is the twelfth studio album by the English rock band Def Leppard. It was released on 27 May 2022 through Bludgeon Riffola and Mercury Records, and is the band's first studio album in nearly seven years since 2015's ''Def L ...

'' (2022) ;With

*''

My ReGeneration ''My ReGeneration'' is the debut album by Joe Elliott's Down 'n' Outz, the band featuring members of Def Leppard, The Quireboys and Raw Glory. The album features covers of songs by artists related to Mott the Hoople, such as Mott, British Lions ...

'' (2010) *''The Further Adventures Of...'' (2014) *''The Further Live Adventures Of...'' (2017) *''This Is How We Roll'' (2019) ;With Kings of Chaos *'' Re-Machined: A Tribute to Deep Purple's Machine Head'' – " Never Before" (2012) ;With Cybernauts *''Cybernauts Live''

References

External links

Joe Elliott
at DefLeppard.com
Joe Elliott on Planet Rock
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elliott, Joe 1959 births Def Leppard members English expatriates in Ireland English heavy metal singers English rock singers English tenors Living people Musicians from Sheffield People educated at King Edward VII School, Sheffield Down 'n' Outz members 20th-century English male singers 20th-century English singers 21st-century English male singers 21st-century English singers