But in 1997, Def came down to play in Mexico City with all their smiles and apologies and went down to Latin American in a Tour that was something to see in your lifetime. We all regret some things we said in the past.
Been waiting a long time to see you do a video on Def Leppard. Fine job! Please do more! Rick Allen’s accident, Steve Clark’s death, Joe and Rick’s arrests, etc. Whatever it is, keep up the good work, man!
I saw Def Leppard in concert in May of 83 right before I graduated high school, that's back when Rick Allen had both of his arms. Not many people can say that, wish I had a picture of it.
I remember this, as the radio station KLAQ, said these words the mayor kicked them out. It was sad, but things changed after a loooong while this changed.
I remember as a kid hearing about this incident on the radio one night. I never really thought any more about it until now, almost 40 years later. Thanks for covering.
I am Mexican descent and i was born and raised in el paso and i am a huge def leppard fan! i have heard of this before, i literally have a teacher who ended up burning his ticket because of this haha
😂. He thought he cld say it. Being a " limey" U can get a way of stuff if u r part of a group! He didn't get u can't say " beaner" etc. Just ignorance. Now w\ PC & cancel culture u can't say anything.Jow didn't say it in a hateful way per se
What's really wild is I had Basic and AIT training at Ft Bliss (El Paso) TX from 21 Sep 83 to Feb 84 and this is the first I've ever heard of this incident, which isn't too awfully surprising when you consider how isolated you are in Basic Training but once we entered our AIT phase around Dec or so and started being released on the weekends you'd think I'd have caught wind of this, and the weekend we graduated I had four days before I shipped to Germany and got to see a Kiss concert in El Paso. I did see Def Leppard in May of 83 before graduating high school and was a huge Leppard fan in those days, it's like I always tell people "I got to see them back when the drummer had two arms", not many people can say that, wish I had a picture of it.
I lived in Tucson and my Dad told me this story after he heard me listening. To Def Leppard. I still listen to them and I have a lot of family in El Paso who do listen to Def Leppard.
I was a huge Def Leppard fan in high school and was in Basic Training in Ft Bliss El Paso Tx in September of 83 and this is the first I've ever heard of this incident.
That's kind-of impossible, considering that Def Leppard has only been around since like 1978 and weren't even known in The States until about 81. So, you mean almost 40 years.
@@bobthebear1246 I saw them in concert 39 years ago, May of 83 just before I graduated high school. That's back when Rick Allen had both of his arms, not many people can say that. Wish I had a picture of it.
I heard this story from my cousin who lived in El Paso at the time. Excellent research and thank you for taking my suggestion as I didn't know the whole story. Keep up the good work.
Maybe an apology was due Def Leppard by the city of El Paso for the behaviour of its citizens. THROWING KUNG FU STARS AT THE BAND. Let that sink in for a minute.
Lmao, I never knew about the kung fu stars… but I’m from El Paso, and I remember this FULLY. This was probably one of THE MOST hated bands in the city. We’re 80 percent Hispanic, man. In a city of like 700,000 to 800,000… and over a million combined metro. ALL OF US Hispanic. 😂
Def Lep was my first concert ever. Pyromania tour 1983, L.A. Forum. My uncle took me for my 11th birthday. We camped out over night at Music Plus to be first in line for tickets. Was definitely a different time lol. But what a show!
Yep was at that show in the Sun Bowl, freaking amazing. Been to every concert that Def Leppard played in El Paso and Las Cruces (and many more outside of El Paso). Can't wait for them to come back to the city. I was at that concern in El Paso in 83! Life long fan from El Paso!
Hey there. One thing you are missing from this documentary is Joe Elliott's apology during a concert in September 1992 at the Pan American Center, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico. I was there at that concert. Las Cruces is about 35 miles north of El Paso. During the concert, Joe Elliott gave a long apology for his 1983 comments. Redemption is a great thing, and that night Joe Elliott truly showed his regret. Because of the missing truck equipment issue Def Leppard spent several days in Las Cruces. The band got to experience New Mexico, the food, Hatch green chile, and more.
Def Leppard just played in the Sun Bowl on August 18, 2023. It was sold out and was an amazing concert. (over 45,000 in attendance) They will be back to play again. This is a dead issue.
Reminds me of the time John Lennon said as a joke (yes, I still feel it should be specified...AS A JOKE) that The Beatles had become bigger than God... There are so many other examples of these kinds of misunderstandings in Rock History ! And sadly, it always seems to happen in the U.S.... The sad thing is that by the time the question is raised and a justification from the offender is demanded, it's already too late... The reaction that the (supposed) offence has triggered has already stired the wave of mass stupidity and had its disproportionate consequences. Like a kid who thought he heard an insult from someone and would react by punching that someone first instead of asking : "What did you say ?" and eventually finding out he had misunderstood. It really baffles me how much a country which holds Freedom of Speech as a core value can be so easily offended at the same time. Really a land of contradictions and extremes... God bless George Carlin !
I remember that comment back in 1982. If I remember correctly, Joe Elliott later apologized for his words some ten years later at a show up the road from El Paso in Las Cruces, NM. Lifelong resident of El Paso, TX
I moved there for college to get away from the cold liberal northeast in the early 90s. The city was 70% Mexican and more like Mexico than Texas. But it was a very friendly place that never made us minority Whites feel unwelcome or unwanted. Good memories of El Paso.
El Paso sucks for the most part. I'm here. I overstayed the short period I wanted to stay here but the damn idiots stole my car with a years worth of work inside it because the other maintenance idiots from Mexico caused my apartment to flood by not servicing a faucet that exploded from corrosion even after I complained about it. This is a very toxic place with substandard everything but you can never criticize the city or people lose their minds. They have issues and are in the way of progress. By the way El Paso is nothing like Mexico either.
@@valerie7008 it is! It's mostly Mexicans, but it's like walking into the sun from the cold going from the northeast to El Paso. They are very nice down there. Nothing but good memories of El Paso.
Thank you. No one talks about this. It was a huge scandal. I forgive Joe. He explained what he meant. He was not talking about an entire city. He was talking about some cholos in the front row who were throwing liquor bottles and knife like weapons at the band. The same type of people that will beat you to get to the front. That neighborhood is known to be rough and not even my parents wanted us around that area. I mean they were rough. Of course some got out and are respectable professional people. Also, that is the same neighborhood Richard Nightstalker Ramirez grew up in. I forgive Joe. My mom was Mexican and she would call misbehaved people "those cholos" and wanted nothing to do with them.
They really aren't expecting people who pay to see the show throw objects at them , so maybe a bottle of jack being thrown at ya might piss you off when you're trying to work , offensive remark ? yup , moral of the story don't throw crap at people when they're working , everyone paid for a ticket
I was born and raised in El Paso. The Pyromamia tour was my first concert. I was HUGE fan! I still remember watching Friday Night Video Fights on MTV praying Photograph would win! I was only 13 years old at the time, but was devastated by Joe Elliots comment! I don't think he was a racist. With cancel culture what it is now, he probably would have suffered way more had this happened today. I hold no hard feelings, but I never see them in concert again.... mainly because I outgrew they music.
I remember this...I wanted to say I really like your channel and stories.. keep it up.. I've got a great story for you ..all true you should do a rock stories about the band sir Douglas quintet.. basically what happened was..they were a band from San Antonio Texas. But they wanted to grab the fame of British invasion.. Soo a Tex band w Sir Douglas in The name.. fans thought they were from.. UK but no.. then on Hulabaloo they told the world.. after they scored a top 40 hit called .. she's about a mover..go to Sir Douglas quintet Wikipedia page n I'd love to see a story about that.. SDQ had two top 40 Hits in the 60s..
I'm from El Paso Tx, And I'm Mexican I heard all about this. I was a fan since I was 9 years old. I did saw on the news, Def Leppard Donating money to Utep College from El Paso. I saw Elliott on the news. After that everything was good. I am still a fan of them. Just right after I passed my cdl driving test. My teacher put the song wasted from Def Leppard. On his cell phone. . And he told me. This song is for you. He knew I love Def Leppard and Ozzy. Cause I have the Ozzy tattoo on my left hand just like Ozzy. My teacher told me before, I started driving, lets do this for Ozzy. And went did.. Hope I meet Def Leppard in the future. But I will be scared, I still think he doesn't like Mexicans.
Heard about this back then, but didn't know the whole story, so thanks for sharing. Sounds like they did all they could and more to apologize. I guess that's rock n roll.
While Joe and the band took all the heat for his comments, yeah, not really a smart thing to say no matter what the cause was, those 5 guys who threw the stuff up on the stage and spat at the band, they obviously know who they were, I wonder if they ever felt any guilt for what they did to him and the band.
I just saw Def Leppard earlier this month in El Paso and I was not aware of this until about a week before the concert when a friend told me. (I'm not originally from El Paso). It was an amazing concert. I'm glad it wasn't a forever ban!!
My friend had a cover band here in Wales for several years in the late 80s and early 90's called The Beaners because they were huge Cheech and Chong fans. We used to rehearse, get stoned AF and watch those films. Great times!
Outstanding research, love this stuff, Def Leppard had been pushin the rock up hill a lot in the beginning. Check out doc on Reading fest, where they pelted them with batteries & piss bottles. Sounds like rock & roll to me? Why was the crowd pissed at fest? Apparently they didn’t care for the bands song “ Hello America”& thought they were posers, look it up? RIP Steve, I miss Pete Willis.
I politely request a story about Ian MacKaye 3 bands minor threat, Fugazi and my personal favorite The Evens Honestly I didn’t even realize it was Ian MacKaye in The Evens until I say a video of them playing and was like “where do I know that guy” and it clicked. In honestly thought it was just a short lived awesome band from 2010
Growing up during this time and hearing what def leppard had said about El Paso we still listened to all the rock groups including def leppard. I think all the hoopla was from all the people that didn't like rock so they made a big deal out of nothing. I think what he said was those greasy mexicans but honestly it didn't bother me then and it doesn't bother me now if I were to hear it again. And the reason it doesn't bother me is because we Mexicans are some of the hardest working people. Now if the shoe fit then I guess it would bother me.
Yes!!! Now we are in the era of “cancel culture” and people who can’t wait to feel victimized because it gets them off. They don’t feel special enough so they make themselves victims. 🤮🙄🙄
I’m from the UK and born and raised in the same city as Def Leppard. I’ve listened to their music since the late 70s as a schoolboy and know their character as genuine and apologetic. If they offended anyone - and I know from their character from the down to earth place they were born and raised - that they would never deliberately offend anyone, and it’s credit to them that they went above and beyond what most would do to make amends from a misunderstanding that wasn’t even their fault. It’s a shame that a number of stupid individuals, and a typical knee-jerk, sensationalist, over the top without using intellect reaction, which is often typically American in character, making a big deal of the situation which led to the events. America has too many shallow thinkers, unfortunately, and in some respects needs to become a more sophisticated nation.
Being from El Paso and seeing them there, front row and before this incident took place, opening for JP back in '80 and supporting their 1st LP, I remember well when this happened later and no harm felt since I've been dissing DL even before this, when they turned bubble gum, after High n Dry and thanks to MTV. And yes, Pete Willis was and always will be a better guitarist than the guy from "Girl". No sugar poured on this limey Brit, sincerely...from a greasy Mexican, as he referred to us on that ocassion.
I wasn't even born when that incident happened here in El Paso. He apologized. The Lepps have been here in El Paso twice the Euphoria tour, and in 2005 with Bryan Adams. Apology accepted, Hopefully they can make it to El Paso once again real soon.
Def Leppard is the best sounding band live I have EVER seen I saw them in 96 an was blown away by how awesome they sounded an I had lawn seats!! I've been to over 200 concerts an they still stand out as the best
@@Sisisiyoyoyoyo aren’t you the same one who is butthurt in every comment you’ve made above? Yes you are. Dwelling on something that was said over 20 years ago. Good grief.
I love Def Leppard, but come on, Joe. You may have meant it as a joke, but you saying something like that and Cheech Marin saying it are two completely different things.
The band: That last town sucked, they tried to trash our show. The last town: How dare you say such hurtful things, if you come back here we'll try and trash your show again.
@@MichaelKerr71 good grief, it was joke. The commenter was joking. Do you see victimhood in everything? Yes, yes you do. I can guess your age. You’re showing it well.
@@valerie7008 When people call other people racist names, yes there is a victimhood involved. If you think me being against racism is "showing my age" then get triggered more I guess.
I find this being very distasteful. The reason being is Gun "n Roses did far worse than a comment from a man who is from the UK and not the USA. People tend to single out others for whatever reasons in this case I'd say the mayor did so because they were British and not American, had they been American it would likely been over looked with a few people a little bit butthurt about it, end of story. And I liked SOME of GNR's material but not enough to purchase any of their merch. I mean seriously look at how many venues GNR destroyed, how many people got hurt in their concerts and I think they were banned from one venue that I can recall but some of their shenanigans should have had Axle Rose in jail if not in prison, not to mention this happened far more times than I can recall like about every other gig almost. I get the "campy" comment humor from Cheech and Chong and I am positive it wasn't meant to be malicious or offensive however as an avid fan of Def Leppard for many years I also know that sometimes English varies from US English just as UK English/Aussie English is also different than US English so my guess would be that something that could have been worded in their own English may not be taken the way it was intended in our US English. I have friends in Australia and UK both and I myself can say I've took things the wrong way but I've learned to ask before assuming it was an actual offensive comment. This doesn't remove the wording, granted we have all been young and dumb and said or did something stupid in our youth. The comment should have probably said something in regards to the asshats that was throwing stuff at Def Leppard verses the way it was spoken. Also sometimes our heads aren't always in the right headspace when we are angry for whatever reasons and we come off half cocked which is likely what happened here. It come out like word vomit and wasn't through through which in turned directed a comment meant for a few into a population blast. Hindsight is always 20/20 looking back. Def Leppard has always loved playing the US (along with many other countries I'm sure but I can only speak for the US as I am a USA resident).
I lived in El Paso and this reminds me of a funny joke ,what has 9 arms and sucks? Def Leppard, another fun fact is that STP got booed off the stage here in the '90s, to this day those guys always cancel they're El Paso stop at the last second after having already sold tickets, if you can't handle the heat get out of the kitchen
El Pasoan 🙋♀️ and I love Def Leppard, Joe apologized and explained himself plus the guys throwing bottles were total a-holes. The mayor, city council, LULAC or whomever foolishly decided not to accept the offer to fly two fans to Europe for a show really messed up. It was nice of Joe Elliott to give $10,000 to an Hispanic charity in LA instead, our loss El Paso.
There was a Metal band from El Paso called, Hellstar. On their new record at the time, in the liner notes, they wrote, in Español, 'Joe Elliott sucks eggs'. I remember reading that in, Circus, or Hit Parader, way back in the day.
So...just for the record, did they say the B word? Edit: just curious, that's what I remember Cheech saying..thanks for another very interesting video and have a great weekend 👍
Def Leppard already had two good albums. With hits on it. That we didn't know about or didn't recognize as Def leopard. Can you call someone from Greece greasy?
Why did people get so offended... It's true... It sucks when American people are treated like trash while the Mexicans and I mean people from Juarez have more rights
I'm from El Paso and I went to that show. It was a really great show! I wasn't offended at all!!! The next time they played the area it was in Las Cruces NM during Adrenalize. Sad to say Steve Clark wasn't with us anymore 😢. I thought the whole episode was ridiculous
I don’t understand. He called some Mexicans, Mexican, and everybody got their feelings hurt? Get thicker skin people. Quit being easily offended by jokes. Sheeeeesh!
Meanwhile, Def Leppard went on to be successful and thriving while El Paso went into a downward spiral (losing profits) and is just now barely recovering from the plight of the cartels-love (yup, Mexicans)!
BS the rest of the nation was in a recession while our numerous Mexican guests kept us afloat shopping here..Cartels do not do their shaningans openly in El Paso, which has been rated one of the safest cities in the nation..And maybe if the rest of the nation did not do drugs there would not be cartel violence in Mexico
