This Weeks band I have chosen is..................





DEF LEPPARD!!!!!!








Def Leppard is a British hard rock/metal band which was first in 1977, when lead singer Joe Elliot missed a bus from his low paying job. He was walking home and met with guitarist Pete Willis, Pete talked about how he a started a band called Atomic Mass. Joe played guitar and wanted to try out for the band, Pete and eventually the rest of Atomic Mass which consisted of Rick Savage on bass, and Tony Kenning on drums, all met at Joe's house. He demonstrated his abilities on guitar while singing Purple Haze, the rest of the group decided to add him in as a lead singer instead. In the course of the tryout Joe made a suggestion of a different name, Deaf Leopard was his suggestion but was soonly changed to Def Leppard in similarity to Led Zeppilin.

In 1978 after the band had only played one gig at a local high school, they adopted another guitar player by the name of Steve Clark. Just a few months later they recorded their first EP and right after the recording Tony Kennings left the badn due to personal reasons and was replaced with young 15 year old drummer Rick Allen.

Throughout 1979, the band developed a loyal following among British hard rock fans and were even initially considered the leaders of the new wave of British heavy metal which was eventually claimed by Iron Maiden. Their growing popularity led to a record deal with the major label Phonogram/Vertigo (Mercury Records in the US).

In 1980 they released their debut album "On Through the Night" the album didn't do very well alot of comments stated that the band was trying to hard to please American listeners with singles like "Hello America". Then in 1981 after recruting famous producer Mutt lange (Who produced with bands like AC/DC, Foreingner, and The Boomtown Rats). He helped them achive their potential and release their second album "High 'N' Dry" even though the album had unimpressvie sales, the video following the song "Bringin' On the Haartbreak" brought the band alot of visibility in the United States, that by the time the album released in America the the tour was scheduled for the band to open up for Ozzy Osbounre.

Phil Collen a guitarist looking for a job replaced Pete in 1981 when he was fired due to excessive alchohol abuse. Phil helped record the third album "Pyromania" whichs lead single "Photograph" turned Def Leppard overnight into a household name, supplanting Micheal Jacksons Beat It as most requested video.

Fuelled by "Photograph" and subsequent singles "Rock of Ages" and "Foolin" Pyromania went on to sell six million copies in 1983 (more than 100,000 copies every week in that year) and was held off the top of the US album charts only by Michael Jackson's "Thriller" The album has since been certified Diamond.

In 31 December 1984, drummer Rick Allen lost his left arm in a car crash on the A57 in the hills outside Sheffield when his speeding corvette swerved off the road on a sharp bend and went through a drystone 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 drumming work previously done with his arms. He then worked with Simmons company to design a custom electric drum set. The other members of the band supported Allen's recovery and never sought a replacement. During this period, Mutt Lange eventually returned to the fold as producer, and Allen's triumphant comeback was sealed at the 1986 Donnington Monsters of Rock festival with an emotionally charged ovation after his introduction by Joe Elliott.

After many delays the fourth album "Hysteria" was released, Hysteria immediately topped the charts in its first week of release. Hysteria is one of only a handful of albums (and the third in rock history) that has charted seven singles or more on the US Hot 100: "Women" (#80), "Animal" (#19), "Hysteria" (#10), "Pour Some Sugar on Me" (#2), "Love Bites" (#1), "Armageddon It" (#3), and "Rocket" (#12). It remained on the charts for three years and has sold 18 million copies worldwide.

Following Hysteria, the band quickly set out to work on their fifth album, hoping to avoid another lengthy gap. However, Steve Clark's alcholism worsened to the point that he was constantly in and out of rehab. Recording sessions suffered from this distraction, and in mid-1990, Steve was granted a six-month leave of absence from the band. Clark never reached the end of his leave, dying from an accidental mix of prescription drugs and alcohol on 8 January 1991 in his London home. The remaining band members decided to carry on and recorded the album as a four-piece, with Collen mimicking Clark's style on his intended guitar parts.

The fifth album "Adrenalize" was fianlly released in 1992, the album simultaneously hit number 1 on both US and UK charts and staying there for 5 more weeks. The album gave great hits such as "lets Get Rocked" and "Have you ever needed someone so bad".

Lately Def Leppard been doing really good rwith releasing 6 more albums up to this date and still bring good old fashioned Brititsh Heavy Metal. This band and Bryan Admas are the first two artists I remember hearing as a young child.

 

Top 5 Def Leppard Songs

5. Have you ever Needed Someone So Bad

4. Love Bites

3. High 'N' Dry (Saturday Night)

2. Armageddon IT

1. When Love and Hate Collide