Latest articles by Paul Elliott
"This song is so powerful and still makes me emotional": My 80s Mixtape, by Def Leppard's Phil Collen
Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen on the 80s songs that move him the most
“I said to my mates, ‘Can you believe this record is going to come out on the same label as Thin Lizzy?’”: the unlikely birth of Def Leppard and the story of their debut album On Through The Night
Def Leppard were barely out of school when they released their debut album On Through The Night and toured with AC/DC, but it set them on the path to stardom
The 50 best live albums ever
The best live albums are defining moments in any band’s career, when the music, the performance, and the atmosphere generated between band and audience are captured on tape
The 50 best AC/DC songs ever
From Sydney streets to world domination, AC/DC have never strayed from the path during five decades of unwavering commitment to the cause of righteous rock'n'roll
"It ain't rocket science. It’s pure rock'n'roll": Def Leppard's Joe Elliott on the wild genius of AC/DC’s Powerage
Revealed: Joe Elliott admits he still owes Bon Scott a tenner
"That kind of bare-bones grit they had in the early days was replaced with this driving sonic overload": Why I ❤️ AC/DC's Back In Black, by Kiss's Paul Stanley
Kiss legend Paul Stanley has a theory about what makes great bands great
10 brilliant Kiss deep cuts we’re begging them to play one last time before they retire
Detroit Rock City and Rock And Roll All Nite are great, but these are the lost gems we want to hear on their farewell tour
The 30 best Brian Johnson AC/DC songs
AC/DC’s 30 best songs with Brian Johnson, the much-loved frontman who's led the band from theatres to stadiums across the globe
The 50 greatest Guns N’ Roses songs ever, and the stories behind them
Guns N' Roses changed the shape of rock'n'roll when they emerged in the mid-eighties. Here's a half-century of their very best, and the stories behind them.
“It was a feeling of betrayal – they buy your record then come to a concert and whistle and hoot and screech… it all felt quite vulgar”: The time Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson nearly quit music
The band's rise to fame wasn't without its downsides
"I was still up at seven in the morning, howling away at the top of my voice" - How Lemmy wrote Motorhead by Motörhead
When Motörhead recorded the definitive version of Motorhead, it was third time lucky: this version would change Lemmy's life
A beginner’s guide to hair metal in 5 essential albums
Glam metal, hair metal – call it what you want. These are five albums that soundtracked the 1980s
Six classic rock bands who "went grunge" and lived to tell the tale
Grunge swept all aside as it barrelled in from Seattle, and some bands preferred to jump the bandwagon rather than stand in the way and get mown down
A beginner’s guide to Southern Rock in 5 albums
Southern Rock is inextricably tied to the land and character of the American South - and here are five albums that tell its tale
"For a while, it was the worst song on the album…" The story behind Rush's Tom Sawyer
Inspired by old books and new technology, Tom Sawyer was the song that reinvented prog giants Rush – but it almost never made the album
20 bands whose second album is the best thing they ever did
The bands who defied the sophomore slump to deliver the greatest albums of their career
The Creedence Clearwater Revival and John Fogerty albums you should definitely own
With Creedence Clearwater Revival he turned the Hippie generation on to classic roots and Americana... then John Fogerty went rockin’ all over the world
Celtic Frost’s Tom G Warrior: “They said I sang like Lemmy with the warts inside his mouth”
From troubled outsider to all-round metal visionary – these are the life and times of Celtic Frost/Triptykon leader Tom G Warrior
The Girlschool albums you should definitely own
Celebrated as ‘the female Motörhead’, Girlschool became stars of the NWOBHM scene. But what were their best albums?
Kenny Wayne Shepherd: the soundtrack of my life
Blues giant Kenny Wayne Shepherd picks his records, artists and gigs of lasting significance, and recalls the life-changing show he went to as a three-year-old
"This is the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and they’re playing my song!" - what happened when Def Leppard went to Abbey Road
Def Leppard are joined by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on new album Drastic Symphonies. We went to Abbey Road Studios to watch it come together
The post-Led Zeppelin Robert Plant albums you should definitely own
Robert Plant is of an age when most rock stars have run out of steam or are repeating themselves, but he's still moving forward - and these are his best albums since Led Zeppelin
Rush's Signals celebrates its 40th birthday with an underwhelming party
Signals signalled the beginning of a whole new phase in Rush's career, but the anniversary edition falls well short
