Joe Elliott tells AC/DC’s Brian Johnson why Def Leppard will always play the hits live

Def Leppard's Joe Elliott
Def Leppard's Joe Elliott (Image credit: Slaven Vlasic - Getty)

The next episode of the US broadcast of Brian Johnson’s Life On The Road will see the AC/DC frontman chatting to Def Leppard vocalist Joe Elliott.

The show will be screened on AXS TV this Sunday (October 6) at 9pm EST and will see Elliott reflecting on the band's Pyromania and Hysteria tours, as well as the tragedies the band suffered along the way and more.

In a new clip from this weekend’s broadcast, which originally aired in the UK in 2017, Elliott says he has “no problem” with playing the band’s hits live onstage.

He adds: “When I go and see the Rolling Stones or Paul McCartney, I'm not really bothered about hearing Flowers In The Dirt – I want to hear Eleanor Rigby.

“If you didn’t play anything off Back In Black there would be a riot. If we don’t play things off Hysteria, we are pleasing the 1% that criticise it. 

“I’ve always said, if you can’t handle the responsibility of writing a hit, don’t write it.”

The following Sunday’s episode will see Johnson travel to San Rafael, California, to meet Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich, who shares stories from his band’s Wherever We May Roam tour and more.

Brian Johnson: A Life On The Road - remaining episodes
Oct 06: Joe Elliott
Oct 13: Lars Ulrich
Oct 20: Nick Mason
Oct 27: Billy Joel
Nov 03: Joe Walsh
Nov 10: Dolly Parton
Nov 17: Paul Rodgers
Dec 01: Mick Fleetwood

Scott Munro
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Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to 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.