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Hard Rock |
In many ways, Def Leppard were the definitive hard rock band of the '80s. There were many bands that rocked harder (and were more
dangerous) than the Sheffield-based quintet, but few others captured the spirit of the times quite as well. Emerging in the late '70s as part of
the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, Def Leppard actually owed more to the glam rock and metal of the early '70s, as their sound was equal
parts T. Rex, Mott the Hoople, Queen, and Led Zeppelin. By toning down their heavy riffs and emphasizing melody, Def Leppard were poised
for crossover success by 1983's Pyromania, an ...read more
In many ways, Def Leppard were the definitive hard rock band of the '80s. There were many bands that rocked harder (and were more
dangerous) than the Sheffield-based quintet, but few others captured the spirit of the times quite as well. Emerging in the late '70s as part of
the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, Def Leppard actually owed more to the glam rock and metal of the early '70s, as their sound was equal
parts T. Rex, Mott the Hoople, Queen, and Led Zeppelin. By toning down their heavy riffs and emphasizing melody, Def Leppard were poised
for crossover success by 1983's Pyromania, and skillfully used the fledgling MTV network to their advantage. The musicians were already
blessed with photogenic good looks, but they also crafted a series of innovative, exciting videos that made them into stars. They intended to
follow Pyromania quickly but were derailed when their drummer lost an arm in a car accident, the first of many problems that plagued the
group's career. They managed to pull through such tragedies, and even expanded their large audience with 1987's blockbuster Hysteria. As
the '90s began, mainstream hard rock shifted away from their signature pop-metal and toward edgier, louder bands, yet they maintained a
sizable audience into the late '90s and were one of only a handful of '80s metal groups to survive the decade more or less intact.
Def Leppard had their origins in a Sheffield-based group that teenagers Rick Savage (bass) and Pete Willis (guitar) formed in 1977. Vocalist
Joe Elliott, a fanatic follower of Mott the Hoople and T. Rex, joined the band several months later, bringing the name Deaf Leopard with him.
After a spelling change, the trio, augmented by a now-forgotten drummer, began playing local Sheffield pubs, and within a year the band had
added guitarist Steve Clark to the lineup, as well as a new drummer. Later in 1978, they recorded their debut EP, Getcha Rocks Off, and
released it on their own label, Bludgeon Riffola. The EP became a word-of-mouth success, earning airplay on the BBC. The group members
were still in their teens.
Following the release of Getcha Rocks Off, Rick Allen was added as the band's permanent drummer, and Def Leppard quickly became the
subject of the British music weeklies. They soon signed with AC/DC's manager, Peter Mensch, who helped them secure a contract with
Mercury Records. On Through the Night, the band's full-length debut, was released in 1980 and instantly became a hit in the U.K., also
earning significant airplay in the U.S., where it reached number 51 on the charts. Over the course of the year, Def Leppard relentlessly
toured Britain and America, playing their own shows while also opening concerts for Ozzy Osbourne, Sammy Hagar, and Judas Priest. High
'n' Dry followed in 1981 and became the group's first platinum album in the U.S., thanks to MTV's strong rotation of "Bringin' on the
Heartbreak." MTV would be vital to the band's success in the '80s.
As the band recorded the follow-up to High 'n' Dry with producer Mutt Lange, Pete Willis was fired from the band for alcoholism, and Phil
Collen, a former guitarist for Girl, was hired to replace him. The resulting album, 1983's Pyromania, became an unexpected blockbuster, due
not only to Def Leppard's skillful, melodic metal, but also to MTV's relentless airing of "Photograph" and "Rock of Ages." Pyromania went on
to sell ten million copies, establishing Def Leppard as one of the most popular bands in the world. Despite their success, they were about to
enter a trying time for their career. Following an extensive international tour, the group reentered the studio to record the follow-up, but
producer Lange was unavailable, so they began sessions with Jim Steinman, the man responsible for Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell. The pairing
turned out to be ill-advised, so the bandmembers turned to their former engineer, Nigel Green. One month into recording, Allen lost his left
arm in a New Year's Eve car accident. The arm was reattached, but it had to be amputated once an infection set in.
Def Leppard's future looked cloudy without a drummer, but by the spring of 1985 -- just a few months after his accident -- Allen began
learning to play a custom-made electronic kit assembled for him by Simmons. The band soon resumed recording, and within a few months
Lange was back on board, having judged all the existing tapes inferior and ordered the band to begin work all over again. Recording sessions
continued throughout 1986, and that summer, the group returned to the stage for the European Monsters of Rock tour. Def Leppard finally
completed their fourth album, now titled Hysteria, early in 1987. The record was released that spring to lukewarm reviews, with many critics
claiming that the album compromised Leppard's metal roots for sweet pop flourishes. Accordingly, Hysteria was slow out of the starting
gates -- "Women," the first single, failed to really take hold -- but the release of "Animal" helped the album gather steam. The song became
Def Leppard's first Top 40 hit in the U.K., but more importantly, it launched a string of six straight Top 20 hits in the U.S., which also
included "Hysteria," "Pour Some Sugar on Me," "Love Bites," "Armageddon It," and "Rocket," the latter of which arrived in 1989, a full two
years after the release of Hysteria. During those two years, Def Leppard's presence was unavoidable -- they were the kings of high-school
metal, ruling the pop charts and MTV, and teenagers and bands alike replicated their teased hair and ripped jeans, even when the grimy hard
rock of Guns N' Roses took hold in 1988.
Hysteria proved to be the peak of Leppard's popularity, yet their follow-up remained eagerly awaited in the early '90s, as the band took a
break from the road and set to work on a new record. During the recording process, however, Steve Clark died from an overdose of alcohol
and drugs. Clark had historically battled with alcohol, and following the Hysteria heyday, his bandmates forced him to take a sabbatical.
Although he did enter rehab, Clark's habits continued, and his abuse was so crippling that Collen began recording the majority of the band's
guitar leads. Following Clark's death, Def Leppard resolved to finish their forthcoming album as a quartet, releasing Adrenalize in the spring
of 1992. Adrenalize was greeted with mixed reviews, and even though the album debuted at number one and contained several successful
singles, including the Top 20 hits "Let's Get Rocked" and "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad," the record was a commercial
disappointment in the wake of Pyromania and Hysteria. After its release, the group added former Whitesnake guitarist Vivian Campbell to
the lineup, thus resuming Def Leppard's two-guitar attack.
In 1993, Def Leppard released the rarities collection Retro Active, which yielded another Top 20 hit with the acoustic ballad "Two Steps
Behind." Two years later, the group released the greatest-hits collection Vault while preparing for its sixth album. Slang arrived in the spring
of 1996, and while it proved more adventurous than its predecessor, it was greeted with indifference, indicating that Leppard's heyday had
indeed passed and they were now simply a very popular cult band. Undaunted, Leppard soldiered on, returning to their patented pop-metal
sound for Euphoria, which was released in June of 1999. Despite the success of "Promises," the record failed to produce any additional hits,
resulting in a return to adult pop balladry on 2002's X. The two-disc Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection arrived in 2005, followed in
2006 by Yeah!, a strong collection of covers. In 2008, the guys released their ninth studio album, Songs from the Sparkle Lounge, which
debuted at number five and was supported by a lucrative summer tour. Material from that tour helped make up the bulk of Mirror Ball: Live &
More, a three-disc live album containing a full concert, three new studio recordings, and DVD footage. « hide |
Similar Bands: Whitesnake, Van Halen, Foreigner, Bon Jovi, AC/DC
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