Def leppard lyrics and Def leppard guitar tabs, Def leppard pictures and biography

This supremely popular hard rock band was formed in
1977 in Sheffield by Pete Willis
(b. 16 February 1960,
Sheffield, England; guitar), Rick Savage
(b. 2 December
1960, Sheffield, England; bass) and Tony Kenning
(drums),
as Atomic Mass. They assumed their current name when
Joe Elliott
(b. 1 August 1959, Sheffield, England; vocals)
joined the band. The quartet initially hired a tiny room in a
spoon factory, which served as a rehearsal area, for ? per
week. Early in 1978, Willis met another young guitarist, Steve
Clark
(b. 23 April 1960, Sheffield, England, d. 8 January 1991,
London, England), and invited him to join. Clark agreed only
on condition that they would play some 'proper' shows, and in
July that year Def Leppard debuted at Westfield School before
an audience of 150 children. After several gigs, the band voted
to dismiss their drummer, replacing him with Frank Noon, who
was working with another Sheffield group, the Next Band. In
1979 they recorded a debut EP for Bludgeon Riffola Records,
which included 'Ride Into The Sun', 'Getcha Rocks Off' and 'The
Overture'. Shortly after its release, Noon returned to the Next
Band, and Rick Allen
(b. 1 November 1963, Sheffield, England)
became Def Leppard's permanent drummer. Later that year, the
band supported Sammy Hagar and AC/DC on short UK tours.
This generated considerable interest and they were then offered
a contract by Vertigo Records. Their Tom Allom-produced debut,
On Through The Night, was issued in 1980, climbing to number 15
in the UK album charts. The band subsequently staged their first
headlining tour of Britain and also visited America for the first time -
a move that prompted fans to accuse them of 'selling out', making
their displeasure known by throwing cans at the band during their
appearance at the Reading Festival that summer. The following y
ear's High 'N' Dry was recorded with producer Robert 'Mutt' Lange,
and reached number 26 in the UK and number 38 in the USA.
Pyromania in 1983 saw the first change in the band's line-up
since 1979. After missing many pre-production meetings and
arriving drunk for a recording session, Pete Willis was sacked
and replaced by ex- Girl guitarist Phil Collen
(b. 8 December
1957, Hackney, London, England). The album was
Def Leppard's most successful to date, climbing to number
2 in the US album charts, but they were unable to build on that
momentum. On New Year's Eve 1984, tragedy struck when
drummer Rick Allen was involved in a car crash in which he lost
his left arm. The band maintained faith in their percussionist,
and did not resume work until Allen had perfected a specially
designed kit that made it possible for him to play most of the
drums with his feet. His recovery severely delayed the recording
of Hysteria, which was finally released in 1987 and eventually s
old a staggering 15 million copies worldwide. It topped both the
British and American charts, and produced two Top 5 US singles,
'Armageddon It' and the anthemic 'Pour Some Sugar On Me',
and the October 1988 number 1 'Love Bites'. To promote the
album, the band embarked on a 14-month world tour, which
ended at the Memorial Arena, Seattle, in October 1988. This was
destined to be Steve Clark's last show with the band. As they
began work on their belated follow-up to Hysteria, Clark was
found dead in his London flat after consuming a lethal mixture of
drugs and alcohol. The rest of the band subsequently revealed
that they had spent years trying to divert Clark from his self-abusive l
ifestyle. Faced once again by tragedy, Def Leppard soldiered
manfully through the recording sessions for their fifth album,
Adrenalize, which was released in March 1992 and immediately
scaled the charts, topping the UK and US lists on release
(unlike
Hysteria, which had taken 49 weeks to reach the top in America).
Greeted with the usual mixture of critical disdain and public delight

(the group's fans had chosen the title), Def Leppard celebrated by
performing at the Freddie Mercury tribute concert at Wembley
Stadium. This event also introduced replacement guitarist Vivian
Campbell
(b. 25 August 1962, Belfast, Northern Ireland; ex- Dio;
Trinity; Whitesnake ; and Shadow King ), who had made his debut
at a low-key Dublin gig. In 1995 Rick Allen faced the possibility of
two years in jail after he was arrested for assaulting his wife in
America. In the meantime, a greatest hits package and a new studio
collection, Slang, were released. In 1996 Joe Elliott appeared in the
soccer movie When Saturday Comes.