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Joe Elliott Releases New Tribute Video “This Is For You” For Mick Ronson

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DEF LEPPARD’S JOE ELLIOTT RELEASES TOUCHING VIDEO TRIBUTE TO FRIEND, LEGENDARY GUITARIST MICK RONSON ON ANNIVERSARY OF DAVID BOWIE’S CLASSIC “JOHN, I’M ONLY DANCING” VIDEO

Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott has released a touching video tribute to his friend and early guitar hero, the late, great legendary musician Mick Ronson. Filmed in the midst of his band’s recent arena tour, the video opens with a film projector projecting cinematic footage of Elliott performing Ronson’s ballad “This Is For You” on acoustic guitar in various locations on the road as archival photos and vintage black and white footage shows Ronson performing solo and with long time musical partner David Bowie. As Elliott sings the lyrics, “This is for you! How are you doing? It’s been a while/Where have you been? What have you seen? And did you smile?/Like I’m Supposed to do/Like I remember you,” the song takes on  new meaning as the love letter to a long-lost lover turns into a musical conversation between two old friends. “I had an opportunity on a day off on tour to shoot a video…it just seemed rude not to!, “ says Elliott. “This video is my gift to the memory of Mick Ronson who gave me so much in my youth and then later on when we got to know each other.”

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The video was unveiled on the 46th anniversary (8/25/72) of the filming of David Bowie and the Spiders from Mars’ shadowy and subversive video for “John, I’m Only Dancing.” Directed by iconic rock photographer Mick Rock, the video featuring Bowie and the band in their best glam attire and androgynous dancers, was banned by “Top of the Pops” in the UK and was never released in America as it was deemed too risqué by the record label.

Elliott recorded “This Is For You” exclusively for the soundtrack for the documentary Beside Bowie: The Mick Ronson Story, which was released in June via UMe following last year’s successful theatrical run and the DVD/Blu-ray releases. The acoustic guitar and piano ballad, penned by Laurie Heath of the New Seekers, was included on Ronson’s 1975 album Play Don’t Worry. Elliott’s rendition is especially poignant as it features the late Dick Decent’s last-ever performance on the piano. Decent was a frequent Def Leppard collaborator and played with Elliott in Cybernauts, their Bowie cover band, formed as a tribute to Ronson.

The first official career retrospective compilation for the guitar virtuoso, known affectionately as “Ronno,” includes highlights from Ronson’s solo records alongside material from his key collaborations with Bowie, Elton John, Ian Hunter, Michael Chapman and Queen. Purchase Beside Bowie: The Mick Ronson Story on CD/vinyl/digital now: https://Besidebowie.lnk.to/CD-Digital

Elliott first became a fan of Ronson’s as an adolescent entranced by Bowie’s breakthrough album Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. “I just wanted to give something back, because I was the kid that when I was 12 years old, staring at the inside sleeve of ‘Ziggy Stardust,’ four squares of Bowie and the Spiders, I would be staring at Mick as much as I was staring at Bowie – it was the Jagger-Richards thing. It was Page-Plant; it was Perry-Tyler,” Elliott told Salon earlier this year about recording the song.

Elliott and Ronson developed a friendship after meeting in the early ‘80s which lasted until Ronson’s death in 1993 from cancer. Elliott helped Ronson record his final record and sang on two tracks. After Ronson passed, Elliott finished the album for him and Heaven And Hull was posthumously released in 1994.

Despite his production and guitar work with Lou Reed, Morrissey, Ian Hunter and Mott The Hoople, Bob Dylan, John Mellencamp and many others, it is Ronson’s dynamic support, contribution, and co-creation of the expansive and multi-faceted career of Bowie and in fact that era of music, that the film and the soundtrack exposes. Featuring exclusive narration by Bowie and exclusive contributions by Rick Wakeman, Joe Elliott, Roger Taylor, Ian Hunter, Angie Bowie and many more, the career-spanning documentary Beside Bowie: The Mick Ronson Story, produced and directed by Jon Brewer, is a tribute to an uncomplicated man who achieved the pinnacle of success in the music industry as well as the rarefied respect from his contemporaries for his production and guitar skills.

SOUNDTRACK

CD/digital: https://Besidebowie.lnk.to/CD-Digital or

Vinyl: https://Besidebowie.lnk.to/Vinyl

Limited Edition Red Vinyl: https://UMe.lnk.to/BesideBowieRedVinyl

FILM

Blu-ray: https://Besidebowie.lnk.to/Blu-Ray

DVD: https://Besidebowie.lnk.to/DVD

 

Remembering Aretha Franklin

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I’m saddened by the passing of one of the best vocal talents this planet was blessed to have heard…. NO ONE could touch her for feel, delivery & passion. Unbeknown to a lot of us, she influenced countless “rock” singers throughout her lifetime, so indirectly we all owe her a huge debt of gratitude. Thank you Aretha, for all the wonderful moments you have given us for the last half century or so, you will NEVER be forgotten. RIP The Queen of R&B & soul.  – Joe

Her Voice… Her Commitment to Human Rights… R.I.P. Aretha Franklin… you are Loved by All – Rick Allen

Joe Elliott Performs with Billy Joel at Fenway Park

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A night before Def Leppard played Fenway Park in Boston, frontman Joe Elliott got to get a feel for the stage when Billy Joel invited him out for a duet.

Towards the end of his set, Joel introduced Elliott, who received a thunderous greeting from the stadium audience. The two singers and Joel’s band immediately launched into the opening bars of Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar on Me.”

You can see video of the surprise collaboration above.

Elliott later returned to sing “You May Be Right” with Joel at the end of the encore. Via iheartradio

JOE ELLIOTT’S SONGS FROM THE VAULT ON SIRIUS XM (AUGUST EDITION)

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JOE ELLOTT’S SONGS FROM THE VAULT ON SIRIUS XM’S DEEP VINYL

Tune into Joe’s new monthly radio show on Sirius to hear artists like THE DOORS, STEELY DAN, SWEET, SUPERTRAMP and more!

WHO: Def Leppard frontman, musician, and musicologist Joe Elliott
WHAT: Will debut “Joe Elliott’s Songs from the Vault”

WHEN:

Premiere – 8/16 4pm

Encores 8/17 10pm, 8/18 10am, 8/19 12am, 6pm, 8/20 12pm

WHERE: SiriusXM’s DeepTracks (Ch. 27)
MORE:
In his youth, Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott was creatively influenced by the music of the late 60’s and early 70’s. From legendary acts like T. Rex, Mott The Hoople, 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. You can also see Def Leppard on tour this summer. Promising to be the Tour of the Year, two of the world’s greatest rock bands – Def Leppard and Journey- are teaming up for a massive co-headlining North American tour composed of both stadium and arena concerts, and will feature complete sets and all-new production from both bands, and an arsenal of their greatest hits. A full list of tour dates can be found HERE.

Def Leppard, Journey share Fenway

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In the ’80s, when Journey and Def Leppard hit peak popularity, the idea of the two touring together would have seemed silly. Back then “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” and “Photograph” appealed to different demographics; people argued they had diametrically opposed attitudes and aesthetics. Today it’s those differences that seem silly.

And so Journey and Def Leppard have set out together on a monster trek of American stadiums — including a packed stop at Fenway Park Saturday.

Selling nostalgia like $10 Bud Lights and peeling off hits you know by heart (only one song from the modern millennium, Def Leppard’s “Man Enough,” could be heard in over three hours of music), the pair reveled in their status as rock gods with pop souls.

Journey, which headlined the night (the bands swap that position every show), found its beloved balance between Van Halen’s bombast and Air Supply’s earnest melodies.

With the band’s longtime members deep into their 60s, current frontman Arnel Pineda provided the focal point. Guitarist Neal Schon once called Pineda a mix of David Lee Roth and Bruce Lee, and he’s not wrong. The guy can spin and kick and leap with the best of them. But his voice, which amazingly matches Steve Perry’s every cry and coo and chant of na na na na na na, shocked Journey’s icon catalog to life from “Separate Ways” to “Lovin’, Touchin’ Squeezin’ ” to “Open Arms.”

The other guys matter (after all they co-wrote the catalog). Schon can wail but he wants wail in every song and sometimes the shredding hip-checked a killer melody to the ground. Keyboardist Jonathan Cain plays his role with flair but his look and overly earnest attitude scream, “What can I do to get you into this Gulf Coast timeshare today!” Hometown drummer Steve Smith outshined them both and might be the only guy who could fill in for Neil Peart or Stewart Copeland.

But this set was Pineda’s, not something one usually says about a singer a band discovered on YouTube 35 years into their career.

Def Leppard, which should headline every night, crafts songs any artist could turn into Top 40 magic. Pulling from its set list, “Hysteria” could have been huge for Roxette or Heart, “When Love and Hate Collide” could be a gold record in the hands of Kenny Chesney or Bryan Adams. But their guitar harmonies define them.

The intertwining guitar lines written by the late Steve Clark and Phil Collen, now played by Collen and Vivian Campbell, are ultimate ear worms. No matter the setting — the pristine “Animal” or dirty “Foolin’, ” the intro to “Bringing on the Heartbreak” or surprising bridge of “Love Bites” — those doubled and complementary riffs powered the songs for an army of fans in the stands wearing Def Leppard shirts.

But no one on the bill did the whole pop band masquerading as a rock band thing with the cheek and panache of opener Cheap Trick. As usual, Cheap Trick proved there’s a sonic sweet spot between “A Hard Day’s Night” and “Toys in the Attic.” As usual, they played in afternoon to a half-full stadium.