ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MAY 27, 1994 By Steve Newton From his early-'70s glory-and-glitter days as the muscular, platinum-haired axeman in David Bowie's Spiders from Mars to his workmanlike late-'80s club gigs with Ian Hunter, Mick Ronson always proved himself a rock guitarist of the highest order. When Ronson succumbed to cancer on … Continue reading Album review: Mick Ronson, Heaven and Hull (1994)
Tag: Joe Elliott
Def Leppard makes a triumphant in-the-round return to Vancouver on the Hysteria tour
kevin statham photo ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 7, 1988 By Steve Newton Being a rock critic is not all fun and games. "Sure, Steve," you're probably saying, "all those free concerts and backstage brewskies must be real tough." Okay, so there are worse occupations, but like anything else it can get boring. You become pretty … Continue reading Def Leppard makes a triumphant in-the-round return to Vancouver on the Hysteria tour
Album review: Def Leppard, Adrenalize (1992)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JUNE 11, 1992 By Steve Newton “Do you wanna get rocked?” asks Def Leppard singer Joe Elliott at the beginning of the lead-off track from the band’s first album in five years. The answer is sure—but not by a boring, go-nowhere piece of bubblegum pop/metal like “Let’s Get Rocked”. … Continue reading Album review: Def Leppard, Adrenalize (1992)
“Our hair was no bigger than Zeppelin or Sabbath,” declares Def Leppard singer Joe Elliott
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON SEPT. 18, 2003 By Steve Newton A lot of bands that were big in the ’80s are now having trouble getting booked into bowling alleys, but Def Leppard’s not one of them. The British melodic-rock quintet—which hit its commercial peak in 1987 with Hysteria, which has sold 16 million units worldwide—is still … Continue reading “Our hair was no bigger than Zeppelin or Sabbath,” declares Def Leppard singer Joe Elliott
Glenn Tipton says Judas Priest was shocked by K.K. Downing’s departure
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, OCT. 26, 2011 By Steve Newton When Judas Priest announced its final world tour last month headbangers far and wide, young and ancient, stained their black-leather pants with a torrent of tears. The British metal icons had been bringing the noise to its followers—off and (mostly) on—since 1969, traversing the globe … Continue reading Glenn Tipton says Judas Priest was shocked by K.K. Downing’s departure