
Paul Elliott
Freelance writer for Classic Rock since 2005, Paul Elliott has worked for leading music titles since 1985, including Sounds, Kerrang!, MOJO and Q. He is the author of several books including the first biography of Guns N’ Roses and the autobiography of bodyguard-to-the-stars Danny Francis. He has written liner notes for classic album reissues by artists such as Def Leppard, Thin Lizzy and Kiss, and currently works as content editor for Total Guitar. He lives in Bath - of which David Coverdale recently said: “How very Roman of you!”
Latest articles by Paul Elliott

The 10 best double albums in rock
By Paul Elliott last updated
From the late 60s through to the late 80s, some of the greatest and most influential albums ever made were doubles

The story of Iron Maiden’s forgotten man
By Paul Elliott last updated
As the man who replaced Bruce Dickinson in Iron Maiden, Blaze Bayley went from obscurity to stardom and back again. But these days he’s anything but bitter

How Metallica went from reinventing heavy metal to reinventing themselves
By Paul Elliott last updated
With the Black Album, Metallica changed the game for everyone... including themselves

The Top 20 Greatest Funk Rock Songs
By Paul Elliott last updated
From Led Zeppelin and Mother’s Finest to Lenny Kravitz and Red Hot Chili Peppers, these are the songs that built funk rock

From The Inside: How Alice Cooper went cold turkey and made his most personal album
By Paul Elliott published
The booze was starting to kill Alice Cooper, so his wife and manager checked him into an asylum – little knowing it would inspire his most personal work

Interview: Alex Lifeson on grilled octopus, police brutality and disco biscuits
By Paul Elliott published
Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson explains why even Rush's worst songs might have sounded brilliant on ecstasy

The Darkness' Justin Hawkins: the soundtrack of my life
By Paul Elliott last updated
The Darkness frontman Justin Hawkins on the records, artists and gigs that are of lasting significance to him, and which song he'd have played at his funeral

Def Leppard: the making of Diamond Star Halos and the return of the electric warriors
By Paul Elliott published
The setbacks Def Leppard have faced over the past 45 years would have finished off many lesser bands, but now they’re very much on the up again

False starts and a whole lotta cash: how Appetite For Destruction was made
By Paul Elliott published
Five young hopefuls called Guns N’ Roses walked into a recording studio. They walked out with one of the best debut albums ever, but Appetite For Destruction could have turned out very differently

Joe Elliott has big plans for Def Leppard in the next three years but he's not letting on
By Paul Elliott last updated
Joe Elliott looks back on a long and successful past with Def Leppard and Down ‘N’ Outz, but it hasn't all been plain sailing

The Rory Gallagher albums you should definitely own
By Paul Elliott published
Ireland’s greatest, man-of-the-people guitar hero Rory Gallagher left a tremendous legacy of albums studded with real gems

Lynyrd Skynyrd and the anti-firearm protest song that's as relevant now as it ever was
By Paul Elliott published
Lynyrd Skynyrd's 1975 hit Saturday Night Special belied the band's pistol-packin’ image, but things were never quite that black and white

Gene Simmons: when Kiss play their last song I’ll be crying like a baby
By Paul Elliott published
God of Thunder Gene Simmons ponders the meaning of life, love and loss, and the end of the road for Kiss

Ann Wilson's one-in-a-million voice still soars on her best solo album yet
By Paul Elliott published
Heart singer Ann Wilson proves her songwriting is still as strong as her voice on Fierce Bliss

Nazareth resolutely loud ’n’ proud on ballsy Surviving The Law
By Paul Elliott published
Dan McCafferty’s gone, but Nazareth's spirit remains strong on Surviving The Law

Serial killers, Satan and Bon's last stand: the story of AC/DC's Highway To Hell
By Paul Elliott published
With Highway To Hell, AC/DC raced ahead of the rest by making a record that finally helped them break America... but such success came with a huge cost

The 10 best songs by Toto
By Paul Elliott published
Toto's catalogue dissected for the biggest of hits and deepest of cuts from the official masters of melodic rock

The Boston albums you should definitely own
By Paul Elliott published
Proof that there's much more to Boston, the godfathers of melodic rock – and the man who almost single-handedly created their sound – than More Than A Feeling

Slash on GN'R, Axl, Izzy, Scott and the rest - the ultimate interview
By Paul Elliott published
Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash talks about his career: Guns N' Roses, Axl Rose, Izzy Stradlin, Scott Weiland, Myles Kennnedy, and the good, the bad and the ugly that came with all of them

Sheep, Supertramp, and what Alex Lifeson did during the punk explosion
By Paul Elliott last updated
For Rush and Envy Of None guitarist Alex Lifeson, 1977 was all about touring, punk and Panama hats – just don’t mention the sheep

How Sammy Hagar breathed triumphant new life into Van Halen
By Paul Elliott published
Van Halen lost a superstar singer when Dave Lee Roth quit the band, but new frontman Sammy Hagar and Foreigner's Mick Jones ensured the loss was short-lived

The Bon Jovi albums you should definitely own
By Paul Elliott published
The Bon Jovi albums essential to any record collection

AC/DC: the long road to Glasgow and the triumph of If You Want Blood You've Got It
By Paul Elliott published
On April 30, 1978, AC/DC took to the stage of Glasgow Apollo and played one of the best shows of their career, resulting in If You Want Blood You Got It, one of rock’s greatest live albums
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