DEF LEPPARD's JOE ELLIOTT: 'Playing Live Is, At This Moment In Time, More Important Than New Music'

During a recent appearance on the "Appetite For Distortion" podcast, Joe Elliott spoke about DEF LEPPARD's plans to record the follow-up to 2015's self-titled album. He said (hear audio below): "It's really important, I think, to keep making new music. But with us — DEF LEPPARD, I mean — we know we'll make new music. We're constantly writing, but we're not in a rush to put anything out just because we have a record deal and we have to put product out there. I think it's more important that DEF LEPPARD just be DEF LEPPARD, and that means playing live in front of people. And maybe once every five years we put a new record out, because that scratches a big enough itch for us these days more so than, say, not touring. I mean, that would be heartbreaking for us."

He continued: "The reason everybody wants to be in a band is to play live — not to spend hours and years in the studio. It wasn't anybody's dream to spend five years in the studio. But, you know, to play in front of an audience in stadiums, that kind of thing, that's the ultimate goal for a band like us. So playing live is, at this moment in time, more important than new music, but we haven't dissed new music at all. We've actually currently got a bunch of songs on the go, but we're just not in a rush to record 'em. We want 'em to be good, not quick."

This past spring, DEF LEPPARD guitarist Phil Collen says that the band had a "bunch of songs" in the works for its 12th studio album, which the band began working on last year.

DEF LEPPARD's second Las Vegas residency took place this past summer. The band took over Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino for 12 nights between August 14 and September 7.

The British rockers played their first Las Vegas residency six years ago at the Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel.

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