Def Leppard Decides It’s Time For A Break
— July 21, 2010 1 153With all that’s been going on with 80’s rock veterans Def Leppard, it’s understandable that they feel the time has come to take a break. The group recently announced that they will be taking a year off to decompress. The group ended up cancelling a number of shows last year due to “unforeseen personal matters,” which sparked rumors that the group may be splitting up.
Frontman Joe Elliott explained their decision to take a break by saying, “After you have a hit like Hysteria and you’re signed to the corporate machine it becomes an albatross around your neck. As much as our music is anthemic rock’n’roll it’s a business at the end of the day. It’s stressful and gets harder each time you make a record. No one’s comparing this to Hysteria, it’s got nothing to do with it. It’s a refreshing change. It’s like being a teenager in a 50-year-old body.”
I won’t say I cannot relate to that last sentence!
Beyond the stress thing, it seems that the boys in the band have plenty of other things on their plate. Elliott is involved in a Mott The Hoople cover band called Down ’n’ Outz, and is also expanding his experience in business by partnering with NeXplore Corporation and signing on to the company’s board of advisors.
The NeXplore Search site (www.NeXplore.com), which will partner with DefLeppard.com, is described as “an interactive and visually engaging Web 2.0 search engine optimized for a superior end-user experience, multi-media display and social sharing integration.”
With the flood of social media sites on the internet these days and the lousy state of the economy, it may seen like a risky proposition to take a shot at producing the next FaceBook, but I suppose anything is possible. The market will usually reward innovation and good ideas that are deserving.
Joe Elliott is not the only band member who has been making news. Guitarist Phil Collen was recently married to 42-year-old Helen Simmons. Collen, 52, met the movie costume maker bride while Def Leppard was on tour last year.
Collen, who has reportedly been sober for some twenty years, arranged a ceremony in Florida that remained true to his goals and passions. Raspberry tea and cucumber lemonade were served up for guests, and since Collen is also known as a pretty serious animal rights advocate, the majority of the food offered was vegan.
Not wanting to ruin the party for those that chose to indulge with adult beverage, they made sure the option was available. “We just wanted to make everyone happy, including ourselves,” Collen was quoted as saying prior to the start of the ceremony. “We went alcohol-free, but we made sure the bar was not too far!”
1 Comment
They should have had a permanent “break” after Pyromania. They’ve put out nothing but rubbish ever since….