Def Leppard front man and Planet Rock presenter Joe Elliott has revealed that he will be taking to the Planet Rockstock main stage with his mistress, his other band, the Down ‘n’ Outz on December 6th. The three day event brings the station to life with Live Music, the Ultimate Anorak Quiz and a chance to sing with a live band, all hosted by Planet Rock presenters. Joe also spoke about what’s next for Def Leppard and how guitarist Viv Campbell will be on tour as he continues to fight his battle with cancer.
Joe told Planet Rock colleague Paul Anthony about his brilliant working relationship with Down ‘n’ Outz in an exclusive chat – referring to them as his mistress “We get on so well, they’re such fantastic musicians, it’s a really nice alternative, it’s like a mistress, you know, Def Leppard’s the wife, this is the mistress.”
He hinted at a few special song choices for the day “We will cherry pick from the first two records. There’s also, you may or may not be aware of, on the Down N Outz DVD, and it is on iTunes, there’s a fantastic version we did of ‘Love Lies Bleeding’ by Elton John, which is a good 11.5/12 minutes long, so if we did that it could end up being half the set, but we might play it, we don’t know yet. It’s six months away, we’ve got plenty of time to let these songs percolate and decide which ones to do.”
Joe’s preparing for a new wave of Def Leppard activity including new album, UK tour and US tour with Kiss “We’ve been working on and off on a new Leppard record. We’re just extremely flattered that people care enough to want us to keep making new music so hopefully we’ll have a new album out for next spring. Then, there will be a UK tour tagged onto that as well of course. But, as for right now, for this year, for Leppard, it’s going to be recording the new record and just this one tour co-headlining the States with Kiss, which should be a pretty sexy tour.”
Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell continues his battle with cancer. Joe is confident Viv will be on tour with the guys “Viv wasn’t here for the writing session, because we wanted him to concentrate on what he’s doing. But, basically, Vivien is in remission. It’s just continuous work for him because he feels more of an energy, not just locking himself away, he wants to work. Who are we to argue with him, he’s having constant treatment to keep it at bay, and then when the tour is over he’s going to obviously go in for more intense treatment. So, he’s in great spirits, and he’s definitely doing the tour”
For tickets and more on Planet Rock Stock and its ultimate rock n roll line-up visit www.planetrock.com/rockstock. Joe Elliott will be celebrating his 200th Planet Rock show in June. Join Joe every Saturday from 6pm on Planet Rock. www.planetrock.com
