At 11:50 p.m. on December 31, 1984, Def Leppard's drummer, Rick Allen, was driving with his girlfriend to a New Year's Eve party in his hometown of Sheffield,England. Allen lost control of his Corvette Stingray, flipping over several times before he was thrown from the car, his left arm severed just below the shoulder. Fortunately, his girlfriend was not seriously injured. The 21-year-old drummer was rushed to the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield, where micro-surgeons performed two operations in an attempt to reattach the limb. Initially the operations were considered a success, and Allen was listed in stable condition. However, four days later, the surgeons were giving Allen a routine check-up when they detected a severe infection in the upper part of his arm. Although the doctors said that Allen's hand and forearm were healing well, they feared a spread of the infection, and were left with no alternative but to amputate Allen's arm. Said a spokesman for the group, "We're just glad he's alive." Def Leppard had already laid down the rhythm tracks for their upcoming album, but are unsure of what will happen next.
Allen had been with the band since it's formation, having joined up with Rick Savage and Pete Willis (the first guitarist). At the time the group went by the name Atomic Mass, until a sketch by graphic design student Joe Elliot convinced the band to change its moniker to Def Leppard. Recently, they had been voted the Most Popular Group in America, according to the Gallup Poll. Def Lep's last album, Pyromania, sold well over 7 million copies, with several chart busting cuts - "Rock of Ages", "Foolin'", and Photograph" - scoring heavy radio play for theband.
FACES and DL's millions of fans are pullin' for you, Rick.
