Transcript of Joe Elliott's chat on USA Today's Website, 2/6/01 5 to 6 pm EST

Prattville, AL: Will any members of the group be playing themselves in the upcoming Def Leppard movie? I would love to see all of you in the roles.

Joe Elliott: Ha!

I just actually made my acting debut a year ago. I played a character called Leon in "Dark Realm" - I was an old fogey guitar player who comes back to haunt Corey Feldman.

As for playing myself, seeing as I'm 41, no matter how much polyfill they use they won't be able to hide the cracks.

Comment from Joe Elliott: I want to see if they go off on weird sidetracks, like whether I own an emu farm or something.

Simi Valley, California : Joe, when do we get to hear a Def Leppard live album?! I've got the In the Round Video, but would love to hear the post Hysteria music LIVE!Thanks! William

Joe Elliott: We've always shied away from live albums, because historically people release live albums when they hit dry spots. We've always had a history of 4-5 years between releases anyway....I've always said that if someone wants a live album, turn the video on and the telly off. At the moment, it's nothing we're in a rush to do. There's plenty of live video to check out.

Newton, KS: With a voice that is out of this world, what do you do to keep your voice in shape?

Joe Elliott: That's very flattering, but I know what I sound like when no one else can hear me. I'm a complete and utter walking hypocrite -- I drink too much, I smoke, and I talk too much. But I do exercise my voice every day on tour for at least an hour.

The good thing in the studio is that if you do a few takes and you don't sound your best, you can always take some time off between takes. I've had my fair share of lousy performances like any singer.

As a general rule, we try not to do three shows in a row. I've been known to cancel all press and just travel, sing, travel, sing.

Comment from Joe Elliott: I try to keep me mouth shut when I don't have to talk. On the road I try to watch a lot of movies. I drink a lot of herbal tea and avoid smoky places. I'm a social animal, but if I'm going to socialize I do it the night after a gig.

Montreal, Canada: Do you rememer any of the fans you meet at some of your concerts?

Joe Elliott: Oh...especially Montreal. It is one of the places we look forward to going to. The crowd tends to be one of the loudest.

I'm not trying to be rude and offish, but it's pretty much impossible to remember the 40-50 people you meet a day on the road. We meet competition winners, who psychologically you try to remember. If some guy turns out with 30 tattoos and weighs 500 pounds, you'll tend to remember me. We have a fan named Judy who has MS who we go out of our way to spend time with. And of course, the ones who bring 5 bottles of saki.

Holyoke,MA: When will a new album be out? When will you be touring again?

Joe Elliott: We finished touring in September in 2000, and Phil and I went to Japan with the Cybernauts. Everyone's been home doing their own thing, writing individually. We'll get together in 3 weeks' time to see what we've got. We tend to go over the demo, and if half of it is finished we re-record and keep the basic bits. We are actually kind of doing the album, but not in the traditional sense.

Comment from Joe Elliott: We'd like to think we'll have the guts of the album finished by the end of the year.

Robbie Buffington West Virginia: I read that the stage for the Huston show will be "In The Round." Is there any chance of you guys going "In The Round" again???

Joe Elliott: I can't comment on that, because it's too early to say. I did hear rumors that the band is sort of central.

Northville, MI: Hi Joe! Of course I love Def Leppard original songs more than anything, but I do enjoy hearing some of the classic songs you guys cover. I understand you did a cover of Rebel, Rebel that might have been slated for a 'b-side' if Euphoria had a few more releases. What becomes of such tunes? Is there any chance you might post one of those on the www.DefLeppard.com website for download? Thanks, Cee Cee

Joe Elliott: You're correct that we did record that song, as well as "Who do you love" and "Stay With Me". We won't put them out on the internet, but will probably put them out on our next singles. We never waste our singles.

Buffalo, NY (Lisa): OK, Joe, what's in your CD player right now???

Joe Elliott: Aladdin Sane by David Bowie.

Comment from Joe Elliott: My most recent acquisition is Silver Ginger Five, but it was stolen from my car.

Madrid, Spain: In recent times it is almost impossible to hear your songs on the radio, and promotion is very low (in Europe at least), which is a disgrace as I believe that the band has written some of its finest music in the last five years. Has the band/management taken any action to solve this? Do you feel backed up by the label in these matters? Is there a chance of adding material from 1996-2000 to a Greatest Hits to enhance the public perception of these songs?

Joe Elliott: It's nothing to do with the label. Our label is one of the four largest on the planet. The problem is no matter how good your radio plugger is, if the guy at the station doesn't feel you fit the format he won't play it. Unless we make a record that sounds like Destiny's Child, we'll have to wait for the wheel to come around rather than chase the wheel.

Muscatine, Iowa: Many artists feel that the use of "Napster" is a form of theft. What are your thoughts on the use of Napster to obtain recordings that have been released in Japan but not in the United States? Your "Cybernaughts" project is a good example as well as the additional tracks that get added to the Japanese versions of your Def Leppard albums.

Joe Elliott: Napster is a form of theft. No doubt about it. To me, somebody taking our music for free is no different than walking out of someone's house with their tv set. Don't get it from Napster -- we're about to release it over the Internet on the website. It'll have a bonus of 8 studio cuts, and will sell for half the import price. Hang on till April-May.

Finland,Scandinavia: What do you think that David Bowie thinks about reform of the Spiders From Mars as The Cybernauts?

Joe Elliott: From what I've heard, Bowie's given it his blessing. Trevor the bass player knows the guy who runs Bowie's Web site.

Comment from Joe Elliott: The reason we did it in the first place was for a Mick Ronson memorial gig. I didn't really think it justified a release worldwide, which is why we limited the release to Japan.

Almhult, Sweden: Are you currently considering producers for the next album? There were, prior to the release of Euphoria, rumours of Bob Rock being the producer for that album. Was he ever considered at any time, and would you consider him for this next album. I think it would be a good match, perhaps he would bring a somewhat harder edge to the band.Niklas Andersson

Joe Elliott: We talked about Bob Rock, but we wouldn't consider him for the next record. His method wouldn't blend with ours. The way that a lot of them want to work is to have you write 30 songs and they pick ten. What's the point of writing the other 20?

Mutt Lange is the best producer on the planet, which is why it's hard to work with another one. He's going to be working with Shania right through this year. It's more likely than not that he won't be available for us this year.

Paris, FRANCE: That's my point of view but Slang was a "home-made" album and maybe your greatest since "big production, big hits!" Hysteria. Which one would you like the next album to be close to?

Joe Elliott: I'd say half and half. Slang was a reaction to what we were and where music was going. We were pretty aware that if we had made Adrenalize II we would have been laughed off the planet. I don't know whether it's millenium fever that got people all happy again, but still. We wanted Slang to sound a little less glossy and a little more heart-felt. There's a lot of dark stuff on the album that we'd probably held in for a long time. It felt natural to go back to melodic stuff after that. The next record will probably be a pretty varied affair.

north Wales U.K: hi Joe,I just want to ask when the next U.K tour will be and will it be possible for the band to give a gig in North Wales as it has become to expensive to travel long distances now that the fuel has gone up???Tina Mansley age 27

Joe Elliott: North Wales? We did play Cardiff on the last tour, so we did make the effort. On the previous tour we did 3 nights in Birmingham, and we still had people criticize us. It's a little tricky to get everywhere. The next UK tour will probably be in 2002 after the next album comes out.

Wellingborough, Northamptonshire!: Do you have any plans to buy into a football club? Cheers Greg

Joe Elliott: Ha! No. If I was ever going to do that, I would have done it with Sheffield United.

Denver, Colorado: With KISS and Aerosmith performing at the last two Super Bowl games, what are the chances of Leppard getting involved? You do have some history with the NFL after performing "Two Steps Behind" for Monday Night Football...

Joe Elliott: Very true.

I would find it extremely unlikely that the Super Bowl would want a non-American artist performing there.

Chicago, IL: Joe, please tell us about the progress of the DVDs. We are very excited about their upcoming release!

Joe Elliott: I did a running commentary for "Historia", and I know Sav is doing the "Live" video...I heard rumor that they should be out in April or May. When they do come out, they'll be two for one, which is an extremely great value.

smyrna,tn: when you look out at the audience today....i bet we look alot different than 15 or so years ago. what are your feelings about getting older,looking out at the 30&40 year old fans jumping up and down singing along with "rock of ages"?

Joe Elliott: We're getting older too! In many respect I prefer performing in front of an older audience. I don't think I'd like performing in front of a mosh pit. I don't mind the audience getting older, I mind the audience getting smaller. It's flattering that someone 35 years old is still coming.

Laura, Ramstein, Germany: Hey, Joe, did you mean for your tribute to Steve on the official site to be funny? It really upset a lot of fans. We just wanted some happy thoughts about him, and you gave us that he was depressing and in hell. Please explain...

Joe Elliott: I was summing up his life in the band, and for the majority of the time he was a funny guy until the drink took hold of him. My memories of him are good. When Steve comes up in conversation it's usually funny stuff. It wasn't meant to be upsetting to anybody. I loved the guy and miss him every day, but I'm not going to dwell on the negativity of his death.

Manchester,England: Hi Joe how are u ? Is there any chance you are going to release a 25th anviversery box set of new & old songs, Andy Birchenough

Joe Elliott: It has been discussed. We have certain people in higher positions than I who think box sets are a waste of time. I don't agree. I think it might be a nice thing to do if it can be done well. I wouldn't rule it out.

Indianapolis, Indiana: Joe, I once read that the first record you ever bought was "Sugar, Sugar" by The Archies, was your "Pour Some Sugar On Me" inspired by this at all, or am i just diggin' way too deep? Love Ya!!!

Joe Elliott: No, you're absolutely right. I loved the last line about "pour some sugar on me honey".

Philadelphia, PA: I was wondering if you remember what it was like to be an ordinary guy working that crappy job at Osborn-Mushet tools or have you been an international star for so long that it seems like it happened to someone else?

Joe Elliott: No, I remember every bloody second of it. There are people in life happy with their lot, and I wasn't. That's why I ended up getting fired from there. I was playing cricket in the basement, and was asked to apply for redundancy.

Comment from Joe Elliott: I'll never forget. It's a damn good reason to keep on making music.

And then it just ended! The end!!!