DEF LEPPARD Singer's 'Songs From The Vault' To Premiere On SiriusXM's DeepTracks

DEF LEPPARD singer Joe Elliott's "Songs From The Vault" show will premiere on Thursday, April 19 at 4 p.m. EST on SiriusXM's DeepTracks (Ch. 27).

In his youth, Elliott was creatively influenced by the music of the late '60s and early '70s, including legendary acts like T.REX and MOTT THE HOOPLE, plus David Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust" and so many others. Each month, listen to Elliott play "Deep Tracks" from his personal music collection. Expect to hear songs from Joe's vault and some of the stories behind them.

Elliott already hosts his own show on U.K.'s Planet Rock.

Asked what song he would like to have played at his funeral, Elliott recently told Kylie Olsson's "Music And Me" podcast: "Well, I've already written it into my will that I want 'Anthem' by THE SENSATIONAL ALEX HARVEY BAND; 'All The Young Dudes', of course, by MOTT THE HOOPLE; and probably 'Rest In Peace' by MOTT THE HOOPLE, which is an obvious choice, but it's just a great song. I might even record my own version and get them to play me doing it. [Laughs] Yeah, just play my own funeral. It's been overdone to play things [like] Monty Python's 'Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life', because it's been done. But I will probably throw in some ironic song that will make the ones that are sniffling burst into laughter."

He went on to say: "I've got to throw something mad in there; I don't know what it is yet. But 'Dudes' and 'Anthem', because they're grand and they sound like… Well, 'Dudes' doesn't sound like a death march, but 'Anthem' by THE SENSATIONAL ALEX HARVEY BAND has got the drum roll and the piano and then the bagpipes come in and take you out. It's almost like a New Year's Eve song; it's very Scottish. And it sounds like a great song to see my ashes blow off into the distance — hopefully in quite a few years' time."

Although DEF LEPPARD was originally deemed the softer side of heavy metal, Elliott explained that it was the pop elements of Britain's early-'70s glam rock that influenced the band most. "I was 11 years old when [T.REX's] 'Get It On' — or 'Bang A Gong' as it was rechristened in America — became the biggest hit of that decade, so far. It was massive for my generation. It was WIZARD, it was SLADE, it was SWEET, it was T.REX, it was Bowie, it was ROXY MUSIC, it was MOTT THE HOOPLE after 'All The Young Dudes'. It was essentially three-minute rock 'n' roll songs. Very short solos, very cleverly arranged, it was the opposite to BLACK SABBATH, it was the opposite to LED ZEPPELIN."