The Biggest Jerk In Music?

[Peter Norway]

^^Mike Rutherford...? I think that's the first time I've ever read anyone complain about him being full of himself.

it's first time i've heard anyone even mention mike rutherford

 

[runningshoes]

it's first time i've heard anyone even mention mike rutherford

I've heard about his arrogance before.

 

[ANF]

How about Joe Elliott?

I think he's off his rocker now. First he said Def Leppard were superior to The Beatles... now he's calling the true fans who'd rather hear On Through The Night/High N' Dry cuts to the 2064th runthrough of "Pour Some Sugar On Me" to be Dungeons And Dragons playing nerds who live in mom's basement.

 

[lady_barrett2112]

^^^^ Yeah I heard something along the lines that he called his fans "critical" of the bands setlist, "idiots." If someone is gonna blast people who pay to see your show that want to hear something new and not the same shit over and over again, then they're a major tool in my book.

 

[ANF]

^^^^ Yeah I heard something along the lines that he called his fans "critical" of the bands setlist, "idiots." If someone is gonna blast people who pay to see your show that want to hear something new and not the same shit over and over again, then they're a major tool in my book.

The whole article

Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott has responded to a group of fans requesting a more varied setlist during their 2011 tour. His replay is not likely to make them happy, however. In an interview with Spinner, Elliott calls one fan a ‘f—ing idiot’ before going on to describe the type of fan he does not want at his concerts.

First some back story. Three weeks ago a fan wrote us from the twitter handle @archive625 on behalf of a Def Leppard fan group. They were frustrated that the band had played the same songs during 19 of 20 shows. It’s not clear if Elliott is responding to that fan’s lengthy, detailed complaint (In fact, according to @archive625, “i never contacted Joe wasn’t me he was hating on.. I only spoke with Rick and Vivian.”), but he’s certainly responding to fans like him when he says:

“We have to play for the majority. If we don’t play ‘Photograph’ and ‘Pour Some Sugar On Me’, we won’t get out of the building alive. That pays our wages, not these idiots who sit in their mother’s basement eating Doritos and playing Dungeons And Dragons all day. I’m not interested in those kinds of people.”

Elliott also explains that the recent lack of creativity in the band’s set list was caused by him trying to recover from his father’s death. “The guy accused me of being a fraud because on the first four gigs we did after the break we did exactly the same set. I wasn’t going to say to the guy, ‘Well, you know, my father just passed away, let’s just keep it simple for the first week then we can get into the experiments.’”

We’re smart enough to play Switzerland on this topic. After all, what’s worse? The wrath of a 10th level sorcerer with an 18 ability score, or the guy who sings ‘Armageddon It?’ Elliot continues, “He’s writing this as if every single person comes to every gig. But the only people who know what we did are the ones who go online and look at the set list. So he’s a f—ing idiot. I don’t mind saying that and please print it. When someone like him says our song ‘Love Bites’ is just a ‘beer break.’ I’m like, ‘Wow, you’re a moron. Don’t bother coming to any of our shows. We don’t want people like you.’”

I think Joe is off his rocker. I still love the mans music but he's beginning to enter Gene Simmons territory.

Anyways, true fans will continue to spend money to see an artist live even if they do less hits. John Mellencamp's career isn't exactly "hotter" than Lep's at this point yet his tour has done very well and scored great reviews from critics and fans alike, despite the fact that he's been very blunt that those expecting a Greatest Hits show from him will be disappointed because he's bored with those songs and wants to play the music that excites him. Even U2, the hottest touring band on earth somehow is able to do a show that is half-classics/smash hits and half-fan favorites and deep album cuts. Their Vertigo tour had them dusting off Boy and October tracks they hadn't done since the early 1980's and their most recent tour had them playing Zooropa and Pop cuts that they had ignored since the tours supporting them. Def Lep can in fact drop a few hits and replace them with fan fave cuts and it won't hurt.

 

[Peter Norway]

Joe Elliot is actually an articulate and intelligent guy. I agree he says dumb things. (You gotta hand it to him for juggling smart and stupid all in one brain).

ANF, one should think twice about the notion of "true fans". Also, I would like to see you site where he said Def Leppard were superior to The Beatles.

 

[ANF]

Joe Elliot is actually an articulate and intelligent guy. I agree he says dumb things. (You gotta hand it to him for juggling smart and stupid all in one brain).

ANF, one should think twice about the notion of "true fans". Also, I would like to see you site where he said Def Leppard were superior to The Beatles.

It was in the News section a few weeks ago. He was whining that he and Bon Jovi don't get the respect that Beatles, U2, Springsteen, REM, Morrissey and a few others get even though he's sold more albums and a better singer than Morrissey.

I do think there is a difference between someone going to a concert because they want to hear the hits they grew up with, and those who have stuck with the artist and is actually versed with all or at least most of the discography. The people complaining about the setlists being so stagnant are people who have invested more in Def Leppard than just a cassette or two back in the 1980's whereas Joe would rather just juggle the track order of Vault around and play that because he thinks those people are more valuable than those who can name High N' Dry tracks besides "Bringin' On The Heartbreak".

Anyways, I don't see anything wrong with dropping some of the hits. Nirvana refused to play "Smells Like Teen Spirit" live and they were the biggest band on earth at the time. I know a lot of people who get bored when their favorite artist plays the same setlist every time. My friend Chad is a massive Depeche Mode and Duran Duran fan, he'll never see either of them live again because he's already heard Strangelove live about 15 times and he's heard Rio live about 20... unless they can actually shake the sets up, he's finished seeing both of them, and he's been a devout fan of both since the early 80's.

 

[Peter Norway]

Joe Elliot: "I was having a little bit of a bitch to the press because… there are certain glossy magazines in England that will do nothing except put McCartney/Lennon, Springsteen, Michael Stipe, Bono blah blah blah… on the front cover and they think people like us and Jon Bon Jovi and Lemmy and anybody that's not Michael Stipe or Bruce Springsteen… they think that we're like morons and stupid."

Not sure where you got superior to The Beatles out of that.


Link: Def Leppard Gets No Respect, Says Singer Joe Elliott | Rock News | Triple M

Valid points ANF about true fans. However, on the flip side, most big rock is product, and lots of people are paying to hear, arguably, the best songs. The bands are counting on that, in order to make big bank. So it would be highly cynical of them to drop the big songs.

Also, lets face it, artists are defensive...most bands tend to think their new stuff is better than it is.

Anyway, Elliot IS the whine king, agreed

 

[foreverblue]

i lost interest in def leppard around the time of adrenalize, as soon as i heard the first single i thought "they have just made a copy of "hysteria". i dont know if they broke new ground after that.

same with dire straits. on every street was so much like "brothers in arms" it wasn't funny.

even "love over gold" and "pyromania" were exceptionally different to their following albums

 

[some jerk]

i found this site by googling "biggest jerk in music"