'X': Def Leppard lead singer Joe Elliott
USAToday.com chat, Friday, August 2, 6 p.m. ET

Def Leppard. New album: X. Hooray! More good Leppard-related news: Island Records will join forces with eBay to auction a number of exclusive Def Leppard items, with the main auction being the Union Jack T-shirt used in the Now video, autographed by all band members. All proceeds of the auctions, which will start on July 30 and end on August 9, will be donated to VH1's Save The Music Foundation. Other items to be auctioned off include posters, DVDs, and dinner with the band. Chat with effervescent lead singer Joe Elliott about all things Leppard.

Richmond, VA: I have been listening to your new album. I find it has a distict thread in the lyrics of find and keeping love. Since many artists write about what they know or experience I was wondering is this a response to the band or your current experiences? Thanks, J

Joe Elliott: The album actually isn't the "love album" we jokingly called it. It's emotional. IT's love, hate, regret, envy. Human emotions. Some are our personal experiences of voyeurism on other people's lives on TV, or people we see on the street, or a homeless Afghan woman with a baby. Some of it is absolutely based on our feelings about things.

Detroit, Michigan: How many videos are you guys planning to put out for the new album X?

Joe Elliott: That's a loaded question. Folks we know (and we don't) say this album is Hysteria again - that there are 5 or 6 singles on this record. At the same time, remember it took about 8 months for Hysteria to hit big -- which happened when Sugar came out. The first track isn't the obvious single, but there are others on the album that are potential top 40 songs. How many singles we do depend on the popularity of the singles we put out at first.

Lubbock,Texas: Hi Joe!!! My name is Victoria & I am from Texas..... First I wish you and the band and of course Malvin good health and much success of "X" and hope to get the opportunity to see you perform again. My question is if this new album (I don't have it YET) reflects any influence of the events of the past year, ie, 9/11 for example. In the past there have been songs you and the band have written (Paper Sun or White Lightning for example) that addressed some real world issues. Did you and/or the band feel the need to write about 9/11 or refer to those events on this album? Take care Joe and my best to you and the band and Malvin!!!

Joe Elliott: In a roundabout way, yes. We actually tried to avoid the obvious, figuring that by the time the album came out there'd be an influx of 9/11 songs. We knew Springsteen was doing it, and that if a band like White Lion or Great White did 9/11 songs everybody would say "get real". If you were there on 9/11 or lost someone, our lyrics can be meaningful. We don't have a political agenda, but we know how people are. At the same time, we like to tear people's hearts out.

Winnetka, IL: Joe, Are you concerned that the commercial and pop-rock nature of X will alienate your core audience and rock radio at the expense of aiming for more of a Top 40 crowd, which seems highly unlikely? I've talked to several rock-radio PDs, who won't play "Now" because it's too soft while Top 40 radio thinks of DL as an 80s act. Aren't you risking losing fans on both ends?

Joe Elliott: Hysteria didn't, and it had 7 hit singles, which by the nature of the beast turns it into a pop album. If you listen to the album to songs like Cry, You're So Beautiful, Scar, there's rock in it. But our audience is prepared to let us be. When we did Slang, it was a total commercial failure, but it was an artistic success. Euphoria was a paint-by-numbers record. So no, we're not afraid. I don't expect Slipknot fans to buy this, but those who listen to Slipknot and Alanis Morrisette will.

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada: Hi Joe! First off, I think you guys are the greatest band on the planet and the new album has done nothing to change that, it's awesome! My question is about your stage show. My first show was the Hysteria tour and the "in-the-round" concept blew me away! Is the cost of a setup like that the reason why you stopped doing it after the Adrenalize tour? Until next time...and there WILL be a next time! See ya in Vancouver!

Joe Elliott: No, not at all. During the Slang tour the American tour was outdoors. YOu can't do in-the-round in a shed. The biggest reason we stopped doing it was that we had done it twice before. When we did it the first time, it was an event. We did it on Adrenalize in Europe because they didn't get it on the Hysteria tour. We just got bored of it -- it's a very specific way of doing things.

Comment from Joe Elliott: Every artist who's ever performed has stood on a stage with an audience in front. We wanted to do something different. Now it's not different anymore. We also reached a stage where we wanted people to remember our songs, not the way we did them (that includes our philosophy of production).

Zephyrhills, Florida: How do you feel about the decision to make X available for online listening on VH1.com in it's entirety a week before it's release? Do you think it will help or hinder sales? I've been listening on my computer (not recording, though) and will definately be buying 2 cds on July 30! One for the car and one for home! I can't get enough of it-it's fabulous!! You 've done it again-another great album! I'd rate it 5 stars out of 5! Longtime fan since 1983!

Joe Elliott: I always think that it's an arguable point there's no answer to. I hear stories of Linkin Park having 4 million downloads and selling 8 million. Who knows if they would have sold more or less without the downloads.

Pekin, Illinois: By including on 'X' two songs that were not written by the band ("Unbelievable", "Long Long Way To Go"), were you guys at all worried about a negative fan reaction? Perhaps die-hard fans feeling that these songs weren't "you"?

Joe Elliott: No. My favorite song of all time is "All the Young Dudes", written by David Bowie, performed by Mott the Hoople. We've co-written with outside writers since the first record, as well as with Mutt Lange. We were going to write with these people for X, but they came in pre-loaded with songs, and we liked them. I just loved the lyrics.

Comment from Joe Elliott: Look, take Aerosmith. They covered the Beatles on Permanent Vacation. We chose to take something new as opposed to something old.

New York, New York: Joe, I've been a huge DL fan for 20 years and got the new CD Wednesday. I absolutely love the new material! My question is this; your vocals seem to be pretty much straight-up, unadultered, with minimal effects or processing, which is a bit different from traditional Def Leppard. Is there any specific reason for this change?

Joe Elliott: Great question! This made my dad really happy -- he says this is the first album he's been able to hear what I'm singing! We've got the vocals up loud on this record because it's that kind of album. It's the strongest lyrical album we've ever made.

Do you think the Springsteen album has stolen some of "X"'s thunder?:

Joe Elliott: Anything that comes out on the same day is potentially stealing the spotlight, but how do you find any day of the year when someone's not releasing a record? The way the Springsteen record was set up, it probably had a lot more lead time than ours. If it wasn't Springsteen, we might have put out the record on the same day as U2. It's just coincidentally fantastic that it's ten years since we released an album on the same day as Springsteen.

Zephyrhills, Florida: I notice you seem to get on the computer some-I enjoy the band's diary notes on your official website. Do you ever lurk on any of the female based fan websites and see the things that are said about you? If so, do you feel flattered, shocked, disgusted or all of the above?

Joe Elliott: I don't go on any of that stuff, because it's just pathetic. I use our Web site to get anything I want to get to our true fans. It's all true on our site. I saw a fantasy thing the other day that this girl bumped into me in an elevator, invited me to her room...the stamina I had was unbelievable! I find this pretty tragic. If all you can do is invent a sex life on a computer...go to the gym, go out, and find yourself a real human being. This all has nothing to do with the music. It's all lies and rubbish.

Burlington, VT. : Will you guys ever do an "Unplugged" c.d.?

Joe Elliott: We have. Slang came out with the unplugged CD recorded in Sheffield. We've also discussed doing a box set on which we'll mix and match.

greensburg, PA: Hey Joe! Thank you the new album, it's amazing and has really made me happy. I have been a fan since the very first album and I can't imagine my life without your music there! anyhow... VH1 seems to have helped you reach a newer generation of kids...I was curious as to your reaction/ comments about the youngsters now enjoying your stuff along with us 30 and 40 somethings...

Joe Elliott: IT's the only thing an artist can ever dream of. We were given a gift in 1983 with MTV putting us in rotation during Pyromania. Now we're the darlings of VH1, for which we're extremely grateful. To think you have your audience from the 80s and young kids is wonderful. It's wonderful. I'm a big believer in realism. I know our past fans are now married with kids and maybe can't afford to go to concerts anymore. It's the kids with the disposable incomes who are now out and about, which is great.

Warner Robins, Georgia: Joe, I'm a big Def Leppard fan and I wanted to know why the Japanese version of the album always seems to get bonus tracks that are difficult and expensive for me to run down? That goes for the difficult to obtain UK CD single B-Sides as well. Couldn't you at least release the B-sides/Bonus Tracks in the U.S. as a separate CD?

Joe Elliott: I can totally understand why an American fan would say this is bullshit. The economy is such in Japan that it's cheaper for Japanese fans to go to Tower Records in America. An album in Japan is $30-$40. So you have to encourage the Japanese to buy a Japanese version of the album, which is why you put 2 or 3 extra songs on it. One of these days, we may put those songs out. Nowadays with the Euro the way it is, we're putting bonus singles on the English records as well.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: What are the 2 tattoos that you have on your arm in the inside picture of the new album X? Is there any special significance?

Joe Elliott: One of them is the Def Leppard initials from the Retroactive sleeve. It's the D with the L through it. The other one is two skulls kissing in a heart shape.

Comment from USATODAY.com hostess Clara Alexandra Frenk: Joe's off to catch a plane. Thanks to him, to Island Records, and to everyone who sent in a question. Again, sorry that they all couldn't be answered. If Joe wants to come to my office and answer some more, there will always be a chair and computer available to him.

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