
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 30th anniversary edition of Roxette's Joyride: proof that less really is more
By Paul Elliott published
Joyride shows how pop-rock stars Roxette lost their mojo

Tesla: the musical miracle of Five Man Acoustical Jam
By Paul Elliott published
It may have started as a happy accident but Tesla’s Five Man Acoustical Jam ushered in the MTV Unplugged era

Drug abuse, violence, and the making of Fleetwood Mac’s Tango In The Night
By Paul Elliott last updated
Forget Rumours: Fleetwood Mac’s craziest album was Tango In The Night

The Michael Schenker albums you should definitely own
By Paul Elliott published
From teenage Scorpion to UFO, MSG and beyond, guitar hero Michael Schenker has had both hands in some of hard rock’s great albums

Robert Jon & The Wreck generate gospel-tinged euphoria on Shine A Light On Me Brother
By Paul Elliott published
Robert Jon & The Wreck play soulful rock’n’roll, the old-fashioned way, on Shine A Light On Me Brother

Why I ❤️ punk rock, by football legend Stuart Pearce
By Paul Elliott published
Former England footballer Stuart Pearce reveals how he scored with punk rock, The Stranglers, and... Rod Stewart?

Night Ranger underwhelm as songwriting falls short on ATBPO
By Paul Elliott published
AOR heroes Night Ranger drop the ball on 13th studio album ATBPO

Dennis DeYoung interview: 'no band has worked harder than Styx at diminishing its own reputation'
By Paul Elliott published
Former Styx singer Dennis DeYoung on bowing out, new album 26 East Vol 2, and the disappointment of no last Styx reunion tour

AC/DC: The epic inside story of Back In Black
By Paul Elliott last updated
How a washed-up rock star helped AC/DC overcome Bon Scott’s death and make their masterpiece

L.A. Guns still cocked and loaded on Cocked And Loaded Live
By Paul Elliott published
Out now: L.A. Guns' hair metal classic Cocked & Loaded revisited – again!

The story behind The Logical Song by Supertramp
By Paul Elliott published
How Supertramp's The Logical Song, a Beatle-approved existential pop-rock masterpiece, turned its creators into unlikely transatlantic superstars

How Def Leppard made On Through The Night, by Joe Elliott
By Paul Elliott published
Def Leppard's Joe Elliott looks back at the making of the band's debut album, On Through The Night

At war, unravelling and flying high: how Black Sabbath made Sabotage
By Paul Elliott last updated
Black Sabbath created Sabotage with their backs to the wall, yet it was a masterpiece, fearlessly experimental and adding added yet another dimension to their music

The story of Def Leppard's Jim Steinman sessions, the most expensive unreleased album ever
By Paul Elliott published
When Def Leppard teamed up with Jim Steinman they expected big things. What they got was a huge food bill

AC/DC interview: miracle cures, old riffs, and the making of Power Up
By Paul Elliott published
It looked like it was all over for AC/DC after their last tour. But the best hard rock’n’roll band in the world don’t quit that easily. And back they came, with Classic Rock's best album of 2020: Power Up

Steve Winwood: A guide to his best albums
By Paul Elliott published
With the Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, Blind Faith and solo, Steve Winwood has shown himself to be a truly singular talent. These are his best albums

The Black Crowes celebrate 30 years of Shake Your Money Maker in deluxe style
By Paul Elliott published
The Black Crowes' classic debut album Shake Your Money Maker, boxed, now with previously unreleased material

Billie Jean and big choruses: the recipe that sent FM into the Swiss charts
By Paul Elliott last updated
FM singer Steve Overland reveals how positivity and lack of pressure has done the British melodic veterans good

Accept's Too Mean To Die: It’s still balls-to-the-wall, man
By Paul Elliott published
Battle-hardened veterans Accept are still going at it with astonishing intensity on Too Mean To Die

Aerosmith: the 10 best deep cuts
By Paul Elliott last updated
Proving there's much more to life than Love In An Elevator

Jimmy Page: 12 Unsung Classics
By Paul Elliott last updated
A dozen unsung classic tracks that show there's much more to Jimmy Page than Stairway To Heaven. Much, much more

The battle for Van Halen: how Sammy Hagar triumphed over Dave Lee Roth
By Paul Elliott published
When Dave Lee Roth walked away from Van Halen it caused a war, but new frontman Sammy Hagar ensured there would only be one winner

The inside story of the return of AC/DC: how Angus Young and Brian Johnson Powered Up
By Paul Elliott published
They’d lost Malcolm. Brian was out. Axl was in. Phil was in trouble with the law. Then Cliff retired. it looked like AC/DC‘s high voltage had been unplugged for good... but then something sparked

The 100 greatest rock songs of the century... so far
By Malcolm Dome, Paul Elliott, Dave Everley, Polly Glass, Dom Lawson, Fraser Lewry, Dave Ling, Sian Llewellyn, Luke Morton, Paul Rees, Johnny Sparks, Philip Wilding, David Stubbs, Henry Yates published
Many were longlisted, but this is the final selection – the best rock songs of the 21st century thus far, as voted for by you
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