Def Leppard

Def Leppard , the band that helped define 1980s pop-metal, formed 1977, in Sheffield, England.MEMBERSHIP: Joe Elliott, lead voc. (b. England, Aug. 1, 1959); Pete Willis, gtr. (b. England, Feb. 16, I960); Rick Savage, bs. (b. England, Dec. 2, 1960); Rick Allen, drm.(b. England, Nov. 1,1963); Steve Clark, gtr. (b. England, April 23, 1960; d. London, Jan. 8, 1991).

When Def Leppard were coming together in Sheffield in the late 1970s, their sound was inspired by the,”new wave of heavy metal” bands like Saxon, but Def Leppard had more pop sense than most of their brethren. This has made them more than a bunch of working-class kids from a steel town. All were working blue-collar jobs in England when the band formed, except drummer Rick Allen, who was just 15 and still in school—although he even claims to have been a truck driver at one point. All of them were less than 20 years old.

The group started playing gigs at local clubs in 1978, and in 1979, they put out an EP, Getcha Rocks Off, on their own Bludgeon Riffola label. The name of the label was appropriate, as the record was raw, but not thrashy or stark. The disc sold 24,000 copies aided by some BBC airplay. This helped them land a management deal and got them signed to Phonogram. They released On Through the Night in 1980, which had a trucking motif. On the strength of the songs,”Hello America” and,”Wasted,” the group gained quite a bit of notoriety on both sides of the Atlantic, as much for their two- guitar attack as for their youthful exuberance.

It was the next album, 1981 ’s High & Dry, that blew the band wide open, largely on the strength of the hit,”Bringin’ on the Heartbreak,” a tune that added the phrase,”heavy metal ballad” to the lexicon of popular music criticism. Sparked by play on MTV and AOR radio, it was a mega-hit. It grabbed hold instantly with the Bad Company-inspired, double-guitar intro. The guitar work of Steve Clark and Pete Willis was rooted in the standard heavy-metal crunch: riff and speed. But the group vocals were the most distinctive and overlooked aspect of the Def Leppard sound. Essentially, High and Dry presented Def Leppard as a better then average, radio ready, hard-rock band, but while the album hinted at it, they had yet to find that niche that made them stand out from the crowd. The album topped out at #38, but still sold double platinum.

The group’s potential was realized on their next release, 1983’s Pyromania. The album effectively (perhaps in concert with Van Halen) ushered in the revolutionary idea of pop-metal. In large part, this was due to the departure of one of the group’s founders, guitarist Pete Willis, who was fired because of his drinking problem. He was replaced by Phil Collen (b. Dec. 8, 1957), formerly of Girl, a band with a decidedly glam image. There was musical chemistry between Collen and Clark right from the start, borne out by Pyromania.,”Rock of Ages” reached #16 pop,,”Photograph” catapulted to #12, and the power ballad,”Foolin’,” one of their songs to feature an acoustic guitar, got up to #28, an unprecedented third hit single from a hard-rock album. Def Leppard was finding their sound, and it was a sound that people liked. The only thing that kept Pyromania from the top of the charts was the pop juggernaut of Michael Jackson’s Thriller. The album eventually went nine times platinum.

Between the overwhelming success of Pyromania and 1987’s Hysteria, Def Leppard went through the trials of Job. Mutt Lange, the producer who guided them to success, had other commitments, so they enlisted two other producers, but neither worked out. By the time they had scrapped the two aborted versions of Hysteria, Lange was available, but then suffered a car accident that nearly cost him the use of his legs. When he finally got back on his feet and the band was about to go into the studio, Joe Elliot came down with the mumps. The most devastating blow came on New Year’s Eve 1985, when drummer Rick Allen’s Corvette went off the road. It could have cost him his life, but he deems himself lucky to have only lost his arm. Through ingenuity, dedication, and hard work, Allen and his drum technician developed a set that allowed him to have his left leg do the work his left arm used to do.

But the result of all these trials was an album that went 12 times platinum (and counting), spinning off six separate Top 40 singles. The Def Leppard on Hysteria is a band that has found its expression. Joe Elliot sounded more comfortable using the lower end of his voice. The overall sound became slicker. With the pop success of Pyromania, Def Leppard could get beyond the cliches of being a metal band without the fear of losing their audience. The album’s hits showcased the band’s many different sides.,”Animal/’ which peaked at #19, wouldn’t have sounded out of place on a Cars album.,”Pour Some Sugar on Me,” which spent a couple of weeks at #2, effectively revived the glam-rock sound. The power ballad,”Love Bites,” the band’s first charttopping single, established a more vulnerable feel.,”Armageddon It,” which rose to #3, displayed their sense of humor.,”Rocket,” which hit #12 fully two years after the album came out, kicked off with the beat that made Gary Glitter famous.

Again, tragedy struck between Hysteria and their next album. Steve Clark, whose drinking had only been slightly less troublesome than Willis’s, died when he mixed pain medicine he was taking for cracked ribs with his libations. The band vowed to continue on without him, and recorded Adrenalize as a quartet. The 1992 record produced such anthemic tunes as the #15,”Let’s Get Rocked,” the #36,”Make Love Like a Man,” the #12,”Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad,” and,”Stand Up (Kick Love in Motion).” Despite spending five weeks atop the album charts and selling triple platinum, the album was regarded as a commercial and critical disappointment.

Before hitting the road for Adrenalize, the band added veteran metal guitarist Vivian Campbell (b. Belfast, N. Ireland, Aug. 25, 1962) to their lineup. Beyond touring extensively over the next couple of years, they recorded the #12 single,”Two Steps Behind” for the movie The Last Action Hero. That tune found its way onto Retro Active, a collection of non- album B-sides, other rarities, and the new single,”Miss You in a Heartbeat,” which peaked at #39. In 1995, they put out their greatest hits record, Vault, which they saw as closing an old chapter and starting a new one. The record peaked at #15 and sold double platinum.

The new chapter started with Slang in 1996. The album was more raw, practically devoid of the vocal harmonies that characterized the band’s previous al-bums. They used Indian instruments, funk, and even industrial sounds, trying to move with the times. Allen brought back his acoustic drum kit. The album met with great indifference, hitting #15 but only going gold. They remained popular live, however, and in 1999 released Euphoria, an album that harked back to their earlier records, reuniting them with producer Mutt Lange. It entered the charts at a peak of #11 and went gold almost immediately.

Discography

Getcha Rocks Off (1979); On Through the Night (1980); High V Dry (1981); Pyromania (1983); First Strike Flash (1985); Hysteria (1987); Adrenalize (1992); Retro Active (1993); Mega Edition (1994); Slang (1996); Euphoria (1999).

—Hank Bordowitz