Def Leppard's Joe Elliott excited about Rock Hall nomination but isn't ready to “jump up and down and pop some corks”

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Credit: Kevin Nixon

On Tuesday, Def Leppard got the word that they’re among the 15 artists nominated for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2019. The British band was one of six first-time nominees, after having been eligible since 2005.

And while Def Leppard is considered one of the front runners for induction, frontman Joe Elliott says he’s not counting his chickens before they’re hatched.

“Let’s be honest, it’s only a start,” he tells ABC Radio. “It’s not like, ‘Let’s jump up and down and pop some corks.’ It’s a nomination, and as we all know if you’re a Judas Priest fan, they don’t always work out.”

Having said that, Elliott says being nominated is great.

“I mean, the publicity we’ve received over the last 24 hours has been, quite frankly, ridiculous,” he gushes. “It’s phenomenal.”

As for how he’d feel about being inducted, Joe says he’d be thrilled to “be in the same club as Elvis [Presley], The [Rolling] Stones and The Beatles and The Who, and everybody that we thought as kids we would try to emulate.”

Reflecting on why, after being overlooked for so long, his band finally received a Rock Hall nod, Elliott suggests that perhaps it was Def Leppard’s continued popularity and large fan base.

“[E]specially after this year with the success [of the band’s co-headlining tour with Journey],” he notes. “It’s been pretty spectacular for rock…’cause as far as I’m told, only JAY-Z and Beyonce[‘s tour]…really outsold us this year.”

As for which of Def Leppard’s fellow nominees he’d most like to see inducted, Elliott singles out Roxy Music and The MC5.

“Roxy Music for sure is fantastic,” says Joe. “[And] MC5…were [among] the godfathers [of] New Wave or punk…so they absolutely deserve to be in.”

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