Many bands, musicians and artists have had to overcome adversity to get to a point of success. Then there are some that through other factors may have further bouts of adversity even while their careers are booming. Formed in Sheffield, England in the late 70's, Def Leppard would embark on a career that would sell millions upon millions of albums and endear them to a huge legion of fans worldwide. But the band's setbacks and tragedies nearly equaled their mammoth successes in the eyes of many critics and fans. And drummer Rick Allen is the paradigm of the band's rollercoaster ride of triumph and tribulation.
Growing up in Sheffield, Rick's brother used to bring home records for him to listen to. "One of the albums was Deep Purple's "In Rock" and that kind of got me going," Rick recalls. "I'd been trying to (air guitar) the tennis racket for years and he kept taking it away from me so I started air drumming. That was pretty much what got me going - Ian Paice. And it was great because once I got myself into a band, it got me out of the house which was even better." At the age of fifteen, after playing with several other bands in the area, Rick responded to a newspaper ad and joined Pete Willis, Rick Savage, Joe Elliott and Steve "Steamin'" Clark in the band Def Leppard, who had already been performing with a now forgotten drummer. The fivesome garnered attention from the press, as well as AC/DC manager, Peter Mensch, who hooked them up with Mercury Records, releasing the band's debut "On Through The Night" in 1980. The debut did quite well on the UK charts, and Def Leppard began touring with Sammy Hagar and AC/DC.
Shortly thereafter, Peter introduced Def Leppard to Mutt Lange. "He really worked with us to help develop a sound for us that really stuck and people really liked. His thing was to make more of a sound that crossed over into more of a Top 40 or pop market. And I think that the marriage of the two was really good." After the growing success of 1981's "High 'n'Dry" and subsequent tours with Ted Nugent, Judas Priest and others, Def Leppard released "Pyromania" in 1983. With a headlining tour, three hit singles and an eventual ten million copies sold, the album propelled the band to superstardom.
It did not happen without difficulties, as Pete Willis was asked to leave the band during the recording due to problems with alcoholism, subsequently replaced by Phil Collen. Mutt Lange was not able to work on the follow up, and after Meat Loaf producer Jim Steinman didn't work out, the band hired Nigel Green, who had engineered "High 'n' Dry". But on New Years Eve 1984, Rick Allen was involved in a devastating car accident that severed his left arm. The arm was reattached, but had to be amputated when infection set in. "I really didn't want to (drum) after that," Rick remembers. "I just felt really defeated and really down. I felt like a bit of a freak show, didn't even want to think about it. But then Steve and Phil came to visit a week or two after I came around, and they were real positive about it. They said I was, too, even though maybe I was putting on a brave face. Shortly after that, a friend of mine started developing these foot pedals for me, and I forgot about the fact that I didn't want to do it. There was this real positive crowd around me saying, "You can do it", and I guess it kind of rubs off." The specially-designed electronic drumset allowed Rick to climb back in the saddle, performing for the first time at Europe's Monsters Of Rock in summer of 1986. The band finally finished their new album in 1987. Titled "Hysteria", the album sent six singles into the Top 20 and sold over fourteen million copies.
Tragedy struck the band again in 1991, as guitarist Steve Clark lost his long-time battle with alcoholism and died from a mixture of drugs and booze while the band finished their new album, "Adrenalize". But Def Leppard pressed on, hiring ex-Dio and Whitesnake guitarist Vivian Campbell. Rick, who today refers to the loss of his arm as a "bad shaving accident", notes that the friendship aspect of the band has helped them cope with the difficult times. "Not that we've always got on...it's always good to have some lighthearted competition when it's coming up in songs. The bond we have, the fact that we all grew up together, is the most important thing." "Adrenalize" went on to huge success itself, but the same could not be said of its follow up, 1996's "Slang". Exploring different sides of their musical tastes, "Slang" was a very good album that was panned or ignored by a majority of the critics, who seemed to turn on Def Leppard since "Hysteria", claiming it was too pop-sounding. Instead of fading away into obscurity as many other bands have, Def Leppard showed their resilience once again as they entered the studio in 1998 to record a new album. "Everyone around us wanted a classic sounding Def Leppard album again," Rick recalls. "We basically used "Pyromania", "Hysteria", and several elements of other records as a blueprint, and that's how we came up with "Euphoria". And I think it's great. I still think it's great."
"Euphoria" made a rapid rise up the charts after its release, and the band is currently on the road supporting it by performing at state fairs and other venues prior to their Fall European tour. "It's a blast to be out there, and we're really enjoying doing these shows. It's good for us to find out what the whole scene is like at the moment. Then the idea is to come back in the winter and do some indoor shows. It's a little difficult with the radio aspect. Radio is changing to a certain degree, but the first single hasn't really kicked in the way we thought it was going to. We're all hopeful with "Goodbye". That should help everybody's state of mind." The fans still like the music and that has helped to keep the band going through all the years. "I think the fact is it's pure entertainment. It's escapism. We always get serious to a certain degree on every record that we do - with lyrical content, this, that and the other. But for the most part, it's just entertainment and escapism."
