“Me and Taylor sat down, and she says, ‘I can’t sing that line’, cos it was a bit too risqué”: Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott on duetting with the teenage Taylor Swift on an 80s rock classic - and the raunchy lyric they had to change

A composite photograph of Joe Elliott of Def Leppard performing live and Taylor Swift in showgirl outfit.

The noise surrounding the release of Taylor Swift’s new album, The Life Of A Showgirl, is deafening. The US superstar’s twelfth album, which dropped on Friday October 13, had already become the most pre-saved album in Spotify’s history, and it looks set to become her eleventh consecutive US No.1.

With her 2023/24 Eras tour becoming the biggest grossing tour in history, her status as the most successful musician of the 21st century is assured. But even pop superstars need a helping hand somewhere along the way – and in Swift”s case , that came from Def Leppard.