Def Leppard- Music, Lyrics, Videos, Biographies, and More!

Biography: The Band

The original band was comprised of Sheffield, England teens who were caught in the wake of British metal music in the early and mid seventies. The band was first started up by two teens: guitarist Pete Willis, and bassist Rick "Sav" Savage formed the band and added two additional members: Tony Kennings on the drums, and the lead singer Joe Elliot. The band's original name: Atomic Mass, was soon changed after its formation in 1977 to "Deaf Leopard" which was changed slightly to "Def Leppard" so the name appeared less similar to the names of those in the popular Punk Rock groups.

They started off playing in bars, performing covers for other popular groups of the day such as Deep Purple and Mott the Hoople. Steve Clark was added in '77 after auditioning by playing Lynnard Skynnard's "Free Bird" in its entirety (according to Joe Elliot).

Now a fiveman ensemble consisting of a lead, two lead guitarists, a bassist, and a drummer. In 1979 they premiered their first material in a Three song release known as "Def Leppard EP". Soon after Kenning left the band on leave, but then was replaced by Frank Noon, then soon later Rick Allen who remains the drummer to this day. The EP release was gaining popularity through British airwaves and in 1980 they debuted a new album "On Through the Night" which became a huge hit and marked their exponential rise to fame. A year later they debuted "High 'N' Dry" and their fame grew even more. When the album "Pyromania" was released in 1983 their fame became instant, and worldwide they were famous. Pete Willis was kicked from the band due to his alcoholism and was replaced by Phil Collen. They used to their advantage MTV which aired their hits: "Rock of Ages", and "Photograph". But soon after the release the band came into problems.

In 1984 Rick Allen lost his left arm in a car crash. They were able to reattach the arm but had to amputate it after infections took place. Without his arm Allen considered leaving the band, and had a bout of depression. When Joe Elliot came to visit him, he took Allen to see a group of engineers that made him a special drumset where there were extra foot pedals that played the parts where the left arm was needed.

Mutt Lange, their successful producer for the Pyromania album, took leave of the Hysteria album project because of exhaustion, and it Jim Steinman took his place. Mutt Lange and Rick Allen returned when they gathered themselves. After a four year hiatus, they released the "Hysteria" album, which initially recieved mediocre reviews. The band had indeed switched their hard rock and metal infusion, for a hard rock and pop mix. The first single, "Women" didn't help the album, but with the releases of "Rocket" and "Animal" the album picked up its pace and sprung to the top of US and UK charts.

The album further got famous with the constant airing of perhaps their most famous song ever recorded, "Pour Some Sugar on Me". the Hysteria album was bittersweet, as it marked their climax in the music career, and they slowly depopularized from their as problems came their way.

During the recording of the Adrenalize album, Steve Clark was forced to take a leave of absent and gather his wits about his alcohol addiction. He attended rehab, but sadly lost his life due to alcohol poisoning and overdosing on prescription painkillers. The band members became mildly depressed. Phil Collen, now burdened with having to replicate Steve Clark's sound, considered giving up the band, but decided to stay when former guitarist for Dio and Whitesnake, Vivian Campbell, joined the band to finish the Adrenalize tour and has been with the band since.

Bassist, Rick "Sav" Savage also contracted Bell's palsy, which he has recovered from, but the effects of it are visible still to this day, especially from fatigue. As they lost ultimate fame through the nineties and 2000's, they garnered popularity among the adult crowd as they continued to produced albums that were mildy famous among the public and were very famous among the adult audiences that were loyal to them.

Still they tour, and produce albums. Starting on June 20 of 2012 they are starting out on a tour with Poison and some others across the US. They are still rock legends and have set the bar for many modern day bands.

Watch the video for a longer and more in depth VH1 band coverage! And an external link is provided that will take you to the band's official website.