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Ghost and Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott on ‘Spillways’ collab: “It was this big love-in”

The two rock icons tell NME about their morning in an Irish pub and why Måneskin are proof that the guitar revival is real

Ghost frontman Tobias Forge and Def Leppard vocalist Joe Elliott have spoken to NME about working together on their collaboration ‘Spillways’, as well as their morning spent together in an Irish pub and why Måneskin are proof that the rock revival is real.

• READ MORE: Ghost – ‘Impera’ review: Swedish metallers go bigger than ever

‘Spillways’ originally featured on Ghost’s 2022 album ‘ Impera ’ but earlier this year the theatrical rockers released a reworked version featuring the Def Leppard icon. Speaking to NME , Elliott described it as “this big love-in.”

He has been a fan of Ghost since the release of 2015’s ‘Meliora’ after being introduced to them by band Phil Collen and really loved ‘Impera’. “I played the shit out of Ghost’s music on my [ Planet Rock ] radio show, and then we saw that they had been bigging us up in the press,” said Elliott.

Forge then revealed that a lot of ‘Impera’ was actually inspired by Def Leppard.

“I’ve always been a fan but with this album, I really looked at their songwriting,” he said. “I have always been in awe of several Def Leppard records, but especially the big ones like ‘Pyromania’ and ‘Hysteria’. Not only are they great, but they achieved such commercial success that they’ve become a great example of how a lot of arguments in the pop world are wrong.”

Forge continued: “We’re constantly told we need to get to the chorus quickly, that songs need to be short and to the point but Def Leppard songs are often the complete opposite of that. I wanted to do something similar with ‘Impera’.”

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With a lot of very public, very mutual respect, Ghost and Def Leppard’s respective teams started talking about possible collabs. “Out of nowhere, I got word Joe would love to collaborate,” said Forge.

However, those conversations were happening while Ghost were in the middle of an ambitious headline tour and while Def Leppard were playing sold-out stadiums with Mötley Crüe .

“I heard that it was on, but we kept missing each other because of how busy we both were,” said Elliott. “So I grabbed the bull by the horns and just went and sang the fucking thing. By the time we finally got to speak, I had already recorded ‘Spillways’ because I was chomping at the bit.”

Elliott continued: “I love that song so much. The keyboard intro blew me away the first time I heard it – with a band like Ghost having the balls to do something so unexpected like recording a hybrid of ‘Jane’ by Jefferson Starship and ‘Hold The Line’ by Toto . I really took a shine to it. It was the flagship moment for me, on what is a fantastic album. As soon as I knew a collab was probably going to happen, I just got on with it.”

Forge described to NME how he was “blown away” he first heard Elliott’s vocal on the reworked track.

“I instantly thought it was amazing and Joe’s vocals really add another layer to the song,” he said. “What he put on it was so different from what I had, but it still gelled. I was surprised by how similar we sounded though.”

Elliott agreed: “I think we do sound similar. I’m from Yorkshire but I don’t sound like it because [singing in that accent] wasn’t cool until Arctic Monkeys came along. Certain people have said they can’t tell Tobias and I apart – but I take that as a compliment. ’Spillways’ was never broken to begin with, so I wasn’t going to come in and change what he had originally done.

“If I was going to sing ‘Blackbird’ by The Beatles , I wouldn’t be changing the melody because it’s already perfect. Same with ‘Spillways’. It didn’t need fixing.”

The recording was done, but the first phone call between Forge and Elliott still lasted nearly three hours. “We realised we had a lot of common ground,” explained Elliott. “So when Tobias pitched the idea of making a video, of course I said yes but I couldn’t actually go anywhere because I was looking after my kids. So he compromised, bless him.

Elliott added: “He came over to Dublin and we went to my local which is about a mile and a half from my house. Luckily the landlord knows me, so they were more than happy to accommodate, and Tobais directed it like Steven fucking Spielberg.”

The result replaces Ghost’s typically numbered webisodes with ‘Meanwhile In Dublin’.

“The fact we’ve got this great song and then we ham it up with a bit of karaoke was just hilarious,” said Elliott of the video. “We were there for about four hours but we were only filming for maybe an hour. The rest of the time, we were just hanging out and talking.”

“Everything for me is about vibing,” continued Forge. “You cannot just point at one beautiful boy and one beautiful girl and say, ‘You two should totally fuck’ to create a love child. It’s about meeting and hanging out. What happened with this is luck.”

Elliott agreed that the move to work with Ghost was “never a career thing”.

“It wasn’t about either of our bands needing a lift because there’s certainly nothing wrong with either of our careers right now,” he said. “This was two fans getting together and working on a song for the love of it. That’s always been my favourite kind of project.”

View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Band Ghost (@thebandghost)

So, can fans expect more collaborations between Tobias Forge and Joe Elliott?

“It has come up in the last while, and I’d be more than happy to,” replied Elliott. “Next time though, when we’ve both got some time off, I want us to actually find some neutral place where we can get together in a room with a little recorder, a couple of guitars, pen, paper, our brains, a bottle of wine and see what we come up with.”

He went on: “I would love to sit down and write a song with the guy because it would be fun. That’s our morning word, ‘Fun’. I don’t want to do it for a job, I just want to write together to see what we’d get. I want to play around and see where it goes.”

Later this year, Ghost are set to head out on a mammoth US headline tour after a high-profile slot at Download festival while Def Leppard’s Stadium Tour finally arrives in the UK . At the same time, bands like Metallica and Bring Me The Horizon are blowing up on TikTok while newer acts like Spiritbox , Code Orange and Nova Twins are speaking to a fresh generation of fans. How do the pair feel about a so-called rock resurgence?

“I’m in Mexico City where Def Leppard just played to 56,000 people,” said Elliott. “Ghost are playing to huge crowds as well. Metal, pop rock, soft rock, hard rock, whatever-the-fuck-rock has never really gone away in the eyes of the fans. It comes and goes though. It wasn’t big in the ‘80s until us and Bon Jovi came along and kicked it up the arse. Then it went underground again, before it turned into grunge, then emo. Who knows what’s coming next.”

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Def Leppard (@defleppard)

Comparing it the film world, Forge explained how “hard rock has always been similar to horror, but especially nowadays”.

“You have these blockbuster horror films that would never, ever be considered for an Oscar because it’s a horror film, so it’s automatically seen as not that good,” he said. “That might change in time, but that is the stigma that metal and rock still has. It’s seen as not being as sophisticated as other things. You can’t have an argument against that, but you can still sell records, you can become big on streaming, you can sell tickets. You don’t have to be on daytime radio to be successful.”

Forge continued: “Look at a band like Måneskin. That’s a sign people don’t shy away from organic music. When we speak about the well-being of rock, there’s a common misunderstanding that if there’s going to be a resurgence, the classic bands are going to come back around. I’m counting on bands we don’t know leading the way.”

“In the early 2000s, I was completely estranged from a lot of popular music until bands like Franz Ferdinand , The Strokes and The Hives made it feel interesting again. That’s what we have ahead of us I think – a whole slew of 18-year-olds listening to [‘Spillways’] and feeling like they should go out and play music.”

Def Leppard and Mötley Crüe’s 2023 UK and Ireland tour kicks off in May. Visit here for tickets and information. Ghost meanwhile, perform alongside the likes of Slipknot, Bring Me The Horizon, Metallica, Placebo, Disturbed and Architects at Download 2023 this June. Visit here for tickets and more information.

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Ghost | Spillways ft. Joe Elliott of Def Leppard

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GHOST Collaborates With DEF LEPPARD's JOE ELLIOTT On New Version Of 'Spillways'

On January 26, Swedish rockers GHOST will release a new version of their song "Spillways" featuring a guest appearance by DEF LEPPARD singer Joe Elliott .

"Spillways" is taken from GHOST 's fifth album, "Impera" , which was released in March 2022.

Last year, GHOST mainman Tobias Forge told Metal Hammer magazine that he thought DEF LEPPARD was "great" and added that "going into [ 'Impera' ], I thought I would see if I could do it a little more like DEF LEPPARD did it."

For his part, Elliott told Metal Hammer in April 2022 that he was introduced to GHOST 's music through DEF LEPPARD guitarist Phil Collen . "He said, 'Here, have you heard about this band GHOST ? It's like this kind of Scando goth-metal but with brilliant melodies.' I went, 'Well, that's an oxymoron, 'cause it's usually [ makes unintelligible singing noise like someone vomiting in a bucket ].' But he played me something — a couple of minutes each of a few songs. I was really intrigued, so I asked him to Dropbox me the new album. I listened to it all, and I thought it was absolutely stunning. It's like a whole new genre of music — it's way more TOTO than death metal or any of that stuff. It's like the song 'Spillways' . It starts off like 'Hold The Line' by TOTO or 'Jane' by JEFFERSON STARSHIP — one of those classic '70s songs that begin on the piano before these big, chunky chords come in."

At the time, Joe said that "Impera" had been his "go-to album" for at least a couple of weeks. I've got it downloaded on to my Apple Watch so I can march away and listen to it. I've only got a few albums on there, and GHOST are one of them."

Asked if he had been approached by GHOST for a collaboration, Joe said: "Not yet. Maybe they will. We've got [country singer] Alison Krauss on our new album, we did stuff with Taylor Swift 10 years ago. We're not scared of collaborating with anybody."

"Impera" sold 70,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in its first week of release to land at position No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart. It marked the third top 10 album — and fifth top 40-charting set — for the Swedish act. The 12-song effort was produced by Klas Åhlund and mixed by Andy Wallace .

"Impera" landed at position No. 1 in Germany and Sweden, No. 2 in the U.K., Netherlands, Belgium and Norway, No. 3 in Australia, No. 5 in France and Ireland, and No. 20 in Italy.

Forge worked on the follow-up to 2018's "Prequelle" with Åhlund and Swedish co-writers Salem Al Fakir and Vincent Pontare , whose credits include Madonna and Lady Gaga .

Tobias told Metal Hammer magazine about "Spillways" : "This is an elegy for the darkness that most people have inside. When you have a dam, spillways are the run-offs so the dam won't overflow. That darkness inside us needs to find its way out."

in case youre wondering whats going on pic.twitter.com/Qq2fyFGQYk — felix🔪 (@holy_pierogies) January 25, 2023

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Ghost Will Haunt U.S. Amphitheaters on a Summer Tour

By Joseph Hudak

Joseph Hudak

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Rolling Stone may receive an affiliate commission.

Papa Emeritus IV is coming to an amphitheater near you. Ghost , the Swedish hard-rock band led by the man of a thousand faces, Tobias Forge, has announced a U.S. summer tour .

Titled the Re-Imperatour U.S.A. 2023, the trek begins August 2nd in Concord, California, and plays 27 dates, wrapping up September 11th in Los Angeles. Along the way, the tour hits cities like Chicago, Milwaukee, Tampa, Austin, and Phoenix. Fellow Swedish metalheads Amon Amarth open all dates except the L.A. closer.

Ghost released their latest album, Impera , last year, a record that rails against bloated nations, empty leaders, and the glorification of stupidity. “We now have mechanisms within our own Western empire who are actively trying to, and to some degree have, created this time machine where we’re regressing,” Forge told Rolling Stone . “We’re flattening the earth. We’re submitting to stupidity, which is fucking unbelievable.”

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Earlier this month, Ghost staged a pop-up exhibit at the Whisky a Go Go on the Sunset Strip in L.A. that featured memorabilia, from stage costumes to a “corpse,” from their supposed Sixties incarnation. They also released a new version of the Impera track “Spillways” featuring Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott.

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Hear Joe Elliott Team With Ghost on New Version of ‘Spillways’

Joe Elliott has joined forces with Ghost , delivering a collaborative rendition of the band’s song “Spillways.”

The  Def Leppard frontman's vocals blend perfectly with the Swedish metal group, as he alternates duties with Ghost singer Tobias Forge. The new version -- which can be heard below -- builds on the emphatic original, with Elliott's contributions adding another powerful layer to the track.

“Spillways” was originally released on Ghost’s 2022 album Impera . Forge admitted he tried to channel some of Def Leppard’s magic while making the LP. “I think they were great,” the Ghost frontman admitted to Metal Hammer last year. “Going into this record, I thought I would see if I could do it a little more like Def Leppard did it.”

The admiration was mutual, as Elliott admitted Impera was his “go-to album” last year. The singer further revealed he was introduced to Ghost by his Def Leppard bandmate, Phil Collen .

“He said, ‘Here, have you heard about this band Ghost? It’s like this kind of Scando goth-metal but with brilliant melodies,’” Elliott recalled. “I was really intrigued, so I asked him to Dropbox me the new album. I listened to it all, and I thought it was absolutely stunning. It’s like a whole new genre of music – it’s way more Toto than death metal or any of that stuff. It’s like the song 'Spillways.' It starts off like 'Hold the Line' by Toto or 'Jane' by Jefferson Starship – one of those classic '70s songs that begin on the piano before these big, chunky chords come in."

Ghost are nominated for Best Metal Performance at this year’s Grammys, taking place Feb. 5. The band has extensive tour dates throughout Europe this summer, stretching from May through July. Meanwhile, Def Leppard are poised to hit the road again alongside Motley Crue beginning Feb. 10.

Listen to Ghost's 'Spillways' Featuring Joe Elliott

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1 March 2023 2:28 PM

In conversation: Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott and Ghost’s Tobias Forge

Def leppard were one of the biggest bands of the eighties. swedish rockers ghost are a modern phenomenon. here, joe elliott and tobias forge discuss their individual and unique experiences..

By Mark Sutherland

“He’s at sea level and I’m at the top of the mountain,” chuckles Joe Elliott.

“But we wish we were in the same place,” smiles Tobias Forge.

Forge and Elliott are talking about their locations as they Zoom in to chat to Rolling Stone UK – Elliott struggling with the low oxygen levels on tour in Mexico with Def Leppard , Ghost frontman Forge chilling at home in frosty Stockholm. But their varying elevations could also serve as a metaphor for what’s happened to rock stardom between their respective generations: few modern bands get to breathe the rarefied air of stardom’s uppermost peaks.

Def Leppard spent much of the ‘80s and ‘90s as one of the biggest bands on the planet, selling 100 million records across multi-multi-platinum albums such as Hysteria and Pyromania and turning songs such as ‘Pour Some Sugar On Me’ and ‘Let’s Get Rocked’ – with Elliott cheekily inquiring, “I suppose a rock’s out of the question?” – into a massive worldwide hit. They’re still enormous enough to be co-headlining Wembley Stadium with Mötley Crüe this summer.

Ghost, meanwhile, are modern metal’s most irresistible cult. Their theatrical, ritualistic live shows pack out arenas, while anthem-strewn latest album Impera hit No.2 on both sides of the Atlantic. Pretty damn impressive, especially because – as Forge points out – things have changed a bit since the days when rock ruled the world.

“When I was 20, I wanted to become a rock star so bad,” sighs Forge, who paid his dues in Noughties Swedish bands Repugnant and Crashdïet before hitting the big time as the mysterious, masked frontman of Ghost through his alter-egos Papa Emeritus and Cardinal Copia. “Then the whole decline of the record industry happened and I – as someone who had clearly missed that train – don’t have a negative superlative that can properly explain the frustration of seeing that.”

Of course, Forge has done his best to reverse rock’s fortunes since, and is happy to have found global success as a “late bloomer.”

“Our A&R man once said, ‘If we were in 1983 right now, I would know exactly what to do with you because back then, rock was the thing. I’d know which producer to call, where to sell your record and, if I threw you on tour with Def Leppard, you would do 100 shows in the US and that would sell you two million records…’

“Whereas, we’ve never really had a roadmap from a commercial point of view,” he adds. “But we’ve managed to do it anyway. And I’m so happy I get to do it with glancing forward but learning from the masters…”

One of those masters, of course, is his new buddy Elliott, who sings on the refreshed version of Ghost’s epic tear-up, ‘Spillways’, out as a single now. The Lepps were a key influence on Impera , with Forge – who often likes to put himself in the shoes of his favourite rock stars when recording – drawing inspiration “straight off the Def Leppard modus operandi” as he expanded his writing style away from Ghost’s typical punky verse-chorus-verse approach.

“I grew up in the ‘80s, so Def Leppard was part of my DNA,” says Forge. “And one thing I’ve always found fascinating, if you look at the really big commercial records, Pyromania and Hysteria , it’s amazing how unconventionally written they are.

“The songs are very spaced out; there’s a long intro, then a verse, then this pre-chorus, then another pre-chorus in a completely different key, then there’s a breakdown and then comes the big chorus,” he expands. “That takes guts and, from a modern point of view, where you’re supposed to write very to-the-point and be at the first chorus in 30 seconds, that seemed like a very big challenge for me.”

The original ‘Spillways’ met that challenge head-on with its flamboyant keyboard riff and multiple, monumental hooks, so it was no surprise that it caught the attention of Elliott – already an admirer of Ghost, having been introduced to the band by Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen.

“That song stood out for me,” says Elliott. “It’s like ‘Animal’ was for Hysteria or ‘Let’s Get Rocked’ was for Adrenalize : a real flagship song. Shamelessly, with no embarrassment, I’m a huge fan of Ghost.”

Elliott bigged up the Impera album in interviews and played Ghost on his Planet Rock and Sirius XM radio shows and, soon enough, the “grown-ups” on the two band’s teams brokered a conversation between the two frontmen. The amped-up ‘Spillways’ 2.0, and its eye-catching, pub-karaoke-session-gets-possessed-by-evil-spirits video was born.

“When ‘Spillways’ was put in front of me, as a song I loved to death, I think I’d actually recorded it before he’d even given me the heads up to do it!” Elliott laughs. “An already written song, a beautifully put together piece of work – and all I had to do was lend my abilities, whatever they are, to it.”

And it’s clear that, while the two rockers may today be at different altitudes, they share the same attitude. This is clearly a cross-generation collaboration drawn from a mutual admiration of each other’s music, rather than drawn up in a record company marketing department. Throughout, they enthusiastically chat about studio techniques and their shared love of punk rock, although Forge stresses comparisons between modern rock stardom and the genre’s heyday are nigh-on impossible.

“It’s hard not to go into carnal territory, so let’s stay away from that!” he quips. “But people on the label side that have been around for longer than 20 years are like, ‘It’s so hard now. In the ‘90s, every Monday there was 20 new gold records in the lobby, our office had 200 people and there were parties every week’ – it was a completely different thing.”

Joe Elliott, of course, has been there, done that and sold millions of the T-shirt. But, as part of their rock’n’roll levelling up agenda to return the genre to the top, both stars both hope this meeting of metal minds won’t just be a one-off.

The pair pledge to perform ‘Spillways’ live “if we’re on at the same festival”, while Forge says collaborating on fresh material is hopefully on the agenda.

“If we write something together in the future,” says Elliott, “It will be very interesting to see how it turns out, because we’ll have two different perspectives coming together.”

And with these very different bands in perfect harmony, Forge and Elliott both hope a real rock revival may no longer be out of the question.

“You don’t hear [rock] collaborations every day, and this was as organic as it gets because it was out of love and respect for each other,” concludes Elliott. “So maybe this will bring a bit of attention to this kind of music, because it’s two different generations meeting in the middle.”

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The ‘IMPERA’ classic has been transformed with help from Leppard’s legendary frontman.

Published on

Ghost’s “Spillways” has undergone a transfiguration to include guest vocals from rock legend and avowed Ghost fan Joe Elliott of Def Leppard .

To witness Joe Elliott’s phantasmagorical journey into the world of Ghost, open Chapter 15: (Title TBC). The newest instalment in Ghost’s long running series of webisodes , Chapter 15 documents a karaoke session that goes awry in spectacular and supernatural fashion (and if you’re feeling like singing along, check out the “Spillways (ft. Joe Elliott)” lyric video below.

The mutual admiration between Ghost and Def Leppard is well documented. Speaking about IMPERA , Tobias Forge said “Going into this record, I thought I would see if I could do it a little more like Def Leppard did it.” Joe Elliott told Metal Hammer “I listened to it all, & I thought it was absolutely stunning. It’s like a whole new genre of music”. Creative kinship like this seemed destined for something special & fortunately for rock fans the world over it comes as a Spillways collaboration.

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The original version of “Spillways,” currently Top 5 at Active Rock Radio and having generated some 50 million streams globally, can be found on Ghost’s IMPERA . Released March 11, 2022, IMPERA has moved nearly 500,000 albums worldwide , won the American Music Award for Favorite Rock Album 2022, and received a Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance (“Call Me Little Sunshine.”)

Best of 2022 accolades included Ghost landing at #1 on Spotify’s Best of Kickass Metal 2022, while cover stories in Revolver and Metal Hammer proclaimed IMPERA #1 Album of 2022 and Loudwire has named Ghost 2022 Artist of the Year. As Consequence noted in its Top Metal & Hard Rock Albums of 2022 roundup, “Few rock bands are as grand and ambitious-sounding as Ghost nowadays.”

With all of the above plus the 70 date ‘IMPERATOUR’ that saw the Wall Street Journal anoint Ghost “the next generation of arena stars” and an iHeartRadio Awards 2023 nomination for Rock Artist Of The Year, that ambition is primed to take the band to further and unforeseen heights in 2023.

Buy or stream IMPERA .

GHOST EU LIVE DATES: May 21: Zenith, Rouen, France May 22: Halle Tony Garnier, Lyon, France May 23: Zénith De Toulouse, Toulouse, France May 25: Le Liberte, Rennes, France May 26: Zénith De Lille, Lille, France May 28: Zenith of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France May 30: Palais Nikaïa, Nice, France June 1: Primavera Sound 2023, Barcelona, Spain June 3: Zenith Nantes Metropole, Saint-herblain, France June 6: Velodrom, Berlin, Germany June 7-11: Mystic Festival 2023, Gdańsk, Poland June 8-11: Download Festival 2023 , Derby, United Kingdom June 10: Sweden Rock Festival 2023, Sölvesborg, Sweden June 15: Graspop Metal Meeting 2023, Dessel, Belgium June 19: Barclays Arena, Hamburg, Germany

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GHOST Streams New Version Of "Spillways" With DEF LEPPARD's JOE ELLIOTT

Thanks, Joe.

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Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott Says New Ghost Album Is ‘A Whole New Genre of Music’

Ghost have a wide variety of influences, which is why it's so difficult to pigeonhole them as either a rock or a metal band. In fact, Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott — who's a self-proclaimed fan — said that their latest album  Impera  is "like a whole new genre of music."

You may be wondering why anyone should care what Elliott thinks about Ghost, but Tobias Forge recently told Metal Hammer that he tried to emulate Def Leppard's songwriting structure with  Impera.

"Going into this record, I thought I would see if I could do it a little more like Def Leppard did it, where every song – especially on Pyromania or Hysteria – starts with one thing, and then there’s a verse, then there’s a pre-chorus that feels like a chorus, and then there’s another pre-chorus and another thing and finally, after like five different sections, comes the chorus, in a completely different key," the Ghost mastermind explained.

"It’s such a riot! Every song! Even 'Pour Some Sugar on Me' is quite intelligently written. I’m not saying that as a surprise – I think they were great.”

Given Forge's praise of Def Leppard, Metal Hammer  then interviewed Elliott to see how he felt about the compliments, and whether he's actually a fan of their music or not.

The singer recalled that he was first introduced to Ghost through guitarist Phil Collen , who described Ghost's sound to him as "kind of Scando goth-metal but with brilliant melodies," and Elliott was intrigued. After hearing a bit of a few of their new songs, Elliott asked Collen to send him the full album, and now it's been his "go-to album" the last few weeks.

"I listened to it all, and I thought it was absolutely stunning. It’s like a whole new genre of music – it’s way more Toto than death metal or any of that stuff," the vocalist expressed. "I’ve got it downloaded onto my Apple Watch so I can march away and listen to it. I’ve only got a few albums on there, and Ghost are one of them."

While Elliott admitted he doesn't hear a lot of similarities between Ghost and Def Leppard in the music itself, he senses that they have a similar attitude — and he appreciates that Forge admitted he liked them, rather than pretending not to while still following a similar songwriting format.

"He’s not worried about losing cred with his fans by name-checking Def Leppard," he remarked.

Another sentiment that Forge and Elliott seem to share is their admiration for theatrical performances. A few weeks ago, the Ghost frontman declared that he'd rather be known as being more similar to Rammstein than Pearl Jam , who have a much more stripped-down style of performing as compared to the German metalheads. Elliott apparently was never down for the grunge aesthetic, either.

"Oh, I love that theatrical stuff. When I was 16 and saw Kiss Destroyer posters in Bradley‘s records in Sheffield, life-size, I went, ‘If it sounds like it looks, that’s my kind of album.’ Same with Bowie," the Def Leppard leader remembered. "It was somebody making an effort not to look like they were roadies. That was the thing with grunge and Britpop - I could listen to the music, but they looked like they were waiting for a bus. Wearing a fucking parka onstage? No thank you."

As for a potential collaboration with Ghost, Elliott stated that he's up for it.

"We’re not scared of collaborating with anybody," he enthused.

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DEF LEPPARD's JOE ELLIOTT Comments On GHOST Spillways Single Collaboration

Def Leppard singer Joe Elliott has commented on his contribution to Ghost's new single Spillways.

Joe appears on a new version of their song 'Spillways' which is available to be downloaded and streamed.

The song and lyric video were both released on 26th January.

The single artwork features the familiar Def Leppard triangle in red/yellow with the Ghost logo over the top and the title written in Def Leppard pyrite font.

The original song was released in March 2022 on their fifth studio album 'Impera' and was also released as a single in July 2022.

Joe played the new song version on his Planet Rock radio show earlier tonight and also explained how the collaboration came about.

Collaboration

Joe explained that his appearance on the song and the video came about after reading an interview with singer Tobias Forge in 2022 where he revealed he is a big fan of Def Leppard.

Video Location

Joe discussed the recent webisode video and explained it was indeed filmed at the Blue Light Pub not far from his home in Dublin.

The clip was filmed in the last couple of weeks - watch it again below.

Listen to the full song below via Spotify.

Visit the Tour News section. For more news on future tour plans.

Visit the Album News section for more news on new music (based on band member quotes).

Ghost - Spillways Single 2023

• 01 - Spillways (Ft. Joe Elliott of Def Leppard) - 3:20
• 02 - Spillways (Original Version) - 3:17
• Record Label - Loma Vista
• Total Time - 6:37
• Release Date - 26th January 2023

Buy 'Spillways' Online

• Amazon - MP3

The Joe Elliott Show - 28th January 2023 Quotes

"This song that we're about to hear has been out for a while."

"But not this particular version. Featuring yours truly, this is Ghost."

Ghost Spillways

"So how did that collaboration come about I hear you ask."

"Well turns out that about probably 9 months ago now I was pointed towards an interview that Tobias had done saying he was a bit of a Def Leppard fan."

"And of course as you all know if you've been listening to my show regularly."

"That I am a fan of the band Ghost. And I guess we both heard about each other's mutual love for each other."

"And it just became a very organic get together. And he said would I like to sing on a re-recording of the song Spillways."

"In actual fact the backing track's the same, but I added my parts to it. And there you have it."

"And we had such fun just a couple of weeks ago doing a kind of a webisode I think he calls them. A mini video for the song which was shot in pretty much my local."

"At a place called the Blue Light in Dublin. And great fun was had. Always up for a bit of a laugh."

"And it was great to meet Tobias. A lovely guy and a great artist. And there is the re-recording, if you like, or the additional version of the song Spillways."

View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Band Ghost (@thebandghost)

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Review: Def Leppard and Journey deliver hits at high volume in Seattle

Concert review.

“I don’t care if it takes all night,” Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott warned during his band’s headlining set at T-Mobile Park on Wednesday night. “We’re gonna [expletive] Seattle up!” The massive crowd roared with approval as the English rockers ripped into their 1983 “Pyromania” classic “Rock of Ages.”

Seattle was treated to one of the final shows of Def Leppard’s summer stadium tour with Journey and Cheap Trick. The nationwide run has two shows left, including a Friday show at the Spokane Arena, before the tour wraps up in Utah next week. The new wave of British heavy metal legends seemed determined to make the most of the occasion delivering a set that was packed with their biggest hits performed at true ear-splitting volume. Even for an outdoor rock gig, Def Leppard was capital-L Loud.

Much of the night was dedicated to rolling back the clock, with Journey marking more than five decades together as a band and Def Leppard celebrating 40 years of their diamond-certified masterpiece “Pyromania.” Cheap Trick, who came on at 6 p.m. sharp and played for an hour, didn’t appear to be celebrating anything, besides their own, well-earned reputation as one of the best and most fun to watch bands in America. “Surrender,” “I Want You to Want Me” and “The Flame” never fail to inspire a singalong.

The fans got in on the spirit of time travel. The concourses around T-Mobile Park were filled with people wearing teased-up wigs in every conceivable color, along with old metal T-shirts and plenty of ripped denim. If you squinted hard enough, it almost felt like 1983. Almost.

Journey hit the stage around 7:30 p.m. and played just about every song you would hope to hear during their hour-and-a-half set. It’s hard to believe — but don’t stop — that frontman Arnel Pineda has now been holding down vocal duties in Journey for several years longer than his predecessor, Steve Perry. Pineda’s ability to reach those iconic highs on songs like “Who’s Crying Now,” “Wheel in the Sky” and “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)” remains staggering. (At his bandmates’ request, the crowd celebrated Pineda with a rousing “Happy Birthday.”)

Lately, Journey has been shaken by legal tumult between the band’s two principal members, lead guitarist Neal Schon and keyboardist-rhythm guitarist Jonathan Cain. Back in July, Cain filed a lawsuit accusing Schon of “exorbitant” spending that threatened the band’s touring operations. The matter was settled a week ago , with a Delaware court appointing an independent director to operate as a third-party tiebreaker between them.

If there remains any lingering tension between Schon and Cain it wasn’t visible onstage, though they largely avoided one another’s space. Cain dedicated “Faithfully,” a song he wrote in 1982, to the sacrifice of armed-services members and spent much of the second half of the gig wearing a Mariners jersey. Schon demonstrated over and over why he’s considered one of the great guitarists of his generation, ripping incredible licks on his smoke-burst Gibson Les Paul and grinning behind a pair of dark black shades.

Def Leppard came out over an hour later, guitars blazing under a panoply of stars. While this tour is billed as a co-headlining event — their second with Journey after a similar run in 2018 — it was evident who the main attraction was from the moment you entered the park. Def Leppard T-shirts seemingly outnumbered Journey threads 3-to-1, and the British metal legends have closed out every gig on the tour.

“Thank you and good evening, Seattle,” frontman Elliott said at the top. “What do we have in store for you tonight among these festivities?”

Then he teased an extended celebration of the band’s breakthrough third album.

Def Leppard ultimately performed seven of Pyromania’s 10 tracks to the immense delight of the exuberant audience. The despair-fueled chugger “Foolin’” was an early crowd-pleaser, while “Photograph” brought the house down near the end of the show. Elliott’s voice continues to defy both time and reason as he soared over a melodic cacophony of chain-saw-like guitars and kick drum fills across an hour and a half.

And yet, it was almost impossible to tear your eyes off Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell as they traded guitar solos and wove around one another in total musical harmony. Collen sauntered around the stage shirtless except a leopard print vest, a long scarf trailing from his back pocket. Campbell seemingly color-coordinated with his gold top Gibson Les Paul, wearing a gold-colored trench coat and sunglasses.

Midway through the show, Def Leppard buffered the volume a bit with a short acoustic set near the front of the stage. Elliott performed a solo rendition of “Two Steps Behind,” before the band joined him for “This Guitar” and “Bringin’ on the Heartbreak.” Soon, it was back to the fully cranked sound, with the group’s drummer Rick Allen stomping out Godzilla-sized kick patterns barefoot.

“Thank you, Seattle,” Elliott said after emerging for the band’s well-deserved encore. “Thanks for being with us all these years. Thank you for sharing the 40th anniversary of ‘Pyromania’ with us tonight. There was another album, however …”

Then Def Leppard tore into the title track to 1987’s “Hysteria.” The night finally ended with their biggest hit of all, “Pour Some Sugar on Me.” If there was anyone left in their seats, I certainly didn’t see them.

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The opinions expressed in reader comments are those of the author only and do not reflect the opinions of The Seattle Times.

DEF LEPPARD AND JOURNEY ANNOUNCE SUMMER STADIUM TOUR 2024 WITH STEVE MILLER BAND, HEART AND CHEAP TRICK

Rock brigade pre-sale tue. dec 12 tickets on sale fri. dec 15.

Def Leppard and Journey are teaming up for the Summer Stadium Tour 2024 with Steve Miller Band, Heart, and Cheap Trick! The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Icons are once again coming together for a night of hits.

Rock Brigade Concert Club members will get exclusive first access to pre-sale tickets and VIP Packages starting Tuesday, December 12 at 10am local time. 

Visit  DefLeppardRockBrigade.com  to sign-up and claim your tickets.

Def Leppard VIP Packages Include: • A Premium Ticket • Individual Photo with Def Leppard • Exclusive Merchandise • And More!

General tickets for all dates will go on sale Fri. December 15 at 10am local time.

2024 TOUR DATES July 6 – St. Louis, MO (Busch Stadium)^ July 10 – Orlando, FL (Camping World Stadium)^ July 13 – Atlanta, GA (Truist Park)* July 15 – Chicago, IL (Wrigley Field)* July 18 – Detroit, MI (Comerica Park)* July 20 – Nashville, TN (Nissan Stadium)* July 23 – Philadelphia, PA (Citizens Bank Park)* July 25 – Hershey, PA (Hersheypark Stadium)* July 27 – Pittsburgh, PA (PNC Park)* July 30 – Cleveland, OH (Progressive Field)+ August 2 – Toronto, ON (Rogers Centre)+ August 5 – Boston, MA (Fenway Park)+ August 7 – Flushing, NY (Citi Field)* August 12 – Arlington, TX (Globe Life Field)* August 14 – Houston, TX (Minute Maid Park)* August 16 – San Antonio, TX (Alamodome)* August 19 – Minneapolis, MN (Target Field)* August 23 – Phoenix, AZ (Chase Field)* August 25 – Los Angeles, CA (SoFi Stadium)* August 28 – San Francisco, CA (Oracle Park)* August 30 – San Diego, CA (Petco Park)* September 4 – Seattle, WA (T-Mobile Park)^ September 8 – Denver, CO (Coors Field)^ *with Steve Miller Band ^with Cheap Trick +with Heart

Register for General Pre-sale on Tue. December 12 (11am) at https://defleppardjourney2024.com/

Def Leppard setlist 2024: All the songs they played when tour hit Phoenix

Def Leppard rolled through downtown Phoenix on Friday, Aug. 23, on the co-headlining Summer Stadium Tour with Journey and Steve Miller Band, treating fans at Chase Field to a setlist that went heavy on selections from their biggest albums, 1983’s "Pyromania" and 1987’s "Hysteria.”

They came out rocking (till you drop) with “Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop),” the first of seven songs from “Pyromania,” and followed with “Rocket,” one of six songs from “Hysteria” in a night that ended with “Hysteria” and “Pour Some Sugar on Me.”

The oldest songs they played were “Bringin’ on the Heartbreak” and “Switch 625” from “High N’ Dry,” their second album.

Def Leppard setlist included 'Photograph,' 'Animal,' 'Hysteria' and more

They also dusted off “Just Like ’73,” their new single, in the course of an 18-song set that touched on all their biggest hits, from “Photograph” and “Rock of Ages” to “Armageddon It” and “Love Bites.”

Review: Def Leppard, Journey and Steve Miller: Older, rawer and 100% banging

Def Leppard setlist 2024: All the songs they played in Phoenix

Here's every song Def Leppard played on Friday, Aug. 23, at Chase Field in downtown Phoenix:

• “Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)”
• “Armageddon It”
• “Love Bites”
• “Just Like '73”
• “Comin' Under Fire”
• “Too Late for Love”
• “Die Hard the Hunter”
• “Two Steps Behind” (Joe Elliott solo acoustic)
• “This Guitar” (acoustic)
• “Bringin' On the Heartbreak” (acoustic/electric version)
• “Switch 625”
• “Rock of Ages”
• “Photograph”

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• “Pour Some Sugar on Me”

Ed has covered pop music for The Republic since 2007, reviewing festivals and concerts, interviewing legends, covering the local scene and more. He did the same in Pittsburgh for more than a decade. Follow him on X and Instagram @edmasley and on  Facebook  as Ed Masley. Email him at [email protected].