Def Leppard

DEF LEPPARD
Formed 1977, U.K.

Albums:
1980 On Through The Night
1981 High 'N' Dry
1983 Pyromania
1987 Hysteria
1992 Adrenalize
1993 Retro Active
1995 Vault: Def Leppard's Greatest Hits 1980-1995
1996 Slang
1999 Euphoria
2002 X
2004 Best Of
2005 Rock Of Ages: The Definitive Collection
2006 Yeah!

History:
One of the most successful rock bands ever, Def Leppard has managed to juggle massive commercial success with devastating tragedies. They have always been able to regroup from these setbacks to come back stronger then ever.
Formed in Sheffield, England by Pete Willis (guitar) and Rick Savage (bass), they rounded out the band with Joe Elliot (vocals), Steve Clark (guitar) and Tony Kenning (drums). They would record a demo known as Getcha Rocks Off with Frank Noon on drums, but it wouldn't be long until Rick Allen was named the permanent stickman. High 'N' Dry would make inroads on the American market, but by the time recording started for the next album, Willis' drinking had become too much and he was ousted in favor of Phil Collen. Pyromania would be the album that broke Def Leppard in a huge way, spawning four hit singles on its way to selling a remarkable nine million copies!
The follow-up album would take a long five years to record, due in part to a car accident involving drummer Rick Allen and resulting in the loss of one of his arms. A revolutionary new pedal-operated electronic drum kit was devised and Allen was able to continue recording with the band. Hysteria was slow to catch on with the record buying public, but once it did there was no stopping it. Containing no less than seven charting singles (three in the top five), the album worked its way up to the top place on Billboard's Top 200 while selling over twelve million copies, making it one of the most successful releases in music history.
During the recording for what would become Adrenalize, Steve Clark's battle with alcoholism would finally come to end when he was found dead in his home on January 8, 1991 due to an overdose. The album would be completed with ex-Dio and Riverdogs axe slinger Vivian Campbell, who was announced as the newest member of Def Leppard. The new album failed to sell in the massive quantities of its predecessors and the band found themselves at a crossroads. Slang was an attempt to move in a new direction and away from their New Wave Of British Heavy Metal Roots and received mixed reviews and a dwindling fan base.

Euphoria, and to a lesser extent X, were a return to the sound of their glory days and thrust the band back into the spotlight, but neither album was able to regain the massive popularity the group had in the late 80s. During some down time Campbell released a solo album called Two Sides Of If and Collen recorded with a band called Man-Raze, but by 2006 they had returned with an album of cover songs. Def Leppard continues to record and tour to this very day and retains a hardcore fan base. Something of an English version of Bon Jovi, this band will forever be popular despite changing tastes in the music scene.

Links:
The Official Def Leppard Page