Def Leppard's Joe Elliott: So what if Greta Van Fleet sound like Led Zeppelin?

Def Leppard's Joe Elliott (Image credit: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic - Getty)

Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott says he has no problem with Greta Van Fleet sounding similar to Led Zeppelin.

The rising Michigan stars have had their fair share of criticism due to their sound, with Steven Wilson lashing out at them last month, calling their music “absolutely abysmal.”

But Elliott says there’s nothing wrong with any band wearing their influences on their sleeves.

Asked by ET Canada what music he’s been listening to, Elliott replies: “Not much, I’ll be honest. But the two obvious ones is Greta Van Fleet, which is the big thing at the moment. Or Greta Van Zeppelin as everyone’s calling them. Yeah, they sound like Led Zeppelin. So what?

“When we started out, we sounded like Queen and AC/DC, so, everybody's got to start somewhere. It's OK to wear your influences on your sleeve these days, I believe.”

The vocalist goes on to praise UK outfit The Struts, and says: “I think the singer Luke Spiller is an absolute star. He deserves to be on the stadium stages. Hopefully one day he will be.”

Elliott isn’t the only rock star to defend Greta Van Fleet. Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash told Australian radio station Triple M that their success was “really opening the doors for a lot of young, new bands.”

Halestorm vocalist and guitarist Lzzy Hale told Classic Rock that her band were “rooting for them,” adding “We’ve been on the rock scene for many years and this is a rock band who are sitting at the cool table right now, and I truly think it’s going to do an amazing thing for all of us in rock’n’roll.”

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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.