You’d forgive Def Leppard if they wanted to coast on the hits. Four decades in, huge arena anthems, Hall of Fame plaque on the wall. But that’s not their style. They’re writing, recording, and according to singer Joe Elliott, they may already have enough material for nearly two new albums!
For now, check out their new single, “Rejoice”.
In a new interview with France 24, Elliott opened up about the song, which came out in January ahead of the band’s latest Las Vegas residency.
“The title kind of sums it up, really. I wanted to write a really uplifting, positive-message song. I got this great idea. I need it to be mid-tempo. I want it to have a big intro drum loop so we can actually walk on stage to this and expand it and make it longer live.”
Lyrically, Elliott said the song starts from a place of frustration before building towards something hopeful.
“It’s a great opening line, is, ‘I’m bored of boredom. I’m sick of all this.’ And, ‘I wanna be in a better place.’ So it gets to the climax, you go through the bridge, and you get to the chorus, it’s, ‘I wanna go higher.’ So it’s just very uplifting. It’s a joyous, uplifting song.”
That outlook, according to Elliott, has always been part of what Def Leppard does best.
“That’s what we are — we’re an escapism band. We’re not here to preach. We’re not here to tell you who to vote for. Other people can do that. We like to take you away from that and just come and have a good time.”
When asked whether “Rejoice” signals a full new album, Elliott didn’t hesitate.
“Absolutely. We’re actually recording it. As I speak, somewhere in the world, people are adding their bits to some new songs.”
During the band’s recent Vegas residency, drummer Rick Allen reportedly tracked drums in the basement of the theatre on days off while other members worked on guitars from hotel rooms.
“So we’ve got about 17 or 18 songs written,” Elliott revealed. “So we’ve actually almost got two albums recorded.”
The band is now deciding which songs will make the next record!
Game. On.
Meanwhile, guitarist Vivian Campbell shared positive health news last year after revealing he is now “completely in remission” following his long battle with Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Great news all around, ain’t it?
