Def Leppard: Modern bands lack focus

Def Leppard fromtman Joe Elliott says many of today’s bands lack focus as their time is taken up with the distractions of social media.

Speaking at a press conference in Singapore, Elliott says groups would be better served concentrating on learning to write and record together than spend time on Facebook or Twitter.

And he insists he’d have struggled if Def Leppard were starting out in 2015.

He says: “I’m glad it wasn’t around when we started, purely because it gave us more opportunity to concentrate on what we really wanted to be.

“It wasn’t, like, ‘We can’t rehearse today because we’ve got to answer all these questions.’ I think that actually is one of the reasons there aren’t so many bands coming through the way that we did – they have other tasks they have to perform that we didn’t.

“We learned to play our instruments, we learned to sing, we learned to write songs together, and that was our only focus. Once we got that down, and then if other stuff comes in, you can probably split your time and manage to do both.

“For me, I’m not sure I would have been as good if I was starting off the way it is now. It would have been too much of an interference.”

Guitarist Phil Collen adds that too many bands are motivated by fame and not about the quality of the music.

He says: “I think when people form bands now, the motivation is a lot different to what we had. I ask a lot of young people, ‘What do you want to do?’ And they want to be recognised. They want to be on YouTube, they want people to take notice of them.

“We wanted to make music, we wanted to be artists first, and there’s a big difference.”

Def Leppard released their self-titled 11th album via Classic Rock fanpack last month. The package features the disc, a 116-page magazine featuring interviews with all five band members, a track-by-track guide, collectable art cards and a metal Def Leppard keyring.

The Def Leppard Fanpack is on sale NOW

Scott has spent 37 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in 2014 before moving into e-commerce in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, highlights deals, and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more. Over the last 12 years, Scott has written more than 11,500 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from news and features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.