DEF LEPPARD Is 'Ahead Of The Game' With New Album Progress

DEF LEPPARD's Joe Elliott has confirmed to Cleveland.com in a new interview that the band is working on new songs for its next album. According to the singer, he and his bandmates have been trading ideas virtually during the pandemic and are "ahead of the game" with respect to the new LP's progress.

As for DEF LEPPARD's overall songwriting approach, Elliott said: "Y'know, we've always said that what we've got to try and achieve before we kick it all in the head or we're gone is to be bracketed among the greats: Lennon-McCartney, Jagger-Richards, Ray Davies, Pete Townshend. We probably never will, but we're never gonna stop trying. We're not interested in trying to be some second division, 'Oh, that'll do kind of thing.' It's like if somebody fails climbing Mount Everest, if they're that desperate then they'll try again next year. That's how we feel about what we do, so we're just gonna try our best, again, and keep going for it."

Last month, Joe told Download festival host Kylie Olsson that "there's a lot of work to be done" before the completion of the new DEF LEPPARD album. "But we have not let the year go to waste," he said.

Addressing the fact that it's been nearly six years since DEF LEPPARD last released album, 2015's self-titled effort, Joe told Download: "The industry being what it is, we're all aware of the fact that there's an element of the media that can't let go of the fact that records aren't that important anymore. And I know that's a sad thing to say, but it's a fact of life. Touring is massively important — way more than it was when you went out promoting records when they were important. Especially for legacy bands or whatever you wanna call 'em. Listen, I went to see THE ROLLING STONES in 1989 in case one of them died. That's 1989. They haven't had a death since the 1960s.

"I'm aware of the fact that when you've got a history — whether it be THE EAGLES or FLEETWOOD MAC or any of the bands from the '80s, like us and [IRON] MAIDEN and whoever else, we've got this legacy audience as well that wanna see us continue the journey, if you like. And that's become way more important.

"When we finished that [2015] album, we never really thought about making another record until we just felt the timing was right," Elliott explained. "And we always just fall into place. We're constantly writing songs, so when it comes to piecing songs together, it's not like they're all absolutely brand spanking new, just written, hot-off-the-press stuff. Some of them are ideas that have been percolating for a year or two with a piece missing. And you wait and you wait and you wait, and then you have this epiphany, or one of the other guys goes, 'Why didn't you ask? I've got a bit that would fit in there perfect.' So there's been a lot of that going on. But that's a constant; that's nothing to do with coronavirus. We've been doing it since the 'Def Leppard' album came out, and we will continue to do it, whether we release an album or not. We've got songs in our heads."

DEF LEPPARD released a box set, "The Early Years 79-81", in March 2020 via UMC/Virgin. "The Early Years 79-81" box set represents the band's first two albums, "On Through The Night" (1980) and "High 'N' Dry" (1981),and was prepared in conjunction with Elliott who acted as executive producer on the set. The mastering was done by the band's long-serving sound engineer Ronan McHugh.

Eagle Rock Entertainment released DEF LEPPARD's "London To Vegas" in May 2020. This limited edition 2Blu-ray+4CD, 2DVD+4CD, DVD/Blu-ray+2CD and digital format release features two concert films: "Hysteria At The O2" and "Hits Vegas, Live At Planet Hollywood".

DEF LEPPARD's latest greatest-hits collection, titled "The Story So Far - The Best Of", was released in November 2018.

DEF LEPPARD's "The Stadium Tour" with MÖTLEY CRÜE, POISON and JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS was recently officially postponed until 2022.