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Def Leppard are an English rock band from Sheffield, who formed in 1977 during the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. Largely on the strength of their albums Pyromania and Hysteria, Def Leppard became one of the top-selling rock bands throughout the 1980s, selling over 65 million albums worldwide, including over 35 million in the United States alone. Rick Savage (bass), Pete Willis (guitar), and Tony Kenning (drums), all students at Tapton School in Sheffield, formed a band called Atomic Mass in 1977. Following a chance meeting with Willis after missing a bus, 18-year old Joe Elliott tried out for the band as a guitarist. During his audition, however, it was decided that he was better suited to be the lead singer. Soon afterward they adopted a name proposed by Elliott, "Deaf Leopard", which was originally a band name he thought up while writing reviews for imaginary rock bands in his English class. At Kenning's suggestion, the spelling was slightly modified in order to make the name seem less like that of a punk band. In January of 1978, Steve Clark joined the band. According to Joe Elliott, he successfully auditioned for the band by playing Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Freebird" in its entirety. In November, just prior to recording sessions for what would be a three-song release known as the Def Leppard EP, Kenning abruptly left the band. He was replaced for those sessions by Frank Noon. By the end of the month Rick Allen, then only 15 years old, had joined the band as its full-time drummer. Sales of the EP soared after the track "Getcha Rocks Off" was given extensive airtime by renowned BBC Radio DJ John Peel, considered at the time to be a champion of punk rock and new wave music. Throughout 1979, the band developed a loyal following among British hard rock/heavy metal fans and were even initially considered the leaders of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (a status eventually claimed by Iron Maiden). Their growing popularity led to a record deal with the major label Phonogram/Vertigo (Mercury Records in the US). Def Leppard's debut album, On Through the Night, was released on March 14, 1980. Although the album hit the Top 15 in the UK, many early fans were turned off by the perception that the band was trying too hard to appeal to American audiences[citation needed] by recording songs like "Hello America" and touring more in the US (supporting Pat Travers, AC/DC, and Ted Nugent). A performance at the Reading Festival in August (Iron Maiden also appeared) was marred when audience members expressed their displeasure by pelting the band with rubbish. The band had by then caught the attention of AC/DC producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange, who agreed to work on their second album, High 'n' Dry, released on July 11, 1981. Lange's meticulous approach in the studio helped them realize their potential. Despite the album's unimpressive sales figures, the "Bringin' On the Heartbreak" promo clip became one of the first metal videos played on MTV in 1982, bringing the band increased visibility in the States. By the time the album was out, a European tour followed. The band opened for Ozzy Osbourne and Blackfoot. Phil Collen, former guitarist with the glam band Girl, replaced Pete Willis, who was fired on July 11, 1982, due to excessive alcohol consumption on the job. (Willis would later resurface with the bands Gogmagog and Roadhouse.) This personnel change took place during the recording of their third album, Pyromania, which was released on January 20, 1983 and also produced by Lange. The lead single, "Photograph," turned Def Leppard into a household name, supplanting Michael Jackson's "Beat It" as the most requested video clip on MTV and becoming a staple of rock radio (dominating the US Album Rock Charts for six weeks). It also hit #12 on the pop charts. Fueled 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 by the RIAA in the US. Def Leppard's US tour in support of Pyromania began by opening for Billy Squier in March and ended with a headlining performance before an audience of 55,000 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, CA in September. As a testament to the band's popularity at the time, a US Gallup poll in 1984 saw Def Leppard voted as favourite rock band over peers such as The Rolling Stones, AC/DC, and Journey. However, this popularity was not matched in their native England, a fact that greatly bothered them. Following their breakthrough, the band moved to Dublin in February 1984 for tax purposes to begin writing the follow-up to Pyromania. Mutt Lange initially joined in on the songwriting sessions but then suddenly declined to return as producer due to exhaustion. Instead, Jim Steinman (of Meat Loaf's Bat out of Hell fame) was brought in. On December 31, 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 to design a custom electronic drum kit. 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 Donington Monsters of Rock festival with an emotionally charged ovation after his introduction by Joe Elliott. Def Leppard's fourth album, Hysteria, was finally released on August 3, 1987. The second single from the album, "Animal," reached #6 in the UK and finally turned the band into stars in their home country. Hysteria immediately topped the charts in its first week of release. US album sales were relatively slow (compared to Pyromania) until the fourth single, "Pour Some Sugar on Me." The song hit Number 2, and Hysteria finally reached the top of the US Album Charts in July 1988. The "Pour Some Sugar on Me" video was #1 on Dial MTV for a record 73 days (from May 26-September 5, 1988). In October, the power ballad "Love Bites" would become Def Leppard's first (and only) Number One single on the Billboard Hot 100, and in January 1989, the band scored another US Top 5 hit with "Armageddon It." 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. Equally as successful was the accompanying Hysteria World Tour, which ran for 15 months and saw Def Leppard perform "In The Round." The concept proved wildly popular with fans, as evidenced in the videos for "Pour Some Sugar on Me" and "Armageddon It" (and was later used again for the Adrenalize tour). In 1989, Def Leppard won Favorite Heavy Metal Artist, as well as Favorite Heavy Metal Album (for "Hysteria") during the American Music Awards. It was the first time that a heavy metal category was added to the awards show. (The category has since been deleted.) By the end of the decade, although Guns N' Roses, Mötley Crüe, and Bon Jovi had garnered more mainstream exposure, D
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