Steve Clark, born April 23, 1960 in Sheffield, England, was a guitarist for super-rock group Def Leppard until his death in 1991. He joined Def Leppard in 1978 and played on all their albums until Hysteria, the last album released before his death. He contributed to songwriting and demos for Adrenalize which was released in 1992.
He passed away in January 1991 after years of drug and alcohol abuse.
Rick Allen, born November 1, 1963 in Derbyshire, England, is the drummer for one of my favorite bands Def Leppard. He joined the band on his 15th birthday, replacing Tony Kenning. He dropped out of school to concentrate on his music career.
In December 1984, he crashed his car and lost his left arm. Doctors reattached the arm but it had to be amputated afterwards due to an infection. He has continued playing drums on specially designed drum kits.
The UK website Gigwise lists Allen as #7 on the Greatest Drummers of All Time list.
Richard "Rick" Savage, born December 1960 in Yorkshire, England, is bass guitarist and a founding member of Def Leppard. He and Joe Elliott are the only two remaining original members of the band.
In 1976, Savage was working to form a band, and the group auditioned Joe Elliott. Later they hired guitarist Steve Clark and changed their name to Def Leppard. He has performed on every album.
In 1994, Savage contracted Bell's Palsy, which is a temporary paralysis of facial muscles.
Def Leppard performed Tear It Down at the MTV Video Music Award ceremony on September 6, 1989. It was the last performance of guitarist Steve Clark, who died in January 1991 at age 30 from alcohol poisoning.
Def Leppard was nominated for a new video music category, Best Heavy Metal Video, for Pour Some Sugar on Me. The video was also nominated for Best Stage Performance in a Video.
Def Leppard released their fifth studio album Adrenalize March 31, 1992. It was the first album after the death of guitar player Steve Clark the previous year. It debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 and received a 4-star review from Rolling Stone.
Def Leppard won two American Music Awards at the 16th annual ceremony January 30, 1989. They won for Favorite Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Artist. Their album Hysteria won Favorite Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Album.
They were nominated for two more AMAs. One for Favorite Pop/Rock Band/Duo/Group and Hysteria was nominated for Favorite Pop/Rock Album.
Vivian Campbell, born August 25, 1962 in Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, is best known for being a guitarist for Def Leppard since 1992. Okay, that was before I became a fan, but I'm enjoying him. He worked with Thin Lizzy and Whitesnake. He replaced Steve Clark, who passed away in January 1991.
He has recorded with Def Leppard since Retro Active in 1993.
Def Leppard released their second studio album High 'N' Dry July 11, 1981, making it as high as #38 on the Billboard 200. The single Let It Go reached #34 on the mainstream charts. After the success of Pyromania, High 'N' Dry was rereleased in 1984. Bringin' On the Heartbreak was released as a single and and peaked at #61 on the U.S. charts.
So far, it has obtained double-platinum status in the U.S.
It has been announced just earlier today that Def Leppard, Janet Jackson and Stevie Nicks are among the 2019 class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Def Leppard and Stevie Nicks and Roxy Music (another inductee) were all voted in during their first year as nominees.
Stevie is already a member as part of Fleetwood Mac. Miss Jackson was voted in after her third time as a nominee.
Def Leppard received the most fan votes, over half a million!
The other inductees are the Cure, Radiohead, and the Zombies.
Def Leppard's power ballad Love Bites from the monster album Hysteria, reached #1 October 8, 1988. It was the sixth single released from the album and the only one to reach #1. It enjoyed the momentum generated by Pour Some Sugar On Me, which was released just previously.
Def Leppard released X, their eighth studio album (and tenth album overall) July 30, 2002. The album was a departure from their previous sound and did not sell as well as the previous albums. It did not receive any RIAA certifications.
X generated three singles, Now, Four Letter Word and Long, Long Way to Go. Now made it to #23 and Long, Long Way to Go made it to #40, their last Top 40 hit.
Def Leppard released their 10th studio album, Songs from the Sparkle Lounge, April 25, 2008 in Europe, and four days later in the U.S. The title refers to a backstage tuning room at shows where Def Leppard would work on new material.
The first single from the album was Nine Lives which featured country mega-star Tim McGraw, and it was released on April 27.
Songs from the Sparkle Lounge debuted at #5 on the Billboard 200. All the songs were written or co-written by Joe Elliott, Vivian Campbell and Phil Collen, except for Nine Lives, which McGraw helped write.
Def Leppard released their debut album On Through the Night, March 14, 1980. Although it only reached No. 51 on the Billboard 200, it received positive reviews and was certified platinum in May 1989.
It featured Screamin' Joe Elliott (vocals), Steve Clark (lead guitar), Rick Savage (bass guitar), Rick Allen (drums) and Pete Willis (rhythm guitar).
Def Leppard released their eleventh studio and self-title album Def Leppard October 30, 2015. It is their 7th Top 10 album and debuted at #10 on Billboard 200. It peaked at #1 on US Top Rock Albums, US Top Hard Rock Albums and US Independent Albums (all Billboard).
Music critic Dave Everley of Classic Rock magazine had this snarky comment:
"But even that pales into insignificance next to the finger-poppin' white-boy funk of 'Are You Man Enough?', which rips off Queen's 'Another One Bites the Dust' so shamelessly that it should come with its own stick-on handlebar moustaches..."
So I had to go back and listen to Man Enough to see why I had missed the similarity. Then I realized, it sounds no more like Another One Bites the Dust than any other song with a heavy bass line.
Def Leppard released their 4th studio album, Hysteria, August 3 1987, and has become their best-selling album to date. It has received critical acclaim from all over the world, selling over 12 million albums (certifying it diamond, i.e. >10M) in the U.S. where it reached #1 on the Billboard 200. Currently, it is the 51st best-selling album of all time.
According to Wikipedia, Q Magazine readers voted it the 98th Greatest Album of All Time. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked it #464 on the list of the 500 Greatest Albums of all Time.
The album was released over 3 years after Pyromania, their breakout album, in 1983. Drummer Rick Allen lost an arm after a car crash in 1984. Producer Mutt Lange dropped out early in the album's production but returned a year later. Lange was also involved in an auto accident but recovered quickly and Joe Elliott suffered a bout of mumps. Still, they managed to pull off one of the greatest!
Def Leppard released their seventh studio album Euphoria June 8, 1999. Three years after Slang, it was a breath of fresh air. It reached #11 on Billboards 200 and went gold in the U.S., Canada and Japan.
My favorite track is Paper Sun, which was written about the car bombing in Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.
Not one of their best albums, Def Leppard released Slang May 14, 1996, but I really like the title song. Their sixth studio album came after the band went through some hard times and it seems those troubles came through the recording.
Joe Elliott, born August 1, 1959 in Yorkshire, England, is best known as the lead singer for Def Leppard. He is one of the two founders of Def Leppard with Rick Savage. With Elliott at the helm, Def Leppard has been nominated for numerous American Music Awards and won Favorite Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Artist in 1989 and their album Hysteria won Favorite Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Album the same year. I've been a fan of theirs ever since Pyromania was released in 1983.
Def Leppard released their seventh studio album, "Euphoria", June 8, 1999.
In June 2009, The Record Review noted that "the band has yet to match it with any release since (despite the stiff competition of 2002's X) and it still stands between leaders "Hysteria" and "Pyromania" as the band's best album." I tend to think its third behind the other two. My favorite is the haunting but beautiful "Paper Sun".
