Def leppard

The Early Years (1977-1979)

The popular British hard rock band was formed in 1977 in Sheffield (Yorkshire) by Pete Willis (born February 16, 1960, Sheffield, England; guitar), Rick Savage (born December 2, 1960, Sheffield, England; bass) and Tony Kenning (drums), called " Atomic Mass ." When Joe Elliott (b. August 1, 1959, Sheffield, England; vocals) joined them, the team changed its name to Def Leppard. Elliott was also the author of the band's logo - he remembered his poster, drawn at a school lecture on plastic. The quartet initially took off a tiny closet in the factory for the production of spoons, which served as a place for rehearsals 5 times a week. In early 1978, Willis met another young guitarist, Steve Clark (b. April 23, 1960, Sheffield, England, d. January 8, 1991, London, England), and invited him to join their group. Clark agreed only on condition that they play some “proper” concerts, and in July of that year Def Leppard made their debut at Westfield School in front of an audience of 150 children.

After several sessions, the band decided to part with their drummer, Tony Kenning, replacing him with Frank Nune, who had previously worked with another Sheffield band Next Band . In 1979, Def Leppard recorded their debut EP on Bludgeon Riffola Records, which included Ride Into The Sun, Getcha Rocks Off, and The Overture. Soon after his release, Frank returned to the Next Band and Rick Allen became the permanent Def Leppard drummer (born November 1, 1963, Sheffield, England).

Ascent to Glory (1980-1983)

The debut album Def Leppard On Through the Night , was released March 14, 1980 ^[2] . Although the album made it to the Top 15 in the UK, many early fans lost interest in the group because the group struggled to attract the attention of the American audience (this is especially noticeable with the song “Hello America”), and then there were numerous US tours (with support for Pat Travers, AC / DC, and Ted Nugent ) ^[3] . The performance at the Reading Festival in August was overshadowed when viewers expressed their displeasure by throwing beer at cans and bottles filled with urine ^[4] . Later in a documentary from the Metal Evolution series, Joe Elliot said that the media over-advertised the festival and because of this, all the bands felt the anger and discontent of the crowd that day.

Def Leppard had by then attracted the attention of AC / DC producer Matt Lang , who had suggested working with Def Leppard on their second album, High 'n' Dry , released on July 11, 1981. Lang's meticulous approach in the studio helped them begin to define their sound for years to come. Despite the album’s unimpressive sales, the band’s video on “Bringin 'On The Heartbreak” was one of the first metal band videos to be played on MTV in 1982, which resulted in Def Leppard gaining the public’s favor in the United States. After the release of High 'n' Dry , the band went on a European tour. The group performed at the opening concerts of Ozzy Osbourne and Blackfoot.

Phil Collen Joins Def Leppard

Phil Collen, a former guitarist for the glam metal band Girl, replaced Pete Willis by July 12, 1982, who was fired from the band due to excessive alcohol consumption in the workplace (he later joined the Gogmagog and Roadhouse bands). All these changes occurred during the recording of Def Leppard's third album, “Pyromania,” which was released on January 20, 1983 with the participation of producer Robert John Lang. The first single from the album, “Photograph”, later became the band's calling card, becoming over time the most sought-after video clip on MTV. This was followed by a tour of a group called Photograph in the USA.

The singles Photograph , Rock of Ages and Foolin reinforced the band's popularity; in 1983, six million copies of the Pyromania album were sold. The huge success of Pyromania was the catalyst for the entire glam metal movement of the 1980s. In 2004, Pyromania became a diamond, as it was sold in more than 10 million copies in the United States. Def Leppard's American tour in support of Pyromania began with Billy Squire in March; the tour ended with a grand performance as headliners in front of an audience of 55 thousand people at the Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego in California. A 1984 Gallup survey of the United States showed that residents put Def Leppard on a par with bands like The Rolling Stones, AC / DC, and Journey.

Hysteria (1984-1989)

After their breakthrough, the group moved to Dublin in February 1984, solely to reduce sales tax on Pyromania . Matt Lang initially joined in writing songs for the new album, but then he suddenly refused to work with them as a producer, explaining his departure by saying that he needed a break. Instead, Jim Steinman was invited ^[4] . On December 31, 1984, drummer Rick Allen was in a car accident, as a result of which he lost his left hand. But the group did not abandon their drummer in trouble and did not resume work until Allen came up with a specially designed drum kit that could be played with his feet. During this period, Lang decided to work again with the group. Rick Allen's return to the stage took place at the Monsters of Rock festival in 1986 in England ^[5] .

Hysteria was released on August 3, 1987, after more than three years of work. The first single from the album, “Animal”, was the band’s first song to make it to the Top 10 in the UK. Hysteria immediately topped the UK's best album charts in the first week of release. However, US album sales were relatively slow (compared to Pyromania ) until the release of their fourth single, Pour Some Sugar on Me, and finally reached the top of the Billboard 200 chart in July 1988 ^[6] . The video clip for the song Pour Some Sugar on Me won first place on MTV for a record 73 days (from May 26 to September 5, 1988). “Pour Some Sugar on Me” took second place on VH1's “100 Greatest Songs of the 80s” channel in 2006 ^[7] . 20 million copies of the album were sold worldwide. ^[8]

The group’s success in the UK led to the Brit Awards nomination for the Best British Band. In October 1988, the ballad Love Bites reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart ^[9] .

Adrenalize (1990-1999)

After Hysteria, the band quickly set to work on their fifth album, hoping to avoid another long break. Steve Clark’s alcoholism was compounded to such an extent that he constantly appeared and disappeared from the rehabilitation center ^[10] . Recording sessions for Def Leppard's new album was under constant threat due to Clark's absence. In mid-1990, the group decided to give Steve a six-month vacation from the group. Steve Clark died of a mixture of drugs and alcohol on January 8, 1991 at his home in London ^[10] . This was a big blow for all fans of Def Leppard and its members.

The remaining members of Def Leppard decided to continue work on the album, in the end it was completed by four. Phil Collen played for two, imitating Clark's playing style. Adrenalize's fifth album was released in March 1992. Adrenalize simultaneously became the No. 1 album on the UK and US charts. The first single, Let's Get Rocked , instantly became a hit, then Def Leppard recorded a video clip on it in 1992, which immediately went to the MTV Video Music Awards , where it was nominated for the best video of the year ^[11] .

In April 1992, Def Leppard appeared at a concert in memory of Freddie Mercury at Wembley Stadium , London, performing Animal , Let's Get Rocked and the song Queen Now I'm I'm Here with guitarist Brian May ^[12] . Joe Elliott later performed “ Tie Your Mother Down ” with the rest of Queen and guitarist Slash ^[12] .

In 1992, a world tour followed with former Dio and Whitesnake guitarist Vivian Campbell , who was replaced by Steve Clark. Among the guitarists that were auditioned were Adrian Smith , John Sykes, and Gary Howie. In the 90s, Def Leppard began to be influenced by the emergence of alternative rock, including grunge .

On October 23, 1995, the group entered the Guinness Book of Records, having played three concerts on three continents on the same day (Tangier, Morocco; London, England and Vancouver, Canada) ^[13] .

X , Yeah! and Songs from the Sparkle Lounge (2000-2009)

On September 5, 2000, Def Leppard was introduced to the Rock Walk of Fame on Sunset Boulevard by their friend Queen Brian May ^[14] . In 2001, VH1 introduced the film Hysteria - The Def Leppard Story , a biographical film about the group. The documentary drama tells the story of the group from 1977 to 1986, tells about the trials and triumph of Rick Allen and Steve Clark. The film's broadcasts had some of the highest ratings in the history of the channel, and later the film was released on DVD.

The band’s tenth album was released in July 2002 and was named simply X. It turned out with a strong bias towards pop music. X quickly disappeared from the charts, eventually becoming the group's least successful release. However, the accompanying tour had the largest audience since Adrenalize . The group played 151 concerts, visiting Latvia, Lithuania and Russia for the first time.

On May 23, 2006 Def Leppard released an album of cover versions titled Yeah! .

In May 2008, the album Songs From the Sparkle Lounge was released , which did not reach the first place in the American charts. The audience greeted the album very warmly; it can be called one of the most outstanding works of Def Leppard. The cover is very reminiscent of The Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band .

2010s

In 2010, the Retromania collection was released, which included not only the classic compositions of the group, but also bonuses from different times. On June 7, 2011 Def Leppard released a double live album, Mirrorball: Live & More , which also found a place for three new studio songs. In 2013, the group released a special concert album Viva! Hysteria recording a Las Vegas show where the entire Hysteria album was performed.

In 2015, a new studio album was released, just named Def Leppard .

According to Def Leppard participants, at the initial stage of their careers, their musical style was influenced by such bands as Queen ^[15] , AC / DC ^[15] , Led Zeppelin ^[15] , T. Rex , Electric Light Orchestra , Kiss and Judas Priest .

The music of Def Leppard is a mixture of hard rock, AOR, pop and heavy metal elements with multi-layered, harmonious vocals and melodic guitar riffs. However, even though they were often considered one of the main bands of the new wave of British heavy metal in the late 1970s and mid 1980s, the group was associated with a growing glam metal scene, mainly due to their success in the mainstream and " smooth "production. Def Leppard, however, disliked the definition of “glam metal” as they thought it didn’t exactly describe their views or musical style.

• film Balls of Fury (USA, 2007)

Current squad

• Joe Elliott (Joe Elliott) - vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, additional keyboards (1977 — today)
• Rick Savage (Rick Savage) - bass, backing vocals, additional guitar (1977 — present)
• Rick Allen - drums (1978 — today)
• Phil Collen - guitar (1982 — today)
• Vivian Campbell (Vivian Campbell) - guitar (1992 — today)

Former members

• Pete Willis (Pete Willis) - guitar (1977-1982)
• Tony Kenning (Tony Kenning) - drums (1977-1978)
• Frank Noon - drums (1978)
• Steve Clark (Steve Clark) - guitar (1978-1991; died in 1991)

Timeline

Studio Albums

• 1980 - On Through the Night
• 1981 - High 'n' Dry
• 1983 - Pyromania
• 1987 - Hysteria
• 1992 - Adrenalize
• 1993 - Retro Active
• 1996 - Slang
• 1999 - Euphoria
• 2002 - X
• 2006 - Yeah!
• 2008 - Songs from the Sparkle Lounge
• 2015 - Def Leppard

Mini Albums

• 1979 - The Def Leppard EP
• 1992 - Live: In the Clubs, in Your Face

Live Albums

• 2011 - Mirrorball: Live & More
• 2013 - Viva! Hysteria

Collections

• 1995 - Vault - Greatest Hits 1980-1995
• 2004 - Best of
• 2005 - Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection
• 2018 - The Story So Far - The Best Of Def Leppard

• Official Def Leppard Website
• Def Leppard on MusicMight
• Def Leppard (rus.) On rockfaces.ru
• The Def Leppard World - Discography