Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott is revealing some of the records that helped shape him into the rock star he is today. In an interview with Classic Rock, the singer reveals “the 10 records that changed my life,” with a list that includes Mott The Hoople, Queen, David Bowie and Rod Stewart.
Elliott, a former frontman of a Mott The Hoople cover band, includes two of their albums on the list: 1971’s Wildlife and 1973’s Mott. He notes the latter “showed Ian Hunter’s amazing songwriting process: he was always a great songwriter, but it really came to the fore on that record.”
Also on the list is Bowie’s 1972 classic, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, which he calls “a brilliant, stunning record.” Stewart’s 1971 album, Every Picture Tells A Story, also made the list. Elliott says it was the first record he ever purchased, noting it was “a 40-minute journey of all sorts of emotions.”
Queen’s 1974 album, Sheer Heart Attack, also makes the list. He says that from that album, “you could tell they were rock band, but you could also tell they were much more than a rock band.”
The other albums on Elliott’s list: Jethro Tull’s 1971 release, Aqualung; Montrose’s 1973 self-titled release; Ian Hunter’s 1975 self-titled album; Mick Ronson’s 1975 album, Play Don’t Worry; and UFO’s Obsession, released in 1978.
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