Page 33 - Classic Rock - The Complete Story of Def Leppard 2019

JOE ELLIOT

like Neil Peart!’ I’m not on stage for that
bit. That’s my time to change my shirt and
towel down and do a shot of Jameson. But

I hear it and I go, ‘Fucking hell, man – it’s
just insane that he can pull this off.’ Every
day you think it’s incredible that he’s
doing this.

In recent years, Switch 625 has become
a staple in the band’s live set and a kind
of tribute to Steve Clark.
We do Switch nearly every night now, and

yes, we have images of Steve on the
screens as we play it. It’s become ritual,
almost. We feel an obligation to our fans,
to ourselves, to Steve’s legacy and his

memory, to do that song.

What happened with Steve was so
tragic, it tends to overshadow all the
good times you had with him, and all

the great music you made together. Is
that’s what’s missing from this story?
I don’t know what’s missing, other than
him. He’s gone forever and now he’s just a

part of our history. There are plenty of
people out there that will go, ‘The band
died when Steve died.’ That’s not fair on
us. Steve wrote a lot of good stuff, but not
all of it. He was an integral part of this

band, no doubt, but no more so than
anybody else. So the whole Steve story is
tempered with regret and frustration as
well as smiles and laughter and the good
stuff. He was an enigma in that respect.

The rock’n’roll lifestyle – the booze, the
drugs – was something you all went
through in the 80s. Steve became a

victim of that lifestyle. Could this have
happened to any of you?
Steve lived life to the full, a little bit more
than everybody else. This guy would be
doing drugs and massive amounts of JD

and vodka, but he’d get up on stage the
next night and do a perfect show. He was
always okay when we were working. when you do you turn up can’t do Take two bottles your clothes out of the wardrobe. Sit on
into the shower?
Steve’s biggest problem was the days off. anything. You’re messing it up. We love your own couch. Make a sandwich. Just
Joe Elliott enjoys
He got bored. you, so we want you to go and get well.’ some rock’n’roll live in your house. We’ll give you six
mouthwash during months. We’ll write songs. We’ll do
the Pyromania
You talked about frustration, and regret. How did he react? tour, 1983. whatever we need to do. You’re still in the
When you look back now, do you think There was no big fight. He was always so band – if you want to be. We’re not firing
you could have done more for him? hard on himself: ‘I’ve let you down.’ you. We just want you to go home and get

Steve was our buddy and we put a lot of Did you give him an ultimatum? well.’ And he spent four months not
recording sessions on hold to put him It wasn’t like that. He’d just bought this getting well.
into rehab. That’s how we are. In beautiful house in Chelsea, and we told
September of 1990 we told him, ‘Look, him: ‘You never stay there. You’ve been Was this something you only
this isn’t working. Either don’t turn up or living out of a suitcase. So go home. Take discovered when it was too late?

CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM 31