Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott settles the ‘Pyromania’ vs. ‘Hysteria’ debate, shares thoughts on Taylor Swift
Def Leppard fans may debate which of their albums is better, 1983’s Pyromania or 1987’s Hysteria, but you won’t hear frontman Joe Elliott picking a favorite.
Elliott was asked to pick a fav in an interview with the Los Angeles Times and had a very diplomatic answer.
“Obviously, the breakthrough was Pyromania — the memories from that tour of being this band that got out of a bus and walked into a hotel to being this band that got off the bus and we couldn’t even get into the hotel because there were too many kids blocking the way,” he shares. “But by 1987, when it’s the second time, it’s the second time, you know what I mean? So what you had was the first and then the bigger.”
He adds, “Which of them is better? I just blend them together and go, The ’80s were great.”
Elliott also shared his thoughts on Taylor Swift, who the band did a CMT Crossroads with back in 2008. He says while nobody could have predicted the success she’d have, “you look at it now and it kind of makes sense.”
Elliott says in 2008 “there was no such thing as what she accomplished,” comparing her success to The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, noting, “for people born this century or in the ’90s, this is a phenomenon that’s never been seen before – technically bigger than the Beatles and the Stones combined, at least commercially.”
“But I always knew she’d be big. And for all the hardships she’s gone though — the people who’ve tried to trip her up over the years at certain parts of her career — she’s just dusted herself down,” he adds. “She’s a fantastic role model for a generation of kids.”
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