Def Leppard Singer Joe Elliot Slams The '80s Glam Scene
During a press conference at the Sweden Rock Festival last friday, Def Leppard vocalist Joe Elliot was asked about Def Leppard's connection with the 1980s glam metal scene. Here's what he had to say:
"If you actually look at the way that the 'glam' bands, if you want to call it that, from Los Angeles dressed themselves up, they totally missed the point," Elliott replied. "When English glam bands from the '70s came on 'Top of the Pops', it was almost an afterthought to what they were actually doing — music always came first, and then they'd be like, 'What are we gonna wear?' . . . Bowie was very image-driven, and maybe the music came second, but a lot of the other bands, it was always about the music — the image thing was just something that they did to just upstage other bands on 'Top of the Pops'; that's what they used to do. So we were never driven to do the mascara thing or whatever these bands did. They didn't have any substance musically, I don't think, in comparison to us, so we didn't feel we needed to do it. Bands that do that are doing it to cover up the fact that there is no substance in their music. The only band — and I'm not saying it because we're here — the only band that did pull it off was [Finland's] HANOI ROCKS. I thought HANOI ROCKS were a good band, and they looked… Michael Monroe (Hanoi Rocks frontman) was one of the best… I would have shagged him. (Laughs) I like Michael, I think he's sexy, and I'm not gay. And I think Andy McCoy (Hanoi Rocks guitarist) does the best kind of Keith Richards... so much better than MÖTLEY CRÜE or POISON or any of those bands. They were real — the rest of the guys, it was all a bit fake for me."
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20 Comments on "Def Leppard Singer Slams The '80s Glam Scene"
4. writes:
deathbringer writes:
It's quite funny when bands who are clearly part of a trend/style/scene try to make it like they were something special and the others were just followers or scenesters with little substance. In my book, Def Leppard has rotted on the shelf with so many other hair/glam metal bands who just don't stand the test of time. Contrary to his comments, I think Crue stands up quite well.
while i completely despise glam rock, i will agree that M.C. are way better than def leppard ever thought of being. sounds like hes real jealous that M.C. was way more popular than def leppard.
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Writer, Reviewer
7. writes:
I was turned off to hard rock/metal in the 80's cause they all looked so stupid--When grunge hit, though, the bands like Slaughter and Warrant lost those idiotic outfits , cut their hair and got heavier with their albums. I'm not saying I judge a band on what they wear, but, rrrrr.., I couldn't look at their videos!!
The Leppers, though, WERE part of that era and should accept it...Why they pair themselves now with such crappy, girly bands like Journey, Styx and (eeww) Bryan Adams for tours really sucks.
Maybe Elliot needs to look back at their videos in the 80's--he'll see how "trendy" he was with the Acid Washed jeans with the ripped knees, and how big their bass player's hair was--face facts, they became a success and made millions being part of that genre in the late 80's.
I will say, they didn't start out glammy looking for High N Dry and Pyromania--DL was part of the very early 80's metal with Ozzy and Priest, but, like them, and all the others "glammed out" in metal (Except for GNR and Metallica..) in the late 80's.
8. writes:
Def Glammers writes:
DL was part of the very early 80's metal with Ozzy and Priest, but, like them, and all the others "glammed out" in metal (Except for GNR and Metallica..) in the late 80's.
um, i guess the g-n-r video to welcome to the jungle didnt make them look glam at all..PLEASE, all g-n-r members in that video except slash looked glam.
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13. writes:
Def Leppard may not have had "big hair" or worn make-up, but they did capitalize on the "power ballad" over and over. LOL. They may not have liked the "glam look", but they made their money by writing "glam music". Most Def Leppard albums have a few "rocker" songs followed by 3-4 slower "lovey-dubby, I miss you baby, please come back, don't break my heart, I can't live without you" type songs. I have yet to hear Def Leppard write anything that could come close to sounding better than Motley Crue. In my opinion, Motley Crue could bury Def Leppard on any day. Def Leppard shouldn't even be talked about on a Metal/Hard Rock site. They are more like "power pop" than Metal/Hard Rock. Dear Def Leppard, go find Winger, Saigon Kick, Warrant, & Britney Spears and start the "Don't forget about us" Tour. I agree with post #1 (deathbringer) It aggrivates me when I hear someone like Joe Elliot or some other band try to pretend that they weren't part of the 80's or that they were "different". Even my favorite guitar player ZAKK WYLDE will admit, and laugh, and joke at himself about his time in the 80's. He's not afraid to admit that he had "big hair" and "spandex". He laughs about it now. --I'd laugh too if I saw Zakk in spandex now-a-days. LOL.
Member
14. writes:
Joe's comments brings back memories of when I saw pictures of Pantera starting out as glam. Till now I can't believe Phil really had that kind of goofy hair. Heh. Dime, God bless his soul, wasn't any better with "Diamond Darrell", nor was Rex with "Rexx Rocker". Haha. Good times.
Reviewer
16. writes:
the funny thing about pantera is that they not only dressed glam, but LIKED it too.
when i was first getting into metal, i blindly purchased a malice cd because i read a review that stated that their vocalist put in a halford-esque performance. then i get it in the mail and its a f***ing glam band. the music wasnt as bad as i anticipated. there were a few good tunes, but overall it was still pretty gay -- which i took as being the halford-esque performance.
i never did like def leppard. and i bloody HATE pour some sugar on me. every time i hear that song its literally like someone taking a cheese grater to my ear drums.
now playing for nostalgia's sake: malice - air attack
Member
18. writes:
Def Leppard, in my opinon we're completly unique in belonged in no specific music scene. They did their own thing. I love motley crue but who ever wrote that motley crue was better....who sold more records, who had more sold out shows, and who had more hits in the top ten at some point in time? Leppard. Also, they've consistantly been together even through death and injury. Crue didn't. So do some research
19. writes:
Actually, Nikki Sixx kinda died twice. YOU do some research. Twatwaffle. I'm kidding, about the "twatwaffle" bit anyway.
Def Leppard's alright, but honestly I don't give a damn how many top ten hits they've had. They have nothing on Motley in my book. Each to his own I guess. But sold out shows and "hits" prove nothing about a band's talent.
NP: 311 - "Come Original"
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1. deathbringer writes:
It's quite funny when bands who are clearly part of a trend/style/scene try to make it like they were something special and the others were just followers or scenesters with little substance. In my book, Def Leppard has rotted on the shelf with so many other hair/glam metal bands who just don't stand the test of time. Contrary to his comments, I think Crue stands up quite well.