Image:Defleppardlogo.jpg
'''Def Leppard''' are a British rock band from Sheffield, England, that emerged in the late 1970s as part of the New_Wave_of_British_Heavy_Metal.
==Music==
The music of Def Leppard is a mixture of Hard_rock, Glam_rock, AOR, and heavy metal elements. The band has occasionally been associated with the Hair_metal movement of the 1980s, although its sound is more accurately associated with the contemporary NWOBHM genre of the late 1970s. It is understood that the band consider themselves a hard rock band rather than a metal band, though many people would argue that the terms "rock" and "metal" are rather ambiguous in the first place.
The band's songs generally feature simple guitar hooks and catchy, melodic choruses. The Def Leppard sound is also characterized by its combination of pop rock and polished melodic backing vocals. This approach is very much evident on their first international single, ''Hello America,'' which blended the backing vocal style of Queen, with the guitar crunch of Thin_Lizzy.
On the 1981 ''High_'N'_Dry'' release, Def Leppard had incorporated elements of AC/DC's 1980 ''Back_in_Black'' album. This is particularly evident on tracks such as ''High 'N' Dry'', and ''Let it Go''. Since Def Leppard were already fans of AC/DC, it follows that they wanted Mutt Lange to produce their second album.
By the release of the ''Hysteria'' record, it was apparent that the band had developed a distinctive, futuristic sound featuring heavily processed drums and effects-laden "space-aged" guitar sounds, overlaid with a layered wall of husky, harmonized vocals. Def Leppard are considered a classic example of the rock sound of the 1980s, perhaps even to the point of Cliché.
==History==
Rick_Savage (bass), Pete_Willis (guitars) and Tony_Kenning (drums) formed the band in 1977 in Sheffield (see 1977_in_music). Originally they were known as '''"Atomic Mass"''', when Joe_Elliott had auditioned as their guitarist. However, during his audition everyone realized he was a far better singer than guitarist, so he joined as a vocalist instead. Afterwards they adopted the name '''"Deaf Leopard"''' (which Elliott had thought of in school). The band changed "Deaf Leopard" to "Def Leppard" because they thought "Deaf Leopard" might lead people to believe they were a punk band. They began playing locally and soon added second guitarist Steve_Clark. Steve got the guitarist spot Joe Elliot had auditioned for. Tony Kenning was fired from the band and replaced by Frank_Noon for the Def Leppard EP, ''Getcha' Rocks Off'', the band's first commercially released recording. The band's subsequent rise to prominence may be attributed partly to the extensive airtime the EP received from DJ John_Peel - perhaps surprisingly given that Peel was at that time considered to be a champion of Punk_rock and New_wave_music. Rick Allen joined the band full-time in late November 1978, replacing Frank Noon when they signed to Mercury_Records.
=== 1980 - 1983 ===
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Their debut album was ''On_through_the_Night''. Released on March 14, 1980. (1980_in_music), produced by Tom Allom. Despite its relative failure, the band had caught the attention of AC/DC producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange. Mutt agreed to work on their next record, ''High_'N'_Dry'' (1981_in_music), adapting the sound to better suit the US market. From this album, which was released on July 11, 1981 the "Bringin' on the Heartbreak" video was one of the first "metal" videos played on MTV video. Phil_Collen, former guitarist from the bands Lucy, Tush, Dumb_Blondes, and Girl, replaced Pete_Willis who was fired on July 11, 1982 due to excessive Alcohol consumption during recording sessions. Pete Willis later recorded with the bands Gogmagog and Roadhouse. This personnel change took place during the recording of their next release, ''Pyromania'' (Released on January 20, 1983), which was also produced by Lange. Aided by the singles "Photograph", "Rock of Ages", and "Foolin'", Pyromania sold six million copies in 1983 & 84 and was second on the charts only to Michael Jackson's ''Thriller''. The record has since been certified Diamond by the RIAA in the US.
=== 1984 - 1989 ===
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After tasting success, the band set to work on their next record. Mutt Lange joined in songwriting sessions, but, exhausted from having worked on The Cars' ''Heartbeat_City'' record, declined to produce. The band instead brought in high profile engineer Mike Shipley, who had mixed their work previously, to produce for them.
On December_31, 1984, Rick Allen lost his left arm in a car crash on the A57 outside Sheffield when his Corvette veered off the road into a concrete wall. Despite the severity of the accident, Rick was committed to continuing his role as Def Leppard's drummer. He practiced drumming with pillows, and realized that he could use his legs to do some of the percussive work previously done with his arms. He then worked with Simmons to design a custom electronic Drum_kit. This time, the band stuck around, with Mutt returning to complete work on the album. Rick's triumphant live return was sealed at the 1986 Monsters_of_Rock festival at Donington.
Leppard's next album, ''Hysteria'', was released on August 3, 1987. The first released single, "Women," was not very successful. The first UK single from the album was "Animal," reaching #6 on the charts and finally breaking the band back home. In the UK, "Animal" was the first of the band's singles to feature a personalized catalogue number - LEP1. This was also the first single issued on the band's own ''Bludgeon Riffola'' label, the name being a sly dig at an early review.
Album sales were slow until a remixed version of the fourth single, "Pour Some Sugar On Me", became a hit. The album included a total of six Top 20 singles. Also, the video for Pour some Sugar On Me was a #1 on MTV's request line countdown show " Dial-MTV" for a (Forever To be the) record 68 days! The seventh and last single to be released from this album was "Rocket" in January 1989. The single featured an extended "Lunar Mix" of the song as well as a "Lunar Mix Edit" as the radio-length version.
Hysteria is one of few albums in history to have 7 hit singles from it. It is still one of two hard rock albums with that many(the other being Bruce Springsteens Born In The U.S.A.). They were Women (#80), Animal (#19), Hysteria (#10), Pour Some Sugar On Me (#2), Love Bites (#1), Armageddon It (#3) & Rocket (#12).
=== 1990 - 1999 ===
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After ''Hysteria'' 's release and subsequent touring, the band set to work on their fifth album. However, cracks appeared straightaway in guitarist Steve_Clark's problems with alcoholism. This culminated in his death from a drug and alcohol overdose on January_8, 1991. The album ''Adrenalize'' was finally released in 1992, the only album recorded by Leppard as a four-piece (Elliott, Collen, Savage, and Allen), with Collen having played all of Steve's guitar parts. The album entered the US charts at number 1. It remained there for five weeks, selling six million copies, and the first single, ''Let's Get Rocked,'' was on MTV's video countdown for a long time. It was also nominated for Best Video of the Year at the 1992 ninth MTV_Video_Music_Awards. However, it did not have the longevity of their previous albums, and in retrospect many fans consider it one of their weakest albums. Mutt Lange, who had co-written all but one of the tracks, was awarded an executive producer credit.
In 1992, guitarist Vivian_Campbell joined Def Leppard. Vivian Campbell had previously been in Sweet Savage, Dio, Whitesnake, Trinity, Riverdogs, and Shadow King.
Shortly afterwards, Campbell made his live debut with his new band at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, held at Wembley Stadium. Def Leppard performed three songs: "Animal", "Let's Get Rocked" and Queen's "Now I'm Here" (with Brian May). In the second half of the concert, Joe Elliott sang another Queen song, "Tie Your Mother Down", with the remaining Queen members and Guns N' Roses' guitarist Slash.
''Retro_Active'' was released in 1993 and is a collection of songs which, although not new, were either rare or never previously released. Some of this album's songs were written as B-sides for ''Hysteria'' singles. ''Retroactive'' was followed by the release of ''Vault:_Def_Leppard's_Greatest_Hits_(1980-1995)'' 1995, Def Leppard's Greatest Hits, which has sold over 7 million copies. Vault featured a ballad, ''When Love & Hate Collide'', which would go on to become the band's biggest ever UK hit, spending two weeks at #2.
The next Leppard album, the first on which Campbell would actively collaborate in the songwriting, was ''Slang,'' released in 1996. ''Slang'' was a drastic departure from Def Leppard's usual hard-rocking, guitar-heavy sound and had an altogether darker and grungier feel. While it was not well-received by many fans, Q magazine would feature it on their list of ten best albums from the year.
Next came the album ''Euphoria'' in 1999, which returned somewhat to the classic Def Leppard sound, with the hit "''Promises''" for which ex-producer Mutt Lange assisted in the songwriting. Pete Woodroffe had by now taken on co-production duties. The album displayed a profound level of maturity in songwriting, something rarely seen in hard rock or heavy metal music. It featured impeccable production values reminicent of the '''Hysteria''' album. It was rumoured that the album had been produced in an almost Clean_room environment. One track featured guest guitar work from Formula_1 World Champion Damon_Hill, a fan of the group. Some critics claimed that the album had been slightly over-produced but nonetheless, few argued with the skill and craftsmanship of the Songwriting.
=== 2000 - 2005 ===
In 2001 VH1 produced Hysteria:The Def Leppard Story, a biopic starring Orlando Seale as Joe Elliott, Tat Whalley as Rick Allen, Anthony Michael Hall as Mutt Lange and Karl Geary as Steve Clark. The movie covers the band's history from formation, through the tragedies of Rick Allen's accident and Steve Clark's battles with alcoholism and drug abuse to Rick's triumphant return to the stage as a drummer. The movie was released on DVD in January of 2005.
''X'', Def Leppard's tenth album, was released in 2002. The band has stated that they are very satisfied with this album, and that in many ways they wish it had been the follow-up to Hysteria.
A best of CD was released in October 2004. The disc, entitled ''The Best Of Def Leppard'' was also available in a limited edition 2CD format. The first disc was basically a reconfigured Vault, while the second disc held more obscure tracks mostly selected after polling fans on which tracks they would like to have on the second disc. A Leppardized cover of The Kinks' ''Waterloo Sunset'' is also featured.
Due to the fact that The Best Of wasn't released in North America, a slightly reconfigured double CD North American best of, entitled ''Rock Of Ages: The Definitive Def Leppard'' was released 17_May 2005. This set featured ''No Matter What,'' a cover of the 1970's Badfinger tune. Vault has accordingly been deleted.
It is reported that the songs ''Waterloo Sunset'' and ''No Matter What'' will be included on a covers album called ''Yeah!'', set for a March 2006 release.
2005 also saw the band play at the Live_8 show in Philadelphia.
Def Leppard is presently on tour through December with Bryan Adams in the US. They also have recently changed management, and it appears from bookings the band is getting that this was a very good move.
The "Rock of Ages" CD set has recently been certified Platinum. Joe Elliot announced this at a show in San Diego, CA.
===Side projects===
Phil Collen played guitar, uncredited, on Sam_Kinison's ''Wild Thing'' from 1988, the video for which featured members of Poison, Bon_Jovi, Mötley_Crüe, Guns_N'_Roses and Aerosmith (revealed by bassist Rudy Sarzo).
Collen produced and played on the 1991 album ''On The Edge'' from Australian band BB Steal.
Various members of Leppard have played on tribute records for Jeff Beck, AC/DC and Alice Cooper.
Joe Elliott contributed two tracks to the soundtrack of the 1996 motion picture, ''When Saturday Comes.''
Collen and Elliott were both involved in the side project Cybernauts and released one Japan-only live album, which was subsequently released over the internet with additional studio material. Both albums were limited edition and have since been deleted.
Phil Collen has a side band called Man-Raze, which released its single on October 31, 2005.
Vivian_Campbell has two side bands, Clock and the Riverdogs, and has recorded a solo album, ''Two Sides of If''. Def Leppard was a guest DJ at WXRK K-Rock in New York during the Fourth of July Monster Metal Meltdown in 2005.
=== current members ===
*Joe_Elliott - vocals (1978-present)
*Phil_Collen - guitar (1982-present)
*Vivian_Campbell - guitar (1992-present)
*Rick_Savage - bass (1977-present)
*Rick Allen - drums and percussion (1978-present)
== Discography ==
=== Studio albums ===
*''On_through_the_Night'' (1980) #15 UK, #51 US '''Worldwide sales: 3M'''
*''High_'N'_Dry'' (1981) #26 UK, #38 US '''Worldwide sales: 5M'''
*''Pyromania'' (1983) #18 UK, #2 US '''Worldwide sales: 15M'''
*''Hysteria'' (1987) #1 UK, #1 US '''Worldwide sales: 19M'''
*''Adrenalize'' (1992) #1 UK, #1 US '''Worldwide sales: 13M'''
*''Retro_Active''(1993)#6 UK, #9 US ''' Worldwide Sales: 5M'''
*''Slang'' (1996) #9 UK, #14 US '''Worldwide sales: 3M'''
*''Euphoria'' (1999)#9 UK, #11 US '''Worldwide sales: 3M'''
*''X'' (2002) #14 UK, #11 US '''Worldwide sales: 2M'''
*''Yeah!'' (to be released March 2006) (album of song covers)
*'''Total Album Sales: 96M''' (2M more from various Best Of)
=== Compilations ===
*''Retro_Active'' (1993) #60 UK, #90 US
*''Vault:_Def_Leppard's_Greatest_Hits_(1980-1995)'' (1995) #30 UK, #150 US
*''The Best of Def Leppard'' (2004)
*''Rock_of_Ages:_The_Definitive_Collection'' (2005) #100 US
113m
=== Videos ===
* ''Historia''
* ''In Your Face, In The Round''
* ''Visualise''
* ''Video Archive''
* ''Historia'' / ''In Your Face, In The Round'' (DVD)
* ''Visualise'' / ''Video Archive'' (DVD)
== Hit singles ==
=== from ''On through the Night'' ===
* 1980 "Hello America" #45 UK
=== from ''High 'N' Dry'' ===
* 1981 "Bringin' On The Heartbreak" #3UK #2US
=== from ''Pyromania'' ===
* 1983 "Foolin'" #28 US
* 1983 "Photograph" #12 US
* 1983 "Rock of Ages" #16 US
=== from ''Hysteria'' ===
* 1987 "Women" #80 US
* 1987 "Animal" #6 UK, #19 US
* 1987 "Pour Some Sugar on Me" #18 UK, #2 US
* 1987 "Hysteria" #26 UK, #10 US
* 1988 "Armageddon It" #20 UK, #3 US
* 1988 "Love Bites" #11 UK, #1 US
* 1989 "Rocket" #15 UK, #12 US
=== from ''Adrenalize'' ===
* 1992 "Let's Get Rocked" #2 UK, #15 US
* 1992 "Make Love Like a Man" #12 UK, #36 US
* 1992 "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad" #16 UK, #12 US
* 1992 "Stand Up (Kick Love into Motion)" #34 US
* 1993 "Heaven Is" #13 UK
* 1993 "Tonight" #34 UK
=== from ''Retro Active'' ===
* 1993 "Two Steps Behind" #32 UK, #12 US
* 1993 "Miss You in a Heartbeat" #39 US
* 1994 "Action" #14 UK
=== from ''Vault: Def Leppard's Greatest Hits 1980-1995'' ===
* 1995 "When Love and Hate Collide" #2 UK
=== from ''Slang'' ===
* 1996 "Slang" #17 UK
* 1996 "Work It Out" #22 UK
* 1996 "All I Want Is Everything" #38 UK
* 1996 "Breathe A Sigh"
=== from ''Euphoria'' ===
* 1999 "Promises" #38 US
=== from ''X'' ===
* 2002 "Now" #23 UK
* 2003 "Long Long Way to Go" #40 UK
=== from ''Rock Of Ages: The Definitive Collection'' ===
* 2005 "No Matter What" US
==See also==
*List_of_best-selling_music_artists
*Terror_Twins - Steve Clark and Phil Collen together
==Influences==
*Queen
*Thin_Lizzy
*Sweet
*T. Rex
*Led_Zeppelin
*AC/DC
*Mott_The_Hoople
*Judas_Priest
*UFO
== External links ==
*Def Leppard's official site
*Frequency (fan site)
*Def Leppard Lyrics
*Def leppard Satellite of Love
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