Def Leppard
Encyclopedia
Def Leppard are an English rock
band formed in 1977 in Sheffield
as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal
movement. Since 1992, the band have consisted of Joe Elliott
(vocals), Rick Savage
(bass guitar), Rick Allen
(drums), Phil Collen
(guitar), and Vivian Campbell
(guitar). At nineteen years, this is the band's longest-standing lineup.
The band's strongest commercial success came between the early 1980s and the early 1990s. Their 1981 album
High 'n' Dry
was produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange
, who helped them begin to define their style, and the album's stand out track "Bringin' On the Heartbreak
" became one of the first metal videos played on MTV
in 1982. The band's next studio album Pyromania
in 1983, with the lead single "Photograph
", turned Def Leppard into a household name. In 2004, the album ranked number 384 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
Def Leppard's fourth album Hysteria released in 1987, topped the U.S
and UK album charts. As of 2009 it has 12x platinum
sales in the United States, and has gone on to sell over 20 million copies worldwide. The album spawned six hit singles, including the U.S. Billboard Hot 100
number one "Love Bites", alongside "Pour Some Sugar on Me
", "Hysteria
", "Armageddon It
", "Animal
" and "Rocket
".
Their next studio album Adrenalize
(the first following the death of guitarist Steve Clark
) reached number one on the U.S. Billboard 200
and UK Album Chart in 1992, and contained several hits including, "Let's Get Rocked
" and "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad
". Their 1993 album Retro Active
contained the acoustic
hit song "Two Steps Behind
", while their greatest hits album Vault released in 1995 featured the new track "When Love & Hate Collide
".
As one of the world's best-selling music artists, Def Leppard have sold more than 65 million albums worldwide, and have two albums with RIAA diamond certification
, Pyromania
and Hysteria. They are one of only five rock bands with two original studio albums selling over 10 million copies in the U.S. The band were ranked #31 in VH1
's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock" and ranked #70 in "100 Greatest Artists Of All Time". Def Leppard are currently touring in support of their recently released live album
, Mirrorball
.
, Pete Willis
and Tony Kenning, all students at Tapton School
in Sheffield
, South Yorkshire
, formed a band called Atomic Mass
in 1977. The band originally consisted of Willis on guitar, Savage on bass (after originally playing guitar), with Kenning on drums. Only 18 at the time, Joe Elliott
tried out for the band as a guitarist following a chance meeting with Willis after missing a bus. During his audition it was decided that he was better suited to be the lead singer. Their first ever gig was in the dining hall in A Block in Westfield School in Mosborough, Sheffield.
Soon afterward they adopted a name proposed by Elliott, "Deaf Leopard", which was originally a band name he thought up while writing reviews for imaginary rock bands in his English class (and in at least partial reference to the band Led Zeppelin
). At Kenning's suggestion, the spelling was slightly modified in order to make the name seem less like that of a punk band. In January 1978, Steve Clark
joined the band. According to Joe Elliott, he successfully auditioned for the band by playing Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird
" in its entirety.
In November, just prior to recording sessions for what would be a three-song release known as the Def Leppard EP
, Kenning abruptly left the band; he would later form the band Cairo. He was replaced for those sessions by Frank Noon
. By the end of the month, Rick Allen
, then only 15 years old, had joined the band as its full-time drummer. Sales of the EP soared after the track "Getcha Rocks Off" was given extensive airtime by renowned BBC Radio DJ John Peel
, considered at the time to be a champion of punk rock
and new wave music
.
Throughout 1979, the band developed a loyal following among British hard rock
and heavy metal fans and were even initially considered the leaders of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal
(a status eventually claimed by Iron Maiden
). Their growing popularity led to a record deal with the major label Phonogram/Vertigo (Mercury Records in the US).
, was released on 14 March 1980. Although the album hit the Top 15 in the UK, many early fans were turned off by the perception that the band was trying too hard to appeal to American audiences by recording songs like "Hello America" and touring more in the US (supporting Pat Travers
, AC/DC
, and Ted Nugent
). A performance at the Reading Festival in August (Iron Maiden also appeared) was marred when audience members expressed their displeasure by pelting the band with beer cans.
The band had by then caught the attention of AC/DC producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange
, who agreed to work on their second album, High 'n' Dry
, released on 11 July 1981. Lange's meticulous approach in the studio helped them begin to define their sound. Despite the album's unimpressive sales figures, the band's video for "Bringin' On the Heartbreak
" became one of the first metal videos played on MTV
in 1982, bringing the band increased visibility in the U.S. After the album's release, a European tour followed. The band opened for Ozzy Osbourne
and Blackfoot
.
Phil Collen
, former guitarist with the glam band Girl
, replaced Pete Willis, who was fired on 11 July 1982, due to excessive alcohol
consumption on the job. (Willis would later resurface with the bands Gogmagog
and Roadhouse
.) This personnel change took place during the recording of their third album, Pyromania
, which was released on 20 January 1983 and also produced by Lange. The lead single, "Photograph
", turned Def Leppard into a household name, supplanting Michael Jackson
's "Beat It
" as the most requested video clip on MTV
and becoming a staple of rock radio (dominating the US Album Rock Charts for six weeks), and sparked a headline tour across the U.S.
Fueled by "Photograph" and subsequent singles "Rock of Ages" and "Foolin'
", Pyromania went on to sell six million copies in 1983 (more than 100,000 copies every week in that year) and was held off the top of the US album charts only by Michael Jackson's Thriller
. With the album's massive success, Pyromania was the catalyst for the 1980s pop-metal movement. In 2004, Pyromania was certified Diamond
having sold over 10 million copies in the US. Def Leppard's US tour in support of Pyromania began opening for Billy Squier
in March and ended with a headlining performance before an audience of 55,000 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, California in September. As a testament to the band's popularity at the time, a US Gallup poll in 1984 saw Def Leppard voted as favourite rock band over peers such as The Rolling Stones
, AC/DC, and Journey
. However, this popularity was not matched in their native England where Duran Duran
secured the number one spot, a fact that greatly bothered them.
(of Meat Loaf
's Bat out of Hell
fame) was brought in.
On 31 December 1984, drummer Rick Allen lost his left arm in a car crash on the A57
in the hills outside the band's home city Sheffield, when his Corvette
swerved off the road on a sharp bend and went through a drystone wall. Despite the severity of the accident, Allen was committed to continuing his role as Def Leppard's drummer, and realized that he could use his legs to do some of the drumming work previously done with his arms. He then worked with Simmons
to design a custom electronic drum kit
. The other members of the band supported Allen's recovery and never sought a replacement. During this period, Mutt Lange returned as producer, and Allen's triumphant comeback was sealed at the 1986 Donington
Monsters of Rock
festival in England, with an emotionally charged ovation after his introduction by Joe Elliott.
After over three years of recording, Def Leppard's fourth album, Hysteria, was released on 3 August 1987. In the UK, the first single from the album, "Animal
", became the band's first Top 10 hit in their native UK, reaching No. 6 on the UK Singles Chart
. "Animal" also started their run of ten consecutive U. S. Billboard Hot 100
Top 40 singles. Hysteria immediately topped the UK Album Charts in its first week of release. However, US album sales were relatively slow (compared to Pyromania) until the release of the fourth single, "Pour Some Sugar on Me
". The song hit Number 2, and Hysteria finally reached the top of the U.S. Billboard 200
in July 1988. The "Pour Some Sugar on Me" video was #1 on Dial MTV
for a record 73 days (from 26 May–5 September 1988). Often regarded as the band's signature song
, "Pour Some Sugar on Me" was ranked #2 on VH1
's "100 Greatest Songs of the 80s" in 2006. In October 1988, the power ballad "Love Bites
" became Def Leppard's first (and only) number one single on the Billboard Hot 100
, and in January 1989, the band scored another US Top 5 hit with "Armageddon It
". Wanting to give fans something new after the massive radio and video airplay for not only the 6 singles but also the Album tracks that Radio DJs were playing off the album, the band performed "Tear It Down", a Hysteria B-side at the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards
. Due to positive fan reaction the song was reworked for their following album Adrenalize
.
Hysteria is one of only a handful of albums that has charted seven singles or more on the US Hot 100: "Women" (#80), "Animal" (#19), "Hysteria" (#10), "Pour Some Sugar on Me" (#2), "Love Bites
" (#1), "Armageddon It" (#3), and "Rocket
" (#12). It remained on the charts for three years and has sold over 20 million copies worldwide. Equally successful was the accompanying 15-month tour
, in which the band performed in the round
. This concept proved wildly popular with fans (as seen in the videos for "Pour Some Sugar on Me" and "Armageddon It") and was used again for the Adrenalize
tour.
At the 1989 American Music Awards
, Def Leppard won Favorite Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Artist, as well as Favorite Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Album (for Hysteria). It was the first time that a heavy metal category was added to the awards show. (The category has since been deleted.)
's alcoholism
worsened to the point that he was constantly in and out of rehab
. Recording sessions suffered from this distraction, and in mid-1990, Steve was granted a six-month leave of absence from the band. Clark died from an accidental mix of prescription drugs and alcohol on 8 January 1991, in his London home.
The remaining band members decided to carry on and recorded the album as a four-piece, with Collen mimicking Clark's style on his intended guitar parts. Def Leppard's fifth album, Adrenalize
, was finally released on 31 March 1992. The album simultaneously entered at Number one on both the UK and US album charts, staying on the latter for 5 weeks. The first single, "Let's Get Rocked
", was an instant smash hit, and the band performed the song at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards
where it was nominated for Best Video of the Year. In April 1992, Def Leppard appeared at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert at Wembley Stadium, London, performing a three-song set of "Animal", "Let's Get Rocked" and Queen's "Now I'm Here" with guitarist Brian May
. Joe Elliott later performed "Tie Your Mother Down
" with the remaining members of Queen
and guitarist Slash
.
In 1992, another world tour followed with former Dio
and Whitesnake
guitarist Vivian Campbell
joining the band, but the band's fortunes began to be affected by the rise of alternative rock
, including grunge
.
A collection of b-sides and unreleased tracks recorded between 1984 and 1993, called Retro Active
, was released in October 1993, preceded by the success of "Two Steps Behind" (from the Arnold Schwarzenegger
film Last Action Hero
). Another single, "Miss You In A Heartbeat", hit the Top 5 in Canada, becoming one of their biggest hits there. Retro Active has sold 3 million copies worldwide to date. Two years later, Def Leppard issued their first greatest hits collection, Vault: Def Leppard Greatest Hits (1980–1995), which has sold 11 million copies worldwide. Alternate track listings of the album were issued for North America, the UK, and Japan. The compilation included a new track, the power ballad "When Love & Hate Collide
", which became their biggest ever hit in the UK, hitting #2 on the UK Singles Chart
.
On 23 October 1995, the band entered the Guinness Book of World Records by performing three concerts in three continents in one day (Tangiers, Morocco; London, England; and Vancouver, Canada).
Slang
, released in May 1996, marked a drastic musical departure for the band by featuring darker lyrics and a stripped-down alternative rock edge. The US audience reception for Slang and its subsequent tour
was a major dropoff from a decade earlier, but Q Magazine nonetheless listed Slang as one of their Top Ten Albums of 1996. This album was the first recorded performance of Rick Allen playing a semi-acoustic drum kit since his accident, and not his electronic set as was first used with Hysteria.
VH1
revived the band's fortunes in the US in 1998 by featuring them on one of the first episodes of Behind the Music
. Reruns of the episode yielded some of the series' highest ratings and brought the band's music back into the public consciousness (following years of burial by the alternative rock climate). The episode was even parodied on Saturday Night Live
. In an effort to capitalise on this new momentum, Def Leppard returned to its classic sound with the 1999 album Euphoria. The first single, "Promises", reunited the band with Mutt Lange and hit the US Mainstream Rock charts at #1 for 3 weeks. The album was certified gold in the US and Canada.
by their friend Brian May
of Queen
. In 2001, VH1 produced and aired Hysteria - The Def Leppard Story
, a biopic that included Anthony Michael Hall
as Mutt Lange and Amber Valletta
as Lorelei Shellist (Steve Clark's girlfriend). The docudrama covered the band's history between 1977 through 1986, recounting the trials and triumphs of Rick Allen and Steve Clark. The 18 July broadcast still produced some of the channel's highest-ever ratings and is available on DVD.
Def Leppard's tenth album, X
, saw the band's musical direction moving more towards pop and further away from the band's hard rock roots. X quickly disappeared from the charts, ultimately becoming the band's least successful release. However, the accompanying tour played to the band's strongest audiences since Adrenalize.
An expanded and updated best-of collection, Best Of, was released internationally in October 2004. The North America-only version, Rock Of Ages - The Definitive Collection, was released the following May. Def Leppard participated at the Live 8
show in Philadelphia and toured in the summer with Bryan Adams
. In 2005, the band left their longtime management team, Q-Prime, and signed with HK Management.
On 23 May 2006, Def Leppard released an all-covers album titled Yeah!. The disc pays homage to classic rock songs of their childhood, originally recorded by Blondie
, The Kinks
, Sweet
, ELO
, and Badfinger
among others. It debuted at #16 in the US, their tenth consecutive Top 20 album.
The band, along with Queen
, Kiss
, and Judas Priest
, were the inaugural inductees of "VH1 Rock Honors
" on 31 May 2006. During the show, The All-American Rejects paid homage to the band with a cover of "Photograph". Soon afterwards, they embarked on a US tour with Journey
. That October, Hysteria was re-released in a two-disc deluxe edition format, which combined the original remastered album with b-sides, remixes, and bonus tracks from single releases. Def Leppard began their "Downstage Thrust Tour
", on 27 June, which took them across the US and into Canada. Support bands were Foreigner
and Styx
.
Songs from the Sparkle Lounge
was released worldwide on 28 April 2008 and on 30 April 2008 in Japan. The album debuted at #5 on The Billboard 200 in America. The first single was entitled "Nine Lives
" and featured country singer Tim McGraw
, who co-wrote the song with Joe Elliott, Phil Collen, and Rick Savage.
A tour
in support of the album began on 27 March 2008 in Greensboro, NC, with Styx and REO Speedwagon
joining the band on US dates. The band also played several European rock festivals. An arena tour of the UK took place in June in which the band co-headlined with Whitesnake and was supported by US southern rockers Black Stone Cherry
. The band then returned to Europe before coming back for a second leg of the UK tour in June. The first of these dates was at the Glasgow SECC on 17 June. Again they were be joined by Whitesnake; however hard rock band Thunder
supported at some of these shows. Black Stone Cherry continued to support most of the dates, including some of the Thunder ones. Six shows which were cancelled during the USA/Canada leg of their world tour due to illnesses affecting Joe Elliott and Phil Collen would be rescheduled and played in August of that year. On 11 June, Def Leppard announced further dates for their 2008 World Tour. The extension saw them visit Japan, Australia and New Zealand. Whitesnake continued to support Def Leppard for their Indian and Japanese dates. Def Leppard toured 41 US cities plus Toronto, Canada, during mid-2009 and also played the Download Festival
with Whitesnake
and ZZ Top
.
In October 2008, Def Leppard played with country superstar, Taylor Swift
in a taped show in Nashville, Tennessee
, in a show called CMT Crossroads: Taylor Swift and Def Leppard
. This was released as a DVD on 16 June 2009 exclusively at Wal-Mart. The release was the best-selling DVD of week, and the 10th best selling Wal-Mart music release. A fan of the band since childhood, Swift chose Def Leppard to perform together for the show, and their crossover performance of "Photograph" was up for both Performance of the Year and Wide Open Country Video of the Year at the CMT Music Awards
in 2009. Taylor Swift said of the performance, "Performing with Def Leppard was awesome! They are the coolest guys on the planet! It was the coolest thing in the world to have my band on stage with them...It was the most amazing feeling in the world..." Joe Elliott from Def Leppard said, "What an absolute pleasure it was to work with Taylor and her band who are a great set of musicians. Myself and Taylor blended really well together, I think, and everybody, both bands and the crowd, had a great time. I'm really glad we had the opportunity to do this."
In October 2009 the band announced that they would be cancelling the last leg of the 2009 North American tour, a total of 23 shows. The band cited, "unforeseen personal matters," as the reason for the cancellations. The band has denied rumours about a breakup, saying, "We're not splitting. Not at all. We often joke, what else would we do? You just can't imagine doing anything else." The band had been earning nearly $700,000 a show, placing them in the top 20 shows on tour. Joe Elliott told Britain's Metro
that the band would be taking a one year hiatus. The band will not tour again until 2011, when they also plan to release a new album.
According to a recent interview with Elliott, the band is working on a live album, a boxed set, a new tour in 2011, and a cartoon of the band set for TV. The live album was announced on 22 February 2011 as Mirrorball
, to be released in parts of Europe 3 June, the rest of Europe 6 June, and 7 June in the US; it was announced at the same time that Def Leppard would perform at the Download Festival
on 10 June 2011. The first single from the live album is a studio track, "Undefeated
."
Def Leppard embarked on a two-month U.S. tour
in the summer of 2011, with Heart
. Later an Australian Tour, Japanese Tour & a UK Tour was announced. The UK Tour will also feature Mötley Crüe
as a co-headliners and Steel Panther
as opening act. Def Leppard appeared at the Channel Seven Perth Telethon
during their Australian tour.
, pop and heavy metal elements, with its multi-layered, harmonic vocals
and its melodic guitar riffs. However, even though they were often considered one of the top bands of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal
movement of the late 1970s, in the mid-1980s the band were associated with the growing glam metal
scene, mainly due to their mainstream success and glossy production. Pyromania
has been cited as the catalyst for the 1980s pop-metal movement. Def Leppard, however, expressed their dislike of the "glam metal" label, as they thought it did not accurately describe their look or musical style. By the release of the Hysteria album, the band had developed a distinctive sound featuring electronic drums and effects-laden guitar sounds overlaid with a multi-layered wall of husky, harmonised vocals.
With Pyromania and Hysteria both certified Diamond
by the RIAA, Def Leppard is one of only five rock bands with two original studio albums selling over 10 million copies each in the US. The others are The Beatles
, Led Zeppelin
, Pink Floyd
and Van Halen
. Both Pyromania and Hysteria feature in Rolling Stone
s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
's "Wild Thing" from 1988. The video featured members of Poison
, Bon Jovi
, Mötley Crüe
, Guns N' Roses
, Ratt
, and Aerosmith
.
Collen also produced and played on the 1991 album On The Edge from Australian band BB Steal
.
Joe Elliott sang lead vocals on two tracks on Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood's 1992 solo album, Slide On This
. His then-wife Karla appeared in the videos for "Always Wanted More" and "Somebody Else Might".
Various members of Def Leppard have played on tribute records for Jeff Beck
, AC/DC
and Alice Cooper
.
Joe Elliott performed on two tracks to the soundtrack of the 1996 Sheffield-set motion picture, When Saturday Comes, the title track and an instrumental, "Jimmy's Theme".
Cybernauts
was a side project consisting of Joe Elliott
and Phil Collen
teamed with members of the Spiders From Mars (David Bowie
's former band), minus the late Mick Ronson
. The group played several shows, covering Bowie's Ziggy Stardust
-era songs and released one internet only album (since deleted).
Phil Collen has a side band called Man-Raze
, which released their debut album in June 2008.
Vivian Campbell
has played with two side bands in recent years, Clock
and the Riverdogs
, and recorded a solo album, Two Sides of If, released in 2005.
Joe Elliott released an album in July 2010 with a band called Down 'n' Outz
, which includes members of The Quireboys
.
Vivian Campbell toured with Thin Lizzy
in early 2011 before joining Def Leppard on their latest tour.
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band formed in 1977 in Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal
New Wave of British Heavy Metal
The New Wave of British Heavy Metal was a heavy metal movement that started in the late 1970s, in Britain, and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. The movement developed as a reaction in part to the decline of early heavy metal bands such as Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Black...
movement. Since 1992, the band have consisted of Joe Elliott
Joe Elliott
Joseph Thomas "Joe" Elliott Jr is an English singer-songwriter, and musician, best known as the lead vocalist and occasional rhythm guitarist of the British rock band Def Leppard. He has also been the lead singer of David Bowie cover band, the Cybernauts and the Mott the Hoople cover band, Down...
(vocals), Rick Savage
Rick Savage
Richard "Rick" Savage is the bassist and one of the founding members of the English rock band, Def Leppard. He is called "Sav" to avoid confusion between him and the other Rick in the band, drummer Rick Allen. He and lead vocalist, Joe Elliot, are the only remaining original members of the band...
(bass guitar), Rick Allen
Rick Allen (drummer)
Richard John Cyril "Rick" Allen is the drummer for the English hard rock band Def Leppard. He is famous for overcoming the complete amputation of his left arm and continuing to play with the band, which subsequently went on to its greatest popular success worldwide...
(drums), Phil Collen
Phil Collen
Philip Kenneth "Phil" Collen is the co-lead guitarist and one of the backing vocalists for English rock band Def Leppard. He joined the band in 1982 following the departure of Pete Willis.-Early years:...
(guitar), and Vivian Campbell
Vivian Campbell
Vivian Patrick Campbell is a Northern Irish rock guitarist who is a member of Def Leppard and was, from May 2010 to November 2011, a member of Thin Lizzy. Prior to joining Def Leppard in April 1992, he had been a member of Whitesnake, Sweet Savage, Trinity, Riverdogs, and Shadow King...
(guitar). At nineteen years, this is the band's longest-standing lineup.
The band's strongest commercial success came between the early 1980s and the early 1990s. Their 1981 album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
High 'n' Dry
High 'n' Dry
High 'n' Dry is the second studio album by British heavy metal band Def Leppard, released on 11 July 1981. Its title song, "High 'n' Dry ", ranked number 33 on VH1's 40 Greatest Metal Songs. High 'n' Dry was Pete Willis' last full time album with Def Leppard...
was produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange
Robert Lange
Robert John "Mutt" Lange is a Zambian-born British record producer and songwriter, usually known by his nickname "Mutt". Lange is one of the most successful producers in rock history. He has produced albums for artists such as AC/DC, Nickelback, Def Leppard, Outlaws, Foreigner, The Cars, Bryan...
, who helped them begin to define their style, and the album's stand out track "Bringin' On the Heartbreak
Bringin' on the Heartbreak
"Bringin' On the Heartbreak" is a song originally recorded by British hard rock band Def Leppard. It was the second single from their 1981 album High 'n' Dry. The song was written by three of the band's members: Steve Clark, Pete Willis, and Joe Elliott. In 2002, it was covered by American pop/R&B...
" became one of the first metal videos played on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
in 1982. The band's next studio album Pyromania
Pyromania (album)
Pyromania is the third studio album by British rock band Def Leppard, released on 20 January 1983. It featured new guitarist Phil Collen and was produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange. The album charted at #2 on the Billboard 200 and #18 on the UK Albums Chart.The album was partially recorded with...
in 1983, with the lead single "Photograph
Photograph (Def Leppard song)
"Photograph" is a 1983 single by British hard rock band Def Leppard from their album Pyromania. It was written as a tribute to the late actress Marilyn Monroe, as singer Joe Elliott often stated before playing the song live onstage. When released as a single it reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top...
", turned Def Leppard into a household name. In 2004, the album ranked number 384 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
Def Leppard's fourth album Hysteria released in 1987, topped the U.S
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
and UK album charts. As of 2009 it has 12x platinum
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
sales in the United States, and has gone on to sell over 20 million copies worldwide. The album spawned six hit singles, including the U.S. Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
number one "Love Bites", alongside "Pour Some Sugar on Me
Pour Some Sugar on Me
"Pour Some Sugar on Me" is a song by British hard rock band Def Leppard from their 1987 album Hysteria. It reached number 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100...
", "Hysteria
Hysteria (Def Leppard song)
"Hysteria" is a song by British hard rock band Def Leppard. It served as the titular third single from their 1987 multi-platinum album of the same name. "Hysteria" peaked at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100...
", "Armageddon It
Armageddon It
"Armageddon It" is a song by British hard rock band Def Leppard from their 1987 album Hysteria. It was released as a single in 1988 and went to No. 3 in the U.S. ....
", "Animal
Animal (Def Leppard song)
"Animal" is a song recorded by British hard rock band Def Leppard in 1987 from the album Hysteria. It was the 2nd single release off the album, and became the band's first Top 10 hit in their native UK, reaching No. 6 on the UK Singles Chart....
" and "Rocket
Rocket (Def Leppard song)
"Rocket" is a song recorded by British hard rock band Def Leppard in 1987 from the album Hysteria. It was the sixth and final single release, coming out in January 1989 and hitting the Top 15 in the US Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles Chart.The song was considered one of the most experimental for...
".
Their next studio album Adrenalize
Adrenalize
-Deluxe Edition :*Tracks 1-4 are taken from the band's Live: In the Clubs, in Your Face EP, recorded at Bonn, Germany, on 29 May 1992*Tracks 5 & 6 taken from "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad" single....
(the first following the death of guitarist Steve Clark
Steve Clark
Stephen Maynard Clark was an English musician, co-lead guitarist for the British hard rock band Def Leppard up until his death in 1991 due to a combination of alcohol and multiple prescription drugs...
) reached number one on the U.S. Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
and UK Album Chart in 1992, and contained several hits including, "Let's Get Rocked
Let's Get Rocked
"Let's Get Rocked" is a 1992 single by British hard rock band Def Leppard from their multi-platinum album Adrenalize. The song peaked at #1 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart, #15 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #2 on the UK Singles Chart....
" and "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad
Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad
"Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad" is a 1992 single by British hard rock band Def Leppard from their multi-platinum album Adrenalize. In the United States, the song reached #7 on the Mainstream Rock charts, and #12 on the Billboard Hot 100...
". Their 1993 album Retro Active
Retro Active
Retro Active is an album by British hard rock band Def Leppard, released in 1993. The album features touched-up versions of B-sides and previously unreleased recordings from the band's recording sessions between 1984 and 1993...
contained the acoustic
Acoustic music
Acoustic music comprises music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means...
hit song "Two Steps Behind
Two Steps Behind
"Two Steps Behind" is a 1993 song by British hard rock band Def Leppard from their album Retro Active and Last Action Hero Soundtrack. It reached #5 on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and #12 on the Billboard Hot 100....
", while their greatest hits album Vault released in 1995 featured the new track "When Love & Hate Collide
When Love & Hate Collide
"When Love & Hate Collide" is a power ballad by British rock band Def Leppard from their 1995 greatest hits album Vault, written by Joe Elliott and Rick Savage. It was originally written and demoed for Adrenalize, but not finalized until 1995 for its inclusion on Vault...
".
As one of the world's best-selling music artists, Def Leppard have sold more than 65 million albums worldwide, and have two albums with RIAA diamond certification
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
, Pyromania
Pyromania (album)
Pyromania is the third studio album by British rock band Def Leppard, released on 20 January 1983. It featured new guitarist Phil Collen and was produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange. The album charted at #2 on the Billboard 200 and #18 on the UK Albums Chart.The album was partially recorded with...
and Hysteria. They are one of only five rock bands with two original studio albums selling over 10 million copies in the U.S. The band were ranked #31 in VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock" and ranked #70 in "100 Greatest Artists Of All Time". Def Leppard are currently touring in support of their recently released live album
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
, Mirrorball
Mirrorball (Def Leppard album)
-Disc two:-DVD:Behind The Scenes on the Sparkle Lounge Tour 2008-2009, including live performances of*Rock! Rock! *Armageddon It*Pour Some Sugar on Me*HysteriaMusic Videos*Nine Lives*C'mon C'mon-Sales:...
.
Early years (1977–1979)
Rick SavageRick Savage
Richard "Rick" Savage is the bassist and one of the founding members of the English rock band, Def Leppard. He is called "Sav" to avoid confusion between him and the other Rick in the band, drummer Rick Allen. He and lead vocalist, Joe Elliot, are the only remaining original members of the band...
, Pete Willis
Pete Willis
Pete Willis was one of the original guitarists for the British rock band Def Leppard, until he was replaced by Phil Collen in 1982...
and Tony Kenning, all students at Tapton School
Tapton School
Tapton Secondary School, is a Comprehensive school located in Crosspool, in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It is a state school, sited next to another secondary, King Edward VII School, and near to Lydgate Junior School, Lydgate Infant School and Notre Dame High School. Tapton School has...
in Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and City of Sheffield...
, formed a band called Atomic Mass
Atomic Mass (band)
Atomic Mass were an English hard rock/heavy metal band from Sheffield, who formed in 1977 as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement...
in 1977. The band originally consisted of Willis on guitar, Savage on bass (after originally playing guitar), with Kenning on drums. Only 18 at the time, Joe Elliott
Joe Elliott
Joseph Thomas "Joe" Elliott Jr is an English singer-songwriter, and musician, best known as the lead vocalist and occasional rhythm guitarist of the British rock band Def Leppard. He has also been the lead singer of David Bowie cover band, the Cybernauts and the Mott the Hoople cover band, Down...
tried out for the band as a guitarist following a chance meeting with Willis after missing a bus. During his audition it was decided that he was better suited to be the lead singer. Their first ever gig was in the dining hall in A Block in Westfield School in Mosborough, Sheffield.
Soon afterward they adopted a name proposed by Elliott, "Deaf Leopard", which was originally a band name he thought up while writing reviews for imaginary rock bands in his English class (and in at least partial reference to the band Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
). At Kenning's suggestion, the spelling was slightly modified in order to make the name seem less like that of a punk band. In January 1978, Steve Clark
Steve Clark
Stephen Maynard Clark was an English musician, co-lead guitarist for the British hard rock band Def Leppard up until his death in 1991 due to a combination of alcohol and multiple prescription drugs...
joined the band. According to Joe Elliott, he successfully auditioned for the band by playing Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird
Free Bird
"Free Bird" is a song by the American southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd...
" in its entirety.
In November, just prior to recording sessions for what would be a three-song release known as the Def Leppard EP
Def Leppard EP
The Def Leppard E.P. is the debut EP by British rock band Def Leppard. The EP was recorded at Fairview Studios in Hull, in November 1978 and produced by Def Leppard. The album cover is a parody of the painting His Master's Voice, with a leopard in place of the painting's dog Nipper...
, Kenning abruptly left the band; he would later form the band Cairo. He was replaced for those sessions by Frank Noon
Frank Noon
Frank Noon is a drummer who played in the bands Def Leppard and Roadhouse with guitarist Pete Willis.He was preceded in Def Leppard by original Def Leppard drummer Tony Kenning and succeeded in Def Leppard by current Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen....
. By the end of the month, Rick Allen
Rick Allen (drummer)
Richard John Cyril "Rick" Allen is the drummer for the English hard rock band Def Leppard. He is famous for overcoming the complete amputation of his left arm and continuing to play with the band, which subsequently went on to its greatest popular success worldwide...
, then only 15 years old, had joined the band as its full-time drummer. Sales of the EP soared after the track "Getcha Rocks Off" was given extensive airtime by renowned BBC Radio DJ John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
, considered at the time to be a champion of punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
and new wave music
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
.
Throughout 1979, the band developed a loyal following among British hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
and heavy metal fans and were even initially considered the leaders of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal
New Wave of British Heavy Metal
The New Wave of British Heavy Metal was a heavy metal movement that started in the late 1970s, in Britain, and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. The movement developed as a reaction in part to the decline of early heavy metal bands such as Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Black...
(a status eventually claimed by Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
). Their growing popularity led to a record deal with the major label Phonogram/Vertigo (Mercury Records in the US).
Rise to fame (1980–1983)
Def Leppard's debut album, On Through the NightOn through the Night
On Through the Night is the debut album by British rock band Def Leppard, released in 1980. The album charted at #51 on The Billboard 200 and #15 on the UK Albums Chart...
, was released on 14 March 1980. Although the album hit the Top 15 in the UK, many early fans were turned off by the perception that the band was trying too hard to appeal to American audiences by recording songs like "Hello America" and touring more in the US (supporting Pat Travers
Pat Travers
Patrick Henry "Pat" Travers is a Canadian rock guitarist, keyboardist and singer who began his recording career with Polydor Records in the mid-1970s...
, AC/DC
AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...
, and Ted Nugent
Ted Nugent
Theodore Anthony "Ted" Nugent is an American guitarist, musician, singer, author, reserve police officer, and activist. From Detroit, Michigan, he originally gained fame as the lead guitarist of The Amboy Dukes, before embarking on a lengthy solo career...
). A performance at the Reading Festival in August (Iron Maiden also appeared) was marred when audience members expressed their displeasure by pelting the band with beer cans.
The band had by then caught the attention of AC/DC producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange
Robert Lange
Robert John "Mutt" Lange is a Zambian-born British record producer and songwriter, usually known by his nickname "Mutt". Lange is one of the most successful producers in rock history. He has produced albums for artists such as AC/DC, Nickelback, Def Leppard, Outlaws, Foreigner, The Cars, Bryan...
, who agreed to work on their second album, High 'n' Dry
High 'n' Dry
High 'n' Dry is the second studio album by British heavy metal band Def Leppard, released on 11 July 1981. Its title song, "High 'n' Dry ", ranked number 33 on VH1's 40 Greatest Metal Songs. High 'n' Dry was Pete Willis' last full time album with Def Leppard...
, released on 11 July 1981. Lange's meticulous approach in the studio helped them begin to define their sound. Despite the album's unimpressive sales figures, the band's video for "Bringin' On the Heartbreak
Bringin' on the Heartbreak
"Bringin' On the Heartbreak" is a song originally recorded by British hard rock band Def Leppard. It was the second single from their 1981 album High 'n' Dry. The song was written by three of the band's members: Steve Clark, Pete Willis, and Joe Elliott. In 2002, it was covered by American pop/R&B...
" became one of the first metal videos played on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
in 1982, bringing the band increased visibility in the U.S. After the album's release, a European tour followed. The band opened for Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...
and Blackfoot
Blackfoot (band)
Blackfoot is a Southern rock musical ensemble from Jacksonville, Florida organized during 1970. Though they are primarily a Southern rock band, they were known also as a hard rock act....
.
Phil Collen
Phil Collen
Philip Kenneth "Phil" Collen is the co-lead guitarist and one of the backing vocalists for English rock band Def Leppard. He joined the band in 1982 following the departure of Pete Willis.-Early years:...
, former guitarist with the glam band Girl
Girl (band)
Girl were an English glam metal band formed in 1979, who split up in 1982 with band members going on to join Def Leppard and L.A. Guns among others.-History:The band's lead vocalist was Phil Lewis...
, replaced Pete Willis, who was fired on 11 July 1982, due to excessive alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
consumption on the job. (Willis would later resurface with the bands Gogmagog
Gogmagog (band)
Gogmagog were a British supergroup put together by British record producer Jonathan King that featured former Iron Maiden members Paul Di'Anno and Clive Burr, former White Spirit and Gillan guitarist Janick Gers , original Def Leppard guitarist Pete Willis, and bassist Neil Murray, who has played...
and Roadhouse
Roadhouse (band)
Roadhouse was a British rock band that once included former Def Leppard members guitarist Pete Willis and drummer Frank Noon. However, Noon was no longer in Roadhouse by the time of the recording of their debut album. Roadhouse released their self-titled album in August 1991. The album is often...
.) This personnel change took place during the recording of their third album, Pyromania
Pyromania (album)
Pyromania is the third studio album by British rock band Def Leppard, released on 20 January 1983. It featured new guitarist Phil Collen and was produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange. The album charted at #2 on the Billboard 200 and #18 on the UK Albums Chart.The album was partially recorded with...
, which was released on 20 January 1983 and also produced by Lange. The lead single, "Photograph
Photograph (Def Leppard song)
"Photograph" is a 1983 single by British hard rock band Def Leppard from their album Pyromania. It was written as a tribute to the late actress Marilyn Monroe, as singer Joe Elliott often stated before playing the song live onstage. When released as a single it reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top...
", turned Def Leppard into a household name, supplanting Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
's "Beat It
Beat It
"Beat It" is a song written and performed by American recording artist Michael Jackson, and produced by Quincy Jones . It is the third single from the singer's sixth solo album, Thriller . Eddie Van Halen was hired to add the song's distinctive overdriven guitar solo, but was prevented by his...
" as the most requested video clip on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
and becoming a staple of rock radio (dominating the US Album Rock Charts for six weeks), and sparked a headline tour across the U.S.
Fueled by "Photograph" and subsequent singles "Rock of Ages" and "Foolin'
Foolin'
"Foolin" is a 1983 single by British Heavy metal band Def Leppard from their multi-platinum album Pyromania. When released as a single later that year, it reached #9 on the Mainstream Rock chart and #28 on the Billboard Hot 100.-Legacy:...
", Pyromania went on to sell six million copies in 1983 (more than 100,000 copies every week in that year) and was held off the top of the US album charts only by Michael Jackson's Thriller
Thriller (album)
Thriller is the sixth studio album by American recording artist Michael Jackson. It was released on November 30, 1982, by Epic Records as the follow-up to Jackson's critically and commercially successful 1979 album Off the Wall...
. With the album's massive success, Pyromania was the catalyst for the 1980s pop-metal movement. In 2004, Pyromania was certified Diamond
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
having sold over 10 million copies in the US. Def Leppard's US tour in support of Pyromania began opening for Billy Squier
Billy Squier
William Haislip "Billy" Squier is an American rock musician. Squier had a string of arena rock hits in the 1980s. He is best known for the song "The Stroke" on his 1981 album release Don't Say No...
in March and ended with a headlining performance before an audience of 55,000 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, California in September. As a testament to the band's popularity at the time, a US Gallup poll in 1984 saw Def Leppard voted as favourite rock band over peers such as The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
, AC/DC, and Journey
Journey (band)
Journey is an American rock band formed in 1973 in San Francisco by former members of Santana. The band has gone through several phases; its strongest commercial success occurred between the 1978 and 1987, after which it temporarily disbanded...
. However, this popularity was not matched in their native England where Duran Duran
Duran Duran
Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
secured the number one spot, a fact that greatly bothered them.
Hysteria era (1984–1989)
Following their breakthrough, the band moved to Dublin in February 1984 for tax purposes to begin writing the follow-up to Pyromania. Mutt Lange initially joined in on the songwriting sessions but then suddenly declined to return as producer due to exhaustion. Instead, Jim SteinmanJim Steinman
James Richard "Jim" Steinman is an American composer, lyricist, and Grammy Award-winning record producer responsible for several hit songs. He has also worked as an arranger, pianist, and singer...
(of Meat Loaf
Meat Loaf
Michael Lee Aday , better known by his stage name, Meat Loaf, is an American hard rock musician and actor...
's Bat out of Hell
Bat out of Hell
Bat Out of Hell is the second album by American rock musician Meat Loaf, and his first collaboration with composer Jim Steinman, released in October 1977 on Cleveland International/Epic Records #PE-34974. Selling approximately 200,000 copies per year as of 2010, it is the fifth best-selling album...
fame) was brought in.
On 31 December 1984, drummer Rick Allen lost his left arm in a car crash on the A57
A57 road
The A57 is a major road in England. It runs east from Liverpool to Lincoln, via Warrington, Cadishead, Irlam, Patricroft, Eccles, Salford and Manchester, then through the Pennines over the Snake Pass , around the Ladybower Reservoir, through Sheffield and past Worksop...
in the hills outside the band's home city Sheffield, when his Corvette
Chevrolet Corvette
The Chevrolet Corvette is a sports car by the Chevrolet division of General Motors that has been produced in six generations. The first model, a convertible, was designed by Harley Earl and introduced at the GM Motorama in 1953 as a concept show car. Myron Scott is credited for naming the car after...
swerved off the road on a sharp bend and went through a drystone wall. Despite the severity of the accident, Allen was committed to continuing his role as Def Leppard's drummer, and realized that he could use his legs to do some of the drumming work previously done with his arms. He then worked with Simmons
Simmons (electronic drum company)
Simmons was a pioneering British manufacturer of electronic drums that supplied electronic kits from 1980 to 1994. The drums' distinctive, electronic sound can be found on countless albums from the 1980s....
to design a custom electronic drum kit
Electronic drum
An electronic drum is an electronic synthesizer which mimics an acoustic drum kit.The electronic drum usually consists of a set of pads mounted on a stand in a disposition similar to an acoustic drum kit. The pads are discs with a rubber or cloth-like coating. Each pad has a sensor which generates...
. The other members of the band supported Allen's recovery and never sought a replacement. During this period, Mutt Lange returned as producer, and Allen's triumphant comeback was sealed at the 1986 Donington
Donington Park
Donington Park is a motorsport circuit near Castle Donington in Leicestershire, England.Originally part of the Donington Hall estate, it was created as a racing circuit during the pre-war period when the German Silver Arrows were battling for the European Championship...
Monsters of Rock
Monsters of Rock
Monsters of Rock was an annual music festival held in England, then moved in other locations like The Netherlands, France, Italy, Germany, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Chile.The Last show was in 2008....
festival in England, with an emotionally charged ovation after his introduction by Joe Elliott.
Animal (Def Leppard song)
"Animal" is a song recorded by British hard rock band Def Leppard in 1987 from the album Hysteria. It was the 2nd single release off the album, and became the band's first Top 10 hit in their native UK, reaching No. 6 on the UK Singles Chart....
", became the band's first Top 10 hit in their native UK, reaching No. 6 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. "Animal" also started their run of ten consecutive U. S. Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
Top 40 singles. Hysteria immediately topped the UK Album Charts in its first week of release. However, US album sales were relatively slow (compared to Pyromania) until the release of the fourth single, "Pour Some Sugar on Me
Pour Some Sugar on Me
"Pour Some Sugar on Me" is a song by British hard rock band Def Leppard from their 1987 album Hysteria. It reached number 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100...
". The song hit Number 2, and Hysteria finally reached the top of the U.S. Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
in July 1988. The "Pour Some Sugar on Me" video was #1 on Dial MTV
Dial MTV
Dial MTV was a television series on MTV that played music videos. It premiered February 17,1986. Much like Total Request Live, Dial MTV played the top five or top ten most requested videos of the day, as requested by viewers who dialed in to vote for their favorite video...
for a record 73 days (from 26 May–5 September 1988). Often regarded as the band's signature song
Signature song
A signature song is the one song that a popular and well-established singer or band is most closely identified with or best known for, even if they have had success with a variety of songs...
, "Pour Some Sugar on Me" was ranked #2 on VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
's "100 Greatest Songs of the 80s" in 2006. In October 1988, the power ballad "Love Bites
Love Bites (Def Leppard song)
"Love Bites" is a power ballad recorded by British rock band Def Leppard in 1987 on the album Hysteria. It is Def Leppard's only number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100 to date.- Song :...
" became Def Leppard's first (and only) number one single on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, and in January 1989, the band scored another US Top 5 hit with "Armageddon It
Armageddon It
"Armageddon It" is a song by British hard rock band Def Leppard from their 1987 album Hysteria. It was released as a single in 1988 and went to No. 3 in the U.S. ....
". Wanting to give fans something new after the massive radio and video airplay for not only the 6 singles but also the Album tracks that Radio DJs were playing off the album, the band performed "Tear It Down", a Hysteria B-side at the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards
1989 MTV Video Music Awards
The 1989 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on September 6, 1989, honoring the best music videos from April 2, 1988, to June 1, 1989. The show was hosted by Arsenio Hall at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles....
. Due to positive fan reaction the song was reworked for their following album Adrenalize
Adrenalize
-Deluxe Edition :*Tracks 1-4 are taken from the band's Live: In the Clubs, in Your Face EP, recorded at Bonn, Germany, on 29 May 1992*Tracks 5 & 6 taken from "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad" single....
.
Hysteria is one of only a handful of albums that has charted seven singles or more on the US Hot 100: "Women" (#80), "Animal" (#19), "Hysteria" (#10), "Pour Some Sugar on Me" (#2), "Love Bites
Love Bites (Def Leppard song)
"Love Bites" is a power ballad recorded by British rock band Def Leppard in 1987 on the album Hysteria. It is Def Leppard's only number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100 to date.- Song :...
" (#1), "Armageddon It" (#3), and "Rocket
Rocket (Def Leppard song)
"Rocket" is a song recorded by British hard rock band Def Leppard in 1987 from the album Hysteria. It was the sixth and final single release, coming out in January 1989 and hitting the Top 15 in the US Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles Chart.The song was considered one of the most experimental for...
" (#12). It remained on the charts for three years and has sold over 20 million copies worldwide. Equally successful was the accompanying 15-month tour
Hysteria World Tour
The Def Leppard Hysteria Tour was a world concert tour by English hard rock band Def Leppard.-Setlist:* Intro * Stagefright* Rock! Rock! Till You Drop* Women* Another Hit And Run...
, in which the band performed in the round
Theatre in the round
Theatre-in-the-round or arena theatre is any theatre space in which the audience surrounds the stage area...
. This concept proved wildly popular with fans (as seen in the videos for "Pour Some Sugar on Me" and "Armageddon It") and was used again for the Adrenalize
Adrenalize
-Deluxe Edition :*Tracks 1-4 are taken from the band's Live: In the Clubs, in Your Face EP, recorded at Bonn, Germany, on 29 May 1992*Tracks 5 & 6 taken from "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad" single....
tour.
At the 1989 American Music Awards
American Music Awards
-Conception:The AMAs were created by Dick Clark in 1973 to compete with the Grammys after the move of that year's show to Nashville, Tennessee led to CBS picking up the Grammy telecasts after its first two in 1971 and 1972 were broadcast on ABC...
, Def Leppard won Favorite Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Artist, as well as Favorite Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Album (for Hysteria). It was the first time that a heavy metal category was added to the awards show. (The category has since been deleted.)
Adrenalize and change in musical direction (1990–1999)
Following Hysteria, the band quickly set out to work on their fifth album, hoping to avoid another lengthy gap. Steve ClarkSteve Clark
Stephen Maynard Clark was an English musician, co-lead guitarist for the British hard rock band Def Leppard up until his death in 1991 due to a combination of alcohol and multiple prescription drugs...
's alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
worsened to the point that he was constantly in and out of rehab
Drug rehabilitation
Drug rehabilitation is a term for the processes of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment, for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and so-called street drugs such as cocaine, heroin or amphetamines...
. Recording sessions suffered from this distraction, and in mid-1990, Steve was granted a six-month leave of absence from the band. Clark died from an accidental mix of prescription drugs and alcohol on 8 January 1991, in his London home.
The remaining band members decided to carry on and recorded the album as a four-piece, with Collen mimicking Clark's style on his intended guitar parts. Def Leppard's fifth album, Adrenalize
Adrenalize
-Deluxe Edition :*Tracks 1-4 are taken from the band's Live: In the Clubs, in Your Face EP, recorded at Bonn, Germany, on 29 May 1992*Tracks 5 & 6 taken from "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad" single....
, was finally released on 31 March 1992. The album simultaneously entered at Number one on both the UK and US album charts, staying on the latter for 5 weeks. The first single, "Let's Get Rocked
Let's Get Rocked
"Let's Get Rocked" is a 1992 single by British hard rock band Def Leppard from their multi-platinum album Adrenalize. The song peaked at #1 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart, #15 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #2 on the UK Singles Chart....
", was an instant smash hit, and the band performed the song at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards
1992 MTV Video Music Awards
The 1992 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on September 9, 1992, honoring the best music videos from June 16, 1991, to June 15, 1992. The show was hosted by Dana Carvey at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles....
where it was nominated for Best Video of the Year. In April 1992, Def Leppard appeared at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert at Wembley Stadium, London, performing a three-song set of "Animal", "Let's Get Rocked" and Queen's "Now I'm Here" with guitarist Brian May
Brian May
Brian Harold May, CBE is an English musician and astrophysicist most widely known as the guitarist and a songwriter of the rock band Queen...
. Joe Elliott later performed "Tie Your Mother Down
Tie Your Mother Down
"Tie Your Mother Down" is a song by the English rock group Queen, written by guitarist Brian May. It is the opening track and the second single from their 1976 album A Day at the Races...
" with the remaining members of Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
and guitarist Slash
Slash (musician)
Saul Hudson , known by his stage name Slash, is a British-American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the former lead guitarist of the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. During his later years with Guns N'...
.
In 1992, another world tour followed with former Dio
Dio (band)
Dio was an American heavy metal band from Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Formed in 1982 and led by vocalist Ronnie James Dio, after he left Black Sabbath with intentions to form a new band with fellow former Black Sabbath member, drummer Vinny Appice. Naming the band Dio made sense from a commercial...
and Whitesnake
Whitesnake
Whitesnake are an English rock band, founded in 1978 by David Coverdale after his departure from his previous band, Deep Purple. The band's early material has been compared by critics to Deep Purple, but by the mid 1980s they had moved to a more commercial hard rock style...
guitarist Vivian Campbell
Vivian Campbell
Vivian Patrick Campbell is a Northern Irish rock guitarist who is a member of Def Leppard and was, from May 2010 to November 2011, a member of Thin Lizzy. Prior to joining Def Leppard in April 1992, he had been a member of Whitesnake, Sweet Savage, Trinity, Riverdogs, and Shadow King...
joining the band, but the band's fortunes began to be affected by the rise of alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
, including grunge
Grunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
.
A collection of b-sides and unreleased tracks recorded between 1984 and 1993, called Retro Active
Retro Active
Retro Active is an album by British hard rock band Def Leppard, released in 1993. The album features touched-up versions of B-sides and previously unreleased recordings from the band's recording sessions between 1984 and 1993...
, was released in October 1993, preceded by the success of "Two Steps Behind" (from the Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
film Last Action Hero
Last Action Hero
Last Action Hero is a 1993 American action-comedy-fantasy film directed and produced by John McTiernan. It is a satire of the action genre and its clichés, containing several parodies of action films in the form of films within the film....
). Another single, "Miss You In A Heartbeat", hit the Top 5 in Canada, becoming one of their biggest hits there. Retro Active has sold 3 million copies worldwide to date. Two years later, Def Leppard issued their first greatest hits collection, Vault: Def Leppard Greatest Hits (1980–1995), which has sold 11 million copies worldwide. Alternate track listings of the album were issued for North America, the UK, and Japan. The compilation included a new track, the power ballad "When Love & Hate Collide
When Love & Hate Collide
"When Love & Hate Collide" is a power ballad by British rock band Def Leppard from their 1995 greatest hits album Vault, written by Joe Elliott and Rick Savage. It was originally written and demoed for Adrenalize, but not finalized until 1995 for its inclusion on Vault...
", which became their biggest ever hit in the UK, hitting #2 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
.
On 23 October 1995, the band entered the Guinness Book of World Records by performing three concerts in three continents in one day (Tangiers, Morocco; London, England; and Vancouver, Canada).
Slang
Slang (album)
- Certifications :-Personnel:* Rick Allen – drums, percussion* Vivian Campbell – electric guitars, acoustic guitars, dulcimer, vocals* Phil Collen – electric guitars, acoustic guitars, mandolin, vocals...
, released in May 1996, marked a drastic musical departure for the band by featuring darker lyrics and a stripped-down alternative rock edge. The US audience reception for Slang and its subsequent tour
Def Leppard Slang Tour
The Def Leppard Slang Tour was a worldwide concert tour by English hard rock band Def Leppard in support of their album Slang. It was the first Def Leppard tour since the early 1980s where the band used an end stage rather than the centre stage...
was a major dropoff from a decade earlier, but Q Magazine nonetheless listed Slang as one of their Top Ten Albums of 1996. This album was the first recorded performance of Rick Allen playing a semi-acoustic drum kit since his accident, and not his electronic set as was first used with Hysteria.
VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
revived the band's fortunes in the US in 1998 by featuring them on one of the first episodes of Behind the Music
Behind the Music
Behind the Music is a television series on VH1. It originally ran from 1997 to 2006, before it was stopped and only aired new episodes sporadically. The series places its generality on documentation of musical artists or groups who are interviewed and profiled, and discuss how their careers became...
. Reruns of the episode yielded some of the series' highest ratings and brought the band's music back into the public consciousness (following years of burial by the alternative rock climate). The episode was even parodied on Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
. In an effort to capitalise on this new momentum, Def Leppard returned to its classic sound with the 1999 album Euphoria. The first single, "Promises", reunited the band with Mutt Lange and hit the US Mainstream Rock charts at #1 for 3 weeks. The album was certified gold in the US and Canada.
New-found popularity (2000–2007)
On 5 September 2000, Def Leppard were inducted into the Rock Walk of Fame on Hollywood's Sunset BoulevardSunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard is a street in the western part of Los Angeles County, California, that stretches from Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles to the Pacific Coast Highway at the Pacific Ocean in the Pacific Palisades...
by their friend Brian May
Brian May
Brian Harold May, CBE is an English musician and astrophysicist most widely known as the guitarist and a songwriter of the rock band Queen...
of Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
. In 2001, VH1 produced and aired Hysteria - The Def Leppard Story
Hysteria - The Def Leppard Story
Hysteria – The Def Leppard Story is a 2001 made-for-television movie about the English hard rock/ heavy metal band Def Leppard. The film premiered on July 18, 2001 and is available on DVD in the US.-Plot:...
, a biopic that included Anthony Michael Hall
Anthony Michael Hall
Michael Anthony Hall , known professionally as Anthony Michael Hall, is an American actor, film producer and director who starred in several teen-oriented films of the 1980s. Hall began his career in commercials and on stage as a child, and made his screen debut in 1980...
as Mutt Lange and Amber Valletta
Amber Valletta
Amber Evangeline Valletta is an American actress and model. She began her career as a model for fashion agencies, and appeared on cover pages of internationally recognized magazines. She made her film debut in Drop Back Ten . She then starred in the hit film Hitch...
as Lorelei Shellist (Steve Clark's girlfriend). The docudrama covered the band's history between 1977 through 1986, recounting the trials and triumphs of Rick Allen and Steve Clark. The 18 July broadcast still produced some of the channel's highest-ever ratings and is available on DVD.
Def Leppard's tenth album, X
X (Def Leppard album)
X is the eighth studio album by British rock band Def Leppard, released in 2002 by Island Records. Much like 1996's Slang, it featured another departure from their signature sound by moving into the pop genre. The album charted at #11 on The Billboard 200 and #14 on the UK Albums Chart...
, saw the band's musical direction moving more towards pop and further away from the band's hard rock roots. X quickly disappeared from the charts, ultimately becoming the band's least successful release. However, the accompanying tour played to the band's strongest audiences since Adrenalize.
Live 8
Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and in South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 Conference and summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland from 6–8 July 2005; they also coincided with the 20th anniversary of Live Aid...
show in Philadelphia and toured in the summer with Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams, is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and photographer. Adams has won dozens of awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations. He has also received 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written...
. In 2005, the band left their longtime management team, Q-Prime, and signed with HK Management.
On 23 May 2006, Def Leppard released an all-covers album titled Yeah!. The disc pays homage to classic rock songs of their childhood, originally recorded by Blondie
Blondie (band)
Blondie is an American rock band, founded by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the early American New Wave and punk scenes of the mid-1970s...
, The Kinks
The Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...
, Sweet
Sweet (band)
Sweet was a British rock band that rose to worldwide fame in the 1970s as one of the most prominent glam rock acts, with the classic line-up of lead vocalist Brian Connolly, bass player Steve Priest, guitarist Andy Scott, and drummer Mick Tucker.Sweet was formed in 1968 and achieved their first...
, ELO
ELO
- Music :* Electric Light Orchestra, a British rock music group** The Electric Light Orchestra , the group's debut album** ELO 2, the group's second album* ELO Part II, an offshoot band of Electric Light Orchestra- Sports and games :...
, and Badfinger
Badfinger
Badfinger were a British rock band consisting originally of Pete Ham, Ron Griffiths, Mike Gibbins and Tom Evans, active from 1968 to 1983, and evolving from The Iveys, formed by Ham, Griffiths and David "Dai" Jenkins in Swansea, Wales, in the early 1960s. Joey Molland joined the group in 1969,...
among others. It debuted at #16 in the US, their tenth consecutive Top 20 album.
The band, along with Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
, Kiss
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
, and Judas Priest
Judas Priest
Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, England, formed in 1969. The current line-up consists of lead vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis. The band has gone through several drummers over the years,...
, were the inaugural inductees of "VH1 Rock Honors
VH1 Rock Honors
The VH1 Rock Honors were an annual ceremony paying homage to bands who influenced the sound of rock music. The events began in 2006, and the final event took place in 2008. The general format of each show is for modern bands to "pay tribute" to classic greats of the rock/metal world , after which...
" on 31 May 2006. During the show, The All-American Rejects paid homage to the band with a cover of "Photograph". Soon afterwards, they embarked on a US tour with Journey
Journey (band)
Journey is an American rock band formed in 1973 in San Francisco by former members of Santana. The band has gone through several phases; its strongest commercial success occurred between the 1978 and 1987, after which it temporarily disbanded...
. That October, Hysteria was re-released in a two-disc deluxe edition format, which combined the original remastered album with b-sides, remixes, and bonus tracks from single releases. Def Leppard began their "Downstage Thrust Tour
Downstage Thrust Tour
The Downstage Thrust Tour was a North American concert tour by English hard rock band Def Leppard. It began in Cincinnati, Ohio on June 27, 2007 and closed in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on October 2, 2007. Def Leppard played 52 shows in 52 different locations throughout the course of the tour...
", on 27 June, which took them across the US and into Canada. Support bands were Foreigner
Foreigner (band)
Foreigner is a British-American rock band, originally formed in 1976 by veteran English musicians Mick Jones and ex-King Crimson member Ian McDonald along with American vocalist Lou Gramm...
and Styx
Styx (band)
Styx is an American rock band that became famous for its albums from the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Chicago band is known for melding the style of prog-rock with the power of hard rock guitar, strong ballads, and elements of American musical theater....
.
Recent events (2008–present)
Songs from the Sparkle Lounge
-Deluxe Edition Bonus DVD:* "Behind The Curtain"* "The Sparkle Lounge Commentary"* "Nine Lives" Music Video-Chart positions:-Personnel:*Rick Savage – bass guitar, backing vocals, additional guitars*Joe Elliott – vocals...
was released worldwide on 28 April 2008 and on 30 April 2008 in Japan. The album debuted at #5 on The Billboard 200 in America. The first single was entitled "Nine Lives
Nine Lives (Def Leppard song)
"Nine Lives" is a 2008 song by British hard rock band Def Leppard from their Songs from the Sparkle Lounge album. The song features guest vocals by country singer Tim McGraw...
" and featured country singer Tim McGraw
Tim McGraw
Samuel Timothy "Tim" McGraw is an American country singer and actor. Many of McGraw's albums and singles have topped the country music charts with total album sales in excess of 40 million units in the US, making him the eighth best-selling artist, and the third best-selling country singer, in the...
, who co-wrote the song with Joe Elliott, Phil Collen, and Rick Savage.
A tour
Songs from the Sparkle Lounge Tour
The Songs From The Sparkle Lounge World Tour was a world tour by British Rock band Def Leppard in support of their latest album, Songs From The Sparkle Lounge. It marks the first time the band had traveled to Japan since 2002's X Tour...
in support of the album began on 27 March 2008 in Greensboro, NC, with Styx and REO Speedwagon
REO Speedwagon
REO Speedwagon is an American rock band. Formed in 1967, the band grew in popularity during the 1970s and peaked in the early 1980s. Hi Infidelity is the group's most commercially successful album, selling over ten million copies and charting four Top 40 hits in the US...
joining the band on US dates. The band also played several European rock festivals. An arena tour of the UK took place in June in which the band co-headlined with Whitesnake and was supported by US southern rockers Black Stone Cherry
Black Stone Cherry
Black Stone Cherry is an American rock band formed in 2001 in Edmonton, Kentucky. They are signed to Roadrunner Records. The band consists of Chris Robertson , Ben Wells , Jon Lawhon , and John Fred Young...
. The band then returned to Europe before coming back for a second leg of the UK tour in June. The first of these dates was at the Glasgow SECC on 17 June. Again they were be joined by Whitesnake; however hard rock band Thunder
Thunder (band)
Thunder were an English hard rock band, who originally formed in 1989 when the band Terraplane broke up, leaving lead singer Danny Bowes and guitarist/main songwriter Luke Morley to form a new group, namely Thunder...
supported at some of these shows. Black Stone Cherry continued to support most of the dates, including some of the Thunder ones. Six shows which were cancelled during the USA/Canada leg of their world tour due to illnesses affecting Joe Elliott and Phil Collen would be rescheduled and played in August of that year. On 11 June, Def Leppard announced further dates for their 2008 World Tour. The extension saw them visit Japan, Australia and New Zealand. Whitesnake continued to support Def Leppard for their Indian and Japanese dates. Def Leppard toured 41 US cities plus Toronto, Canada, during mid-2009 and also played the Download Festival
Download Festival
The Download Festival is a three day rock music festival held annually at Donington Park, England . It usually takes place in June...
with Whitesnake
Whitesnake
Whitesnake are an English rock band, founded in 1978 by David Coverdale after his departure from his previous band, Deep Purple. The band's early material has been compared by critics to Deep Purple, but by the mid 1980s they had moved to a more commercial hard rock style...
and ZZ Top
ZZ Top
ZZ Top is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "That Little Ol' Band from Texas". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based boogie rock, has come to incorporate elements of arena, southern, and boogie rock. The band, from Houston Texas, formed in 1969...
.
In October 2008, Def Leppard played with country superstar, Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift is an American country pop singer-songwriter, musician and actress.In 2006, she released her debut single "Tim McGraw", then her self-titled debut album, which was subsequently certified multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America...
in a taped show in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, in a show called CMT Crossroads: Taylor Swift and Def Leppard
Taylor Swift and Def Leppard
Taylor Swift and Def Leppard is an episode of the CMT television show CMT Crossroads. The episodes features performances by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift and English band Def Leppard....
. This was released as a DVD on 16 June 2009 exclusively at Wal-Mart. The release was the best-selling DVD of week, and the 10th best selling Wal-Mart music release. A fan of the band since childhood, Swift chose Def Leppard to perform together for the show, and their crossover performance of "Photograph" was up for both Performance of the Year and Wide Open Country Video of the Year at the CMT Music Awards
CMT Music Awards
The CMT Music Awards is a fan-voted awards show for country music videos and television performances. The awards ceremony is held every year in Nashville, Tennessee, and broadcast live on CMT. Voting takes place on CMT's website, CMT.com.-History:...
in 2009. Taylor Swift said of the performance, "Performing with Def Leppard was awesome! They are the coolest guys on the planet! It was the coolest thing in the world to have my band on stage with them...It was the most amazing feeling in the world..." Joe Elliott from Def Leppard said, "What an absolute pleasure it was to work with Taylor and her band who are a great set of musicians. Myself and Taylor blended really well together, I think, and everybody, both bands and the crowd, had a great time. I'm really glad we had the opportunity to do this."
In October 2009 the band announced that they would be cancelling the last leg of the 2009 North American tour, a total of 23 shows. The band cited, "unforeseen personal matters," as the reason for the cancellations. The band has denied rumours about a breakup, saying, "We're not splitting. Not at all. We often joke, what else would we do? You just can't imagine doing anything else." The band had been earning nearly $700,000 a show, placing them in the top 20 shows on tour. Joe Elliott told Britain's Metro
Metro (Associated Metro Limited)
Metro is a free daily newspaper in the United Kingdom published by Associated Newspapers Ltd . It is available from Monday to Friday each week on many public transport services across the United Kingdom.-History:The paper was launched in London in 1999, and can now be found in 14 UK urban centres...
that the band would be taking a one year hiatus. The band will not tour again until 2011, when they also plan to release a new album.
According to a recent interview with Elliott, the band is working on a live album, a boxed set, a new tour in 2011, and a cartoon of the band set for TV. The live album was announced on 22 February 2011 as Mirrorball
Mirrorball (Def Leppard album)
-Disc two:-DVD:Behind The Scenes on the Sparkle Lounge Tour 2008-2009, including live performances of*Rock! Rock! *Armageddon It*Pour Some Sugar on Me*HysteriaMusic Videos*Nine Lives*C'mon C'mon-Sales:...
, to be released in parts of Europe 3 June, the rest of Europe 6 June, and 7 June in the US; it was announced at the same time that Def Leppard would perform at the Download Festival
Download Festival
The Download Festival is a three day rock music festival held annually at Donington Park, England . It usually takes place in June...
on 10 June 2011. The first single from the live album is a studio track, "Undefeated
Undefeated (song)
"Undefeated" is a 2011 song by British hard rock band Def Leppard from their live album Mirrorball. It was the first single from the album, and was released publicly via a YouTube clip on 12 April 2011 after having been played for the first time on Planet Rock the same day. The song was made...
."
Def Leppard embarked on a two-month U.S. tour
Mirrorball Tour
The Mirrorball Tour is a concert tour by the British hard rock band Def Leppard. It is the first tour by the band since the 2009 summer tour with Cheap Trick and Poison. It is also in support of the bands latest new live album of the same name. The opening act on the tour was Heart. The Dublin &...
in the summer of 2011, with Heart
Heart (band)
Heart is an American rock band who first found success in Canada. Throughout several lineup changes, the only two members remaining constant are sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson. The group rose to fame in the 1970s with their music being influenced by hard rock as well as folk music...
. Later an Australian Tour, Japanese Tour & a UK Tour was announced. The UK Tour will also feature Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1981. The group was founded by bass guitarist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, who were later joined by lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil...
as a co-headliners and Steel Panther
Steel Panther
Steel Panther is a glam metal band from Los Angeles, California mostly known for their profane and humorous lyrics as well as their exaggerated on-stage personas...
as opening act. Def Leppard appeared at the Channel Seven Perth Telethon
Channel Seven Perth Telethon
The Channel Seven Perth Telethon, known simply as Telethon, is an annual telethon produced by TVW, a Seven Network owned television station in Perth, Western Australia for two main beneficiaries; Princess Margaret Hospital for Children, and the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, plus...
during their Australian tour.
Musical style and legacy
Def Leppard's music is a mixture of hard rock, AORArena rock
Arena rock is a term used to describe rock music that utilised large arena venues, particularly sports venues, for concerts or series of concerts linked in tours...
, pop and heavy metal elements, with its multi-layered, harmonic vocals
Vocal harmony
Vocal harmony is a style of vocal music in which a consonant note or notes are sung at the same time as a main melody in a predominantly homophonic texture. Vocal harmonies are used in many subgenres of European art music, including Classical choral music and opera and in the popular styles from...
and its melodic guitar riffs. However, even though they were often considered one of the top bands of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal
New Wave of British Heavy Metal
The New Wave of British Heavy Metal was a heavy metal movement that started in the late 1970s, in Britain, and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. The movement developed as a reaction in part to the decline of early heavy metal bands such as Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Black...
movement of the late 1970s, in the mid-1980s the band were associated with the growing glam metal
Glam metal
Glam metal is a subgenre of hard rock and heavy metal that arose in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the United States, particularly on the Los Angeles Sunset Strip music scene...
scene, mainly due to their mainstream success and glossy production. Pyromania
Pyromania (album)
Pyromania is the third studio album by British rock band Def Leppard, released on 20 January 1983. It featured new guitarist Phil Collen and was produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange. The album charted at #2 on the Billboard 200 and #18 on the UK Albums Chart.The album was partially recorded with...
has been cited as the catalyst for the 1980s pop-metal movement. Def Leppard, however, expressed their dislike of the "glam metal" label, as they thought it did not accurately describe their look or musical style. By the release of the Hysteria album, the band had developed a distinctive sound featuring electronic drums and effects-laden guitar sounds overlaid with a multi-layered wall of husky, harmonised vocals.
With Pyromania and Hysteria both certified Diamond
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
by the RIAA, Def Leppard is one of only five rock bands with two original studio albums selling over 10 million copies each in the US. The others are The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
, Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
and Van Halen
Van Halen
Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart...
. Both Pyromania and Hysteria feature in Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
Current members
- Rick "Sav" Savage – bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, vocals (1977–present) - Joe ElliottJoe ElliottJoseph Thomas "Joe" Elliott Jr is an English singer-songwriter, and musician, best known as the lead vocalist and occasional rhythm guitarist of the British rock band Def Leppard. He has also been the lead singer of David Bowie cover band, the Cybernauts and the Mott the Hoople cover band, Down...
– lead vocals, rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
(1977–present) - Rick AllenRick Allen (drummer)Richard John Cyril "Rick" Allen is the drummer for the English hard rock band Def Leppard. He is famous for overcoming the complete amputation of his left arm and continuing to play with the band, which subsequently went on to its greatest popular success worldwide...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussion, vocals (1978–present) - Phil CollenPhil CollenPhilip Kenneth "Phil" Collen is the co-lead guitarist and one of the backing vocalists for English rock band Def Leppard. He joined the band in 1982 following the departure of Pete Willis.-Early years:...
– leadLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
and rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
, vocals (1982–present) - Vivian CampbellVivian CampbellVivian Patrick Campbell is a Northern Irish rock guitarist who is a member of Def Leppard and was, from May 2010 to November 2011, a member of Thin Lizzy. Prior to joining Def Leppard in April 1992, he had been a member of Whitesnake, Sweet Savage, Trinity, Riverdogs, and Shadow King...
– leadLeadLead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
and rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
, vocals (1992–present)
Former members
- Pete WillisPete WillisPete Willis was one of the original guitarists for the British rock band Def Leppard, until he was replaced by Phil Collen in 1982...
– leadLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
and rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
, backing vocals (1977–1982) - Tony Kenning - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussion (1977–1978) - Steve ClarkSteve ClarkStephen Maynard Clark was an English musician, co-lead guitarist for the British hard rock band Def Leppard up until his death in 1991 due to a combination of alcohol and multiple prescription drugs...
– rhythmRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
and lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
, backing vocals (1978–1991) - Frank NoonFrank NoonFrank Noon is a drummer who played in the bands Def Leppard and Roadhouse with guitarist Pete Willis.He was preceded in Def Leppard by original Def Leppard drummer Tony Kenning and succeeded in Def Leppard by current Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen....
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussion (1978)
Touring musicians
- Jeff RichJeff RichJeff Rich also known as "Worzel" is an English rock drummer, best known as a former drummer for the English rock band, Status Quo...
– drums, percussion (August 1986 – supplement to Rick Allen)
Side projects
Phil Collen played guitar, uncredited, on Sam KinisonSam Kinison
Samuel Burl "Sam" Kinison was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Kinison was known for his intense, harsh and politically incorrect genre humor...
's "Wild Thing" from 1988. The video featured members of Poison
Poison (band)
Poison is an American glam metal band that achieved great success in the mid-1980s to mid-1990s. To date, Poison has sold over 30 million records worldwide and have sold 15 million records in the United States alone. The band has also charted ten singles to the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100,...
, Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...
, Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1981. The group was founded by bass guitarist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, who were later joined by lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil...
, Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...
, Ratt
Ratt
Ratt is an American heavy metal band that had significant commercial success in the 1980s. The band is best known for songs such as "Round and Round," "Wanted Man," "Lay It Down," "You're in Love", "Slip of the Lip", "Back For More", "Dance", "Body Talk", "I Want a Woman", and "Way Cool Jr." Ratt...
, and Aerosmith
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
.
Collen also produced and played on the 1991 album On The Edge from Australian band BB Steal
BB Steal
BB Steal are an Australian band formed circa 1987. Lead vocalist Craig Csongrady has been the only permanent member.The band originally featured former Boss members lead vocalist Craig Csongrady and guitarist Kevin Pratt, as well as guitarist Warren Mason, bassist Peter Waterank, and drummer Peter...
.
Joe Elliott sang lead vocals on two tracks on Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood's 1992 solo album, Slide On This
Slide on This
Slide on This is the title of Ronnie Wood's fifth solo album. It failed to chart in US, but went to sell 58,000 copies there according to Soundscan...
. His then-wife Karla appeared in the videos for "Always Wanted More" and "Somebody Else Might".
Various members of Def Leppard have played on tribute records for Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
, AC/DC
AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...
and Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
.
Joe Elliott performed on two tracks to the soundtrack of the 1996 Sheffield-set motion picture, When Saturday Comes, the title track and an instrumental, "Jimmy's Theme".
Cybernauts
Cybernauts
Cybernauts were a David Bowie cover band, formed as a tribute to Mick Ronson, featuring Def Leppard members Joe Elliott and Phil Collen, former Spiders From Mars members Trevor Bolder and Mick "Woody" Woodmansey , and a keyboards/vocalist, Cybernauts released a limited edition live album in Japan...
was a side project consisting of Joe Elliott
Joe Elliott
Joseph Thomas "Joe" Elliott Jr is an English singer-songwriter, and musician, best known as the lead vocalist and occasional rhythm guitarist of the British rock band Def Leppard. He has also been the lead singer of David Bowie cover band, the Cybernauts and the Mott the Hoople cover band, Down...
and Phil Collen
Phil Collen
Philip Kenneth "Phil" Collen is the co-lead guitarist and one of the backing vocalists for English rock band Def Leppard. He joined the band in 1982 following the departure of Pete Willis.-Early years:...
teamed with members of the Spiders From Mars (David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
's former band), minus the late Mick Ronson
Mick Ronson
Michael "Mick" Ronson was an English guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger and producer. He is best known for his work with David Bowie, as one of The Spiders from Mars...
. The group played several shows, covering Bowie's Ziggy Stardust
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
-era songs and released one internet only album (since deleted).
Phil Collen has a side band called Man-Raze
Man-Raze
Man Raze are a 3-piece alternative rock band from London, England featuring Phil Collen, Simon Laffy and Paul Cook.-History:Phil Collen made fans aware of the band for the first time during a 28 November 2004 interview with Braveworlds & Bloody Knuckles online magazine...
, which released their debut album in June 2008.
Vivian Campbell
Vivian Campbell
Vivian Patrick Campbell is a Northern Irish rock guitarist who is a member of Def Leppard and was, from May 2010 to November 2011, a member of Thin Lizzy. Prior to joining Def Leppard in April 1992, he had been a member of Whitesnake, Sweet Savage, Trinity, Riverdogs, and Shadow King...
has played with two side bands in recent years, Clock
Clock (band)
Clock is a band featuring Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell and P.J. Smith, who sang backing vocals on Def Leppard's cover of the Sweet song "Action" on Def Leppard's Retro Active album....
and the Riverdogs
Riverdogs
- Band members :The band has featured singer Rob Lamothe, several guitarists, bass guitarists and drummers at different times.Past and present Riverdogs musicians include:Guitarists: Vivian Campbell, Nick Brophy...
, and recorded a solo album, Two Sides of If, released in 2005.
Joe Elliott released an album in July 2010 with a band called Down 'n' Outz
Down 'n' Outz
Down 'n' Outz are an English band featuring members from Def Leppard, The Quireboys, and Raw Glory. The group covers bands and artists related to Mott the Hoople including Mott, British Lions, and Ian Hunter. Their debut album, My ReGeneration Vol...
, which includes members of The Quireboys
The Quireboys
The Quireboys are an English hard rock band formed in 1984 in London, England, with strong ties to Newcastle. When the band formed they were originally known as The Queerboys and later as the London Quireboys in the United States....
.
Vivian Campbell toured with Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Two of the founding members, drummer Brian Downey and bass guitarist/vocalist Phil Lynott met while still in school. Lynott assumed the role of frontman and led them throughout their recording career of thirteen studio albums...
in early 2011 before joining Def Leppard on their latest tour.
Discography
- On Through the NightOn through the NightOn Through the Night is the debut album by British rock band Def Leppard, released in 1980. The album charted at #51 on The Billboard 200 and #15 on the UK Albums Chart...
(1980) - High 'n' DryHigh 'n' DryHigh 'n' Dry is the second studio album by British heavy metal band Def Leppard, released on 11 July 1981. Its title song, "High 'n' Dry ", ranked number 33 on VH1's 40 Greatest Metal Songs. High 'n' Dry was Pete Willis' last full time album with Def Leppard...
(1981) - PyromaniaPyromania (album)Pyromania is the third studio album by British rock band Def Leppard, released on 20 January 1983. It featured new guitarist Phil Collen and was produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange. The album charted at #2 on the Billboard 200 and #18 on the UK Albums Chart.The album was partially recorded with...
(1983) - Hysteria (1987)
- AdrenalizeAdrenalize-Deluxe Edition :*Tracks 1-4 are taken from the band's Live: In the Clubs, in Your Face EP, recorded at Bonn, Germany, on 29 May 1992*Tracks 5 & 6 taken from "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad" single....
(1992) - Retro ActiveRetro ActiveRetro Active is an album by British hard rock band Def Leppard, released in 1993. The album features touched-up versions of B-sides and previously unreleased recordings from the band's recording sessions between 1984 and 1993...
(1993) - Vault: Def Leppard's Greatest Hits (1980–1995) (1995)
- SlangSlang (album)- Certifications :-Personnel:* Rick Allen – drums, percussion* Vivian Campbell – electric guitars, acoustic guitars, dulcimer, vocals* Phil Collen – electric guitars, acoustic guitars, mandolin, vocals...
(1996) - Euphoria (1999)
- XX (Def Leppard album)X is the eighth studio album by British rock band Def Leppard, released in 2002 by Island Records. Much like 1996's Slang, it featured another departure from their signature sound by moving into the pop genre. The album charted at #11 on The Billboard 200 and #14 on the UK Albums Chart...
(2002) - Yeah! (2006)
- Songs from the Sparkle LoungeSongs from the Sparkle Lounge-Deluxe Edition Bonus DVD:* "Behind The Curtain"* "The Sparkle Lounge Commentary"* "Nine Lives" Music Video-Chart positions:-Personnel:*Rick Savage – bass guitar, backing vocals, additional guitars*Joe Elliott – vocals...
(2008) - Mirrorball: Live And MoreMirrorball (Def Leppard album)-Disc two:-DVD:Behind The Scenes on the Sparkle Lounge Tour 2008-2009, including live performances of*Rock! Rock! *Armageddon It*Pour Some Sugar on Me*HysteriaMusic Videos*Nine Lives*C'mon C'mon-Sales:...
(2011)
See also
- List of best-selling music artists
- List of best-selling albums worldwide
- List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)
- List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Mainstream Rock chart