Def Leppard
A Sheffield band that took hard rock into the MTV era with Mutt Lange, survived a drummer's accident and a lost producer, and made two albums that each sold more than ten million copies in the United States.
- Origin
- Sheffield, England
- Years active
- 1976-present
- Genres
- hard rock, glam metal, pop metal, arena rock
- Labels
- Vertigo, Mercury, Bludgeon Riffola
- Also known as
- Atomic Mass
Sheffield
Def Leppard began in 1976 as Atomic Mass, formed by Rick Savage, Tony Kenning and Pete Doubleday, students at Tapton School in Sheffield. Joe Elliott auditioned in November 1977 as a guitarist and was made the singer instead. He proposed the name Deaf Leopard, and at Kenning's suggestion the spelling was changed. Steve Clark joined in January 1978, and in November Rick Allen, then 15, became the drummer. John Peel played "Getcha Rocks Off" from their first EP on BBC Radio 1, and by 1979 the band had signed to Phonogram's Vertigo label.
On Through the Night (1980) reached the UK top 15. High 'n' Dry (1981) was the first record produced by Mutt Lange, and the video for Bringin' On the Heartbreak was among the first metal videos shown on MTV in 1982.
Pyromania
On 11 July 1982, in the middle of recording their third album, the band fired Pete Willis for excessive drinking on the job. Phil Collen, of the band Girl, replaced him the next day. Pyromania came out on 20 January 1983 with Lange producing. Bass and guitars were recorded first to a drum machine click and the drums went on last, so that parts could be rearranged as the songs took shape.
Photograph and Rock of Ages both reached number one on the US rock tracks chart and the top 20 of the Hot 100. The album peaked at number two in the United States and was held from the top only by Michael Jackson's Thriller. Reviewing it in 1983, David Fricke of Rolling Stone wrote that the band "may not be highly original, but they mean what they play." It was certified Diamond in the United States in 2004.
Hysteria
In February 1984 the band moved to Dublin to write the follow-up. Lange stepped back from producing, citing exhaustion, and Jim Steinman took the job. He lasted about eight weeks and nothing from the sessions was released. On 31 December 1984 Rick Allen lost his left arm in a car crash near Sheffield. The band stood by him, and he worked with Simmons to design a custom electronic drum kit. He rejoined the group on stage at the 1986 Monsters of Rock festival in England.
Lange returned in the summer of 1985 and set out to make a hard rock version of Thriller, with every track a potential single. Hysteria appeared on 3 August 1987, after more than three years in the studio and, by Billboard's estimate, about five million dollars. The first US single, Women, peaked at number 80, and sales stalled until Pour Some Sugar on Me took the album to number one on the Billboard 200 in July 1988. Love Bites became the band's only US number one single, and seven singles from the album charted on the Hot 100, among them Animal and Hysteria.
After Hysteria
Steve Clark died on 8 January 1991. The band finished Adrenalize as a four-piece, with Collen playing all the guitar parts, and it entered at number one in both the UK and the United States in 1992. Vivian Campbell joined that year, and the line-up has not changed since. The band played Hysteria from start to finish for the first time at a Las Vegas residency in 2013, and went on to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019, inducted by Queen's Brian May.
Def Leppard have sold more than 100 million records. Pyromania and Hysteria are both Diamond certified in the United States, which makes them one of five rock bands with two original studio albums above ten million copies there. Their 2022 album Diamond Star Halos reached number ten in the United States and number five in the UK.
Members
- Joe Elliott lead vocals (1976-present)
- Rick Savage bass, backing vocals (1976-present)
- Rick Allen drums, percussion, backing vocals (1978-present)
- Phil Collen guitars, backing vocals (1982-present)
- Vivian Campbell guitars, backing vocals (1992-present)
- Pete Willis guitar (1977-1982)
- Steve Clark guitar (1978-1991)
Records
- On Through the Night 1980 · Vertigo
The debut, produced by Tom Allom, with Dave Cousins of the Strawbs speaking the intro to one track.
- High 'n' Dry 1981 · Vertigo
The second album and the first with Mutt Lange, and the last full-time record with Pete Willis.
- Pyromania 1983 · Vertigo (Europe), Mercury (United States)
The third album: Mutt Lange's studio method meets MTV, with Photograph and Rock of Ages leading it to number two in the United States.
- Hysteria 1987 · Mercury
Three years, three producers and about five million dollars: a hard rock answer to Thriller that produced seven Hot 100 singles.
- Adrenalize 1992 · Mercury
The first album without Steve Clark, made by a four-piece with Phil Collen playing every guitar part.
Songs
- Photograph Pyromania · 1983
The lead single from Pyromania, shot as a video by David Mallet, which put the band on MTV and into the American mainstream.
- Rock of Ages Pyromania · 1983
The second Pyromania single, with a nonsense count-in from Lange and a title lifted from a hymn book.
- Pour Some Sugar on Me Hysteria · 1987
The last song written for Hysteria, put together in two weeks, and the one that turned the album around in America.
- Love Bites Hysteria · 1987
Mutt Lange's country ballad, rebuilt with Def Leppard guitars, and the band's only number one single in the United States.
- Hysteria Hysteria · 1987
The title track, a clean-guitar mid-tempo song built from layered parts, and the band's first US top ten single.
- Animal Hysteria · 1987
The song that took three years to finish, and the band's first top ten hit in the UK.
Related artists
AC/DC, Queen, Mott the Hoople, Van Halen, Whitesnake
Where to go next
Official
- Def Leppard The band's own site.
- Pyromania, official album page The band's page for the album, with the lyrics.
Reference
- Def Leppard at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The band's page at the Hall of Fame, which inducted them in 2019.
- Def Leppard A full history of the band, line-ups and side projects.
Writing and criticism
- Def Leppard: Hysteria A long Sunday Review of the album from 2025.
- Pyromania David Fricke's review from 1983.
- Hysteria Rolling Stone's review of the 2006 deluxe reissue.
- Def Leppard, Hysteria (Deluxe Edition) The Guardian's review of the 2006 reissue.
- Pyromania 40th Anniversary Edition review What is in the 2024 box set.
- Hysteria at 25: Classic Track-By-Track Billboard walks through every track of the album.
Interviews
- Hysteria: 10 Things You Didn't Know The making of Hysteria, with quotes from the band.
- The story of Def Leppard's lost Jim Steinman sessions A feature on the producer who was dropped from Hysteria.
- Photograph: The Story Behind The Song Elliott and David Mallet on the song and its video.
Fan sites and communities
- On the recording of the Pyromania album A fan archive's transcript of the band talking about making Pyromania.
Sources
- Def Leppard, Wikipedia
- Def Leppard, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
- Def Leppard: Hysteria, Pitchfork (2025-04-27)
- The story of Def Leppard's lost Jim Steinman sessions, Louder
- Def Leppard, 'Hysteria' at 25: Classic Track-By-Track, Billboard (2012-08-03)
- Def Leppard's Hysteria: 10 Things You Didn't Know, Rolling Stone (2017-08)