Contemporary Musicians, June 1990 (Volume 3)
by Calen D. Stone

Personal Information
Original band members included Joe Elliott (born August 1, 1959), vocals; Steve Clark (born April 23, 1960), guitar; Pete Willis (born February 16, 1960), guitar; Rick Savage (born December 2, 1960), bass; and Rick Allen (born November 1, 1963), drums. Phil Collen (born December 8, 1957), guitar, replaced Willis in 1982. All original members from Sheffield, England.

Career
Willis and Savage formed Atomic Mass after completing schooling; Clark, Elliott and Allen joined, changed name to Def Leppard; released EP in 1979; signed with Polygram and released debut in 1980.

Despite an average age of only eighteen, Def Leppard burst onto the heavy metal scene back in 1980 like a group of seasoned veterans. "This band frequently transcends the mundane through sheer musical energy and playing ability," wrote Jim Schwartz in Guitar Player. In a genre known for cliched riffs and monotonous beats, these heavy metalheads have created a sound of their own while becoming one of the top-selling groups in rock and roll.

All five original members, Joe Elliott, Pete Willis, Steve Clark, Rick Savage and Rick Allen, come from the steel-producing town of Sheffield, England. Before employment as a van driver, lead singer Elliott used to dream about forming a band in school, creating song lists, logos, and band names while others in his class were studying. "I figured out fairly early that I wasn't gonna be a brain surgeon or a nuclear physicist," he told Rolling Stone, "so I fantasized about rock and roll."

Guitarist Willis was studying engineering at college when he met fellow axeman Clark. Already playing with Savage on bass in the band Atomic Mass, Willis asked Clark to sit in and he soon joined the group. With the addition of Elliott and drummer Allen, they changed their name to Deaf Leppard and later dropped the a. In July of 1978 they made their debut at Westfield School in Sheffield earning a grand total of $12.00. With a twin guitar assault reminiscent of Wishbone Ash, they began gigging in bars with a repertoire that included 50% of their own originals. "We always thought our songs would be good enough to get us by," Allen told John Swenson in Rolling Stone.

Britain experienced a new wave of heavy metal as the '80srolled in and Def Leppard was in a prime position to cash in. They recorded a privately-made EP, Getcha Rocks Off, which sold out its initial 24,000 copies. AC/DC manager Peter Mensch picked up the group and convinced Polygram to sign them to a deal. In 1980 the chartbreaking On Through the Night was released, climbing all the way to #51 in the US. "We actually wrote the first album nine months before ever playing a live concert," Willis told Guitar Player. "We wanted to do it right from the start and be polished." Songs like "Rock Brigade," "Hello America," "When the Walls Come Tumbling Down," "Overture," "Sorrow is a Woman," and "Wasted" were recorded in just eighteen days and made for a remarkably strong outing. "Displaying a wisdom beyond their years, Def Leppard take the timeworn basics of heavy metal, give them a punky Eighties overhaul and come up with, uh, heavy melody," stated David Fricke inRolling Stone. "On Through the Night is awfully impressive for a band making its vinyl debut." The band then toured the UK opening for Sammy Haggar and AC/DC before coming Stateside to warm up audiences for Ted Nugent.

Their follow-up LP, High 'n' Dry, was an even bigger seller breaking the Top 10. Their sound also expanded as "Bringin' on the Heartbreak" stretched the metal boundaries even further. In 1982 Willis was replaced by ex-Girl guitarist Phil Collen who told Guitar World, "We offer a lot more melody than most heavy rock bands, vocally as well as musically." Def Leppard was now a headline act after only two albums, and Collen's style differed enough from Willis's to create a unique combination with Clark.

They employed the services of ace producer Mutt Lange for 1983's Pyromania, another Top 10 LP which eventually sold over two million copies. The album also included three hit singles: "Photography"(#12), "Rock of Ages"(#16), and "Foolin' " (#28). By now the five members were being featured in teen magazines and ruling the MTV airwaves.

Tragedy struck the band on New Year's Eve 1984, when drummer Rick Allen severed his left arm in an auto accident. Refusing to accept the conventional wisdom that such an injury would certainly end his musical career, Allen determined to relearn to play with the aid of a special drum kit. In a show of loyalty, the band didn't replace Allen, deciding to remain on hiatus until he was able to return.

Lange was used again as producer on 1987's Hysteria LP and more hits followed. "Animal," "Women," "Hysteria," "Pour Some Sugar on Me," "Armageddon It," and "Rocket" each received substantial air-play. In 1988 Def Leppard issued a seventeen-cut video entitled Historia providing an excellent summary of their musical career. "With its intriguing perspective and loads of superb, hard-driving solos, Historia will hopefully inspire other bands to release similar projects," wrote Jas Obrecht in Guitar Player.

Selected Discography
On Through the Night, Mercury, 1980. High 'n' Dry, Mercury, 1981. Pyromania, Mercury, 1983. Hysteria, Mercury, 1987.

Sources
Books: The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll, edited by Jon Pareles and Patricia Romanowski, Rolling Stone Press/Summit, 1983.
The Harmony Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, Mike Clifford, consultant, Salamander, 1988.
Nite, Norm N., with Charles Crespo, Rock On: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock and Roll, Volume 3, Harper, 1985.
Rock Movers & Shakers, edited by Barry Lazell with Dafydd Rees and Luke Crampton, Banson, 1989.
Periodicals:
Guitar Player, March 1982; November 1988. Guitar World, September 1983.
Rolling Stone, June 26, 1980; October 2, 1980.

~~ Calen D. Stone