Def Leppard Singer Joe Elliott on Working with Tobias Forge and Ghost: “It Was All Quite Organic”

Things just keep getting bigger for Ghost, who recently collaborated with Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott for a new version of “Spillways.” Though we don’t honestly think the song sounds a whole lot different than its original version, it’s undeniable that a Ghost and Def Leppard collaboration is a pretty big deal. As it turns out, Elliott has been a fan of the band for quite some time, since Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen put him on a few years ago. He told Planet Rock (as transcribed by Ultimate-Guitar):

“I’ve been a fan of Ghost since Phil Collen introduced me to them about eight or nine years ago. I read an article a little while ago about how Tobias was a bit of a fan of Def Leppard, and so we both put two and two together and realized it kind of made five!

“I’ve been saying out loud for a long time now how much I love the ‘Impera’ album, and how much I really love the song ‘Spillways.’ So, when Tobias got in touch and asked me if I wanted to have a crack at it, I said, ‘Yeah, I can do that!’”

Like he said, Elliott was already a fan of Ghost and “Spillways,” so the song didn’t need to change much.

“It was all quite organic. ‘Spillways’ wasn’t broken, and it didn’t need fixing; I just sang it as it is, and I think we sound pretty good together.

“The video was shot in my local and co-directed by Tobias, and that was a lot of fun too. It was good to actually meet in person and trade stories, ideas, and a few scoops!”

When the song was first released, Elliott said:

“Impera was my favorite rock album of 2022… I found out along the way that Tobias is a bit of a fan of DL, so I guess it was inevitable we’d both find out about each other! Once we’d been introduced to the idea of working together it just snowballed organically and I’m thrilled that I got to sing on what is my favorite song from that album!”