Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott Says Motley Crue Are Living on Past Reputation

Def Leppard are gearing up for a UK trek with Motley Crue and while promoting the dates, Lep singer Joe Elliott did not hide the fact that he thinks that the Crue, once notorious for their wild, crazy and irreverent antics, all of which were detailed in 'The Dirt,' are a shadow of the partying bad boys they once were. But those aren't fightin' words that could make life on the road awkward! Elliott's statements are not as inflammatory as they might seem! Elliott was not being critical of the Crue or their behavior. Instead, he was comparing the then and the now.

Elliott is not suggesting that they've become choir boys, but he does say the Crue have toned it down several notches in recent years. He even intimates that they are merely riding on the reputation they earned and deserved in the '80s and that there is a chasm between how they were and how they are and that the old image doesn't quite line up with the current reality.

Elliott told the Daily Record that "because of a documentary where you see someone throwing a telly out the window of a hotel, people get the impression that is what we all do. You talk to Nikki. He has been clean since he was toe-tagged once in the '80s. He's a far more sensible character these days. He has his own radio show here in the States and has had me on the show a couple of times. His stories are similar to mine. He dresses like Nikki Sixx with the warpaint on. But without trying to blow their image, they are living on past reputation and I don't mean that in a bad way."

Elliot also suggested that the band is happier to rely on their iconic image while leaving the reality of that hard partying era in the rear view. He pointed to the physical struggles that guitarist Mick Mars endures, saying, "I'm not suggesting they are teetotal but Mick Mars has been pretty ill for a long time and just to get him onstage is probably an effort. He is hardly likely to be propping the bar up until three in the morning after a gig. What their reputation is now is what they do onstage and how they present their show, and that is what Crue are good at. Those guys were more known for their antics than their music and I think, eventually, that started to annoy them."

Essentially, Elliott is saying Motley Crue have grown up a bit.