
Paul Elliott
Paul Elliott has worked for leading music titles since 1985, including Sounds, Kerrang!, MOJO and Q. He is the author of several books including the first biography of Guns N’ Roses and the autobiography of bodyguard-to-the-stars Danny Francis. He has written liner notes for classic album reissues by artists such as Def Leppard, Thin Lizzy and Kiss. He lives in Bath - of which David Coverdale recently said: “How very Roman of you!”
Latest articles by Paul Elliott

“The record company said, ‘It’s too long.’ But we said, ‘We don’t care!’”: How Lynyrd Skynyrd created a legendary epic
By Paul Elliott published
"Ronnie said, 'Just go till I tell you to quit!'"

“I said, ‘Sorry, boys – you can’t turn this chorus down!’”: How Def Leppard created a mega-hit song in 10 days
By Paul Elliott published
"It was really based on rap stuff – not your standard rock song”

“If that album bombed we would have been dropped from the label!”: Kiss stars recall the album that saved the band
By Paul Elliott published
It's 50 years since the release of Kiss Alive!

“I think a certain amount of friction is inevitable”: How Rick Davies described the conflict that ruined Supertramp
By Paul Elliott published
Davies and Roger Hodgson made great music together, but it couldn’t last

“The high priests of conceptual rock!” Every Rush studio album ranked - from worst to best
By Paul Elliott published
Manic Street Preachers' Nicky Wire called them “the world’s biggest cult band”

“We got it on tape three hours ago – we just like hearing you guys play!”: ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons on producer Rick Rubin
By Paul Elliott published
Plus: how the Texan trio created something new out of an old hip-hop track

“Without Chuck Berry there wouldn't have been The Beatles or Stones”: Gene Simmons' eulogy for a rock ’n’ roll legend
By Paul Elliott published
Plus: the shocking stories Simmons heard from his former partner Diana Ross

“We pillaged a few things from Freddie’s solo work”: Brian May recalls how Queen' final album was created
By Paul Elliott published
Plus: the one thing that was 'sacrosanct' in Queen's songwriting process

“To those I inspired to start drumming, I apologise to your parents!”: A rare interview with Rush legend Neil Peart
By Paul Elliott published
“After 40, 45 years of playing, I wanted to push myself and open up this whole new frontier,” he said

"I wanted to make the greatest rock record that I'd ever heard": How Bruce Springsteen saved his career with Born To Run
By Paul Elliott published
The Boss spent six months working on the album's title track

How drummer Frank Ferrer powered Guns N’ Roses for 19 years
By Paul Elliott published
And why You Could Be Mine was his favourite song to play

“I said to Freddie, ‘We should be harnessing this kind of energy’”: How Queen created the mother of all rock anthems
By Paul Elliott published
“I was hoping it would catch on," Brian May said

Iron Maiden legend Nicko McBrain's funniest moment
By Paul Elliott published
His famous drum battle with two glove puppets

“I was playing the Fender Strat that Jimi Hendrix gave me”: Billy Gibbons on the making of ZZ Top's greatest blues song
By Paul Elliott published
"For some reason the guitar wasn’t working through the amp," Gibbons recalled

"I saw The Beatles and it all made sense”: The singer who scored two No.1 hits with the band that had once fired him
By Paul Elliott published
“Music is an ever-evolving art form," he says

“Some of the guys never wanted to do that song. ‘This is crap!’”: The ’70s hit that reinvented a legendary band
By Paul Elliott published
A triumph for a singer who’d been doing TV ads for yoghurt and crackers

“I have none of that high-speed technical skill of a Steve Vai or a Joe Satriani”: How Brian May plays off instinct
By Paul Elliott published
“Freddie was pushing up the guitar more and more”

“Yngwie would walk in front of me going widdle-widdle-widdle. It was very rude”: A great singer's fights with Malmsteen
By Paul Elliott published

“Spend a day in my head and you’d realise how crazy I really am”: A close encounter with Ozzy Osbourne
By Paul Elliott published
The legendary singer's prized possessions included John Lennon's handwritten lyrics to Imagine

“In the ’80s, everybody came out with a power ballad. And we had a great one”: How a soft rock classic was created
By Paul Elliott published
But was that song really about a nun who sells dope to school kids?

“I remember Eddie Van Halen asking me, ‘What’s wrong with you?'”: George Lynch, the guitar hero cursed by bad luck
By Paul Elliott published
He almost got the gig to replace Randy Rhoads

“I invite everybody to go on YouTube and tag ‘Taylor Swift Kiss band’”: Why Gene Simmons loves Taylor – and Radiohead
By Paul Elliott published
"You could pay what you want for a Radiohead record? That didn't last long, did it?"

“Love in an elevator? Yeah, I've done it!”: Steven Tyler and Joe Perry on the making of the Aerosmith classic Pump
By Paul Elliott published
Plus: the Aerosmith song that Slash said was "too pop"
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