A member of Def Leppard for 13 years, Stephen Maynard Clark was an integral part of the band and contributor to its sound, style, and substance yet established himself as a much-admired and respected guitar hero. His talents were tragically silenced on January 8, 1991, the result of a fatal, accidental combination of alcohol and drugs (anti-depressants and painkillers needed after cracking three ribs in a fall). Steamin' Steve did not play on Adrenalize, but his presence is alive and wll on the record (he co-wrote six of the ten songs) and in the hearts and minds of his fellow Leps, who observed their friend's troubled decline, but were powerless to do anything about it.

According to fellow axe man Phil, whose task it was to interpret the guitar parts Steve had written for Adrenalize, Steve's drinking problem began five years ago. "It got worse and worse, and there was nothing we could do. He went to loads of clinics. Then he'd get depressed and escape by attacking the bottle." Rick A. observes, "He was a really nice guy, but he had major psychological problems. He was just really unhappy. Some days he'd be really up, so we could never figure out what was wrong, which makes it even more difficult. If you don't know what somebody's problem is, there's no way you can really help. I guess if we'd been the kind of band that did an album and tour every two years he probably would have been able to deal with it better," he muses. "There was obviously very deep-seated psychological problems from childhood that he never dealt with and I think that's what got him in the end."

Joe remembers that Steve had trouble playing his guitar "because he had the shakes. He thought he was letting everyone down and he'd go off and have a drink and consequently his playing would get worse. The more he drank, the further away he was getting from contributing to the album. We said, 'If it's the pressure of the album that's getting you down, what we suggest is a very informal six month leave of absence. Come back in February and see how you are.' He never came back because he died in January."

The new song "White Lightning" was inspired by Steve, but as far as Sav is concerned, the lyrics are "pretty dark and dismal, and Steve should never be remembered in that light. I remember him as being a very affectionate, very funny guy. I remember him on stage as being the typical showman. He was a very shy, a very funny and a very warm person. There were so many more happy moments that we shared with him that we shared bad moments. We wouldn't want to leave the impression with people that that's all his life was about 'cause it was really wasn't. He brought a lot of happiness to millions of people. He also brought happiness to us and that what we want to remember him by. We certainly remember him with a smile on our faces. Obviously there's regret - we wish he were still here. He wasn't a bad person. It was just that he had a drinking problem, a disease. He probably spent a lot more happy days that people are giving him credit for. The last couple of years were particularly bad, but he had happy times as well. His life wasn't all doom and gloom by any means."

Sav believes that Steve would like Adrenalize "from a band point of view. Steve always had a little big of a left-field attitude toward our records. If he had complete control, he would have preferred to make them sound a little different. He was the least member of the band that was into the heavy production side of it - he liked things a little more spontaneous. We tried to keep that within our records but he heard it in a bit more precise way, and sometimes that would frustrate him. But he also liked being in a band that sold lots of records.

Recording Adrenalize without Steve "seemed like there was always something missing," reflects Rick A., admitting that having a new member" is going to be weird for a while, but it's the same thing as when Phil joined nine years ago and he was the new guy." Adds Sav, "We all know that nobody could ever replace Steve - we wouldn't really want anybody to directly replace Steve. Steve was Steve - he was completely unique. He was an inspired genius, whether he would just be coming up with a riff, or whatever. That's the way he was." To Rick A., the album dedication "is the least we can do. Obviously he would have wanted for the band to go on. We can't bring him back, so all we can say is, 'This is for you.'" It's a brilliant tribute.

After a long battle with alcoholism and depression, Steve Clark died on January 8, 1991.

LONDON -- Steve Clark, guitarist with the heavy metal band Def Leppard, died of a lethal combination of alcohol and drugs after a night of heavy drinking, a London coroner ruled today. Westminster Coroner Paul Knapp said Clark "Was a very heavy drinker who seemingly had abused drugs and regrettably paid the price."

The 30-year-old guitarist was found dead the morning of Jan 8 at this London home.
Daniel Van Alphen, Clark's drinking companion the night before, testified that the two went to the local pub and returned to the guitarist's home at midnight to watch a video. Van Alphen said Clark drank a triple vodka, a quadruple vodka and a double brandy within 30 minutes. When Clark passed out on the couch, Van Alphen said he left. Clark, who reportedly earned $28 million a year according to a 1989 American survey, was found dead in his home in London's upscale Chelsea neighborhood by his girlfriend Janie Dean. Dr. Iain West, the pathologist who performed the autopsy, testified that Clark's blood alcohol level was three times the British legal limit and an antidepressant drug and a painkiller were both found at levels exceeding normal therapeutic doses.

He said valium was detected at normal levels.