In many ways, Def Leppard were the main hard rock band of the 80s. There were bands that went big, but few captured the spirit of the time as well.
Emerging in the late 70s as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, Def Leppard gained recognition outside of the Hammetal scene by softening their heavy riffs and emphasizing their melodies.
After releasing several strong albums, they were poised for worldwide success with 1983's Pyromania and skillfully used the nascent MTV network to their advantage.
They reached the pinnacle of their career with 1987's best-selling "Hysteria" and then scored another big hit, 1992's "Adrenalize", which defied the mainstream turn towards grunge.
After that, the band went on a long tour and released an album every few years, maintaining the interest of a regular audience and sometimes surprising fans with works such as "Yeah!" 2008, in which they returned to the sound of their glory days.
Def Leppard were originally a group of teenagers from Sheffield, which the guys, Rick Savage (bass) and Pete Willis (guitar) organized into a full-fledged band in 1977.
Vocalist Joe Elliott, a fanatical follower of Mott the Hoople and T. Rex, joined the band a few months later, bringing the band's name Deaf Leopard.
After changing the spelling of their name to Def Leppard, the band began playing local Sheffield pubs, and a year later the band added guitarist Steve Clark and a new drummer.
Later, in 1978, they recorded their debut EP Getcha Rocks Off and released it on their own Bludgeon Riffola label. The EP became a word of mouth success, receiving airplay on the BBC.
First success
After the release of Getcha Rocks Off, 15-year-old Rick Allen was added as the band's permanent drummer, and Def Leppard quickly became regulars on British music weeklies.
They soon signed with AC/DC manager Peter Mensch, who helped them secure a contract with Mercury Records.
Through the Night, the band's full-length debut album, was released in 1980 and became an instant hit in the UK, earning significant popularity in the US as well, where it peaked at number 51.
Throughout the year, Def Leppard toured the UK and America relentlessly, performing their own shows as well as opening shows for Ozzy Osbourne, Sammy Hagar and Judah Priest.
High 'n' Dry followed in 1981 and became the band's first platinum album in the US, thanks to MTV's constant rotation of the song "Bringin' on Heartbreak".
"Pyromania"
When the band recorded a follow-up to "High 'n' Dry" with producer Mutt Lange, Pete Willis was fired from the band due to his alcoholism, and Phil Collen, Girl's former guitarist, was hired to replace him.
The resulting 1983 Pyromania album became an unexpected best-seller, thanks not only to Def Leppard's skillful, melodic metal, but also to multiple MTV releases of the "Photograph" and "Rock of Ages" singles.
Pyromania sold ten million copies, establishing Def Leppard as one of the most popular bands in the world.
Despite their success, they nearly entered the most difficult time of their careers.
After an extensive international tour, the band re-entered the studio to record new work, but producer Lange was unable to work with the musicians, so they began recording with Jim Steinman, the man in charge of Bat Out of Hell Meat Loaf.
The collaboration proved fruitless, so the band members turned to their former sound engineer, Nigel Green.
A month after the recording, Allen lost his left arm in a car accident on New Year's Eve. The arm was initially saved, but later had to be amputated as soon as the infection set in.
The dubious future of the team
Def Leppard's future looked bleak without a drummer, but by the spring of 1985 - just months after the accident - Allen began learning to play a custom electronic instrument built for him by Jim Simmons (Kiss).
The band soon resumed recording, and Lange returned to work a few months later. Deeming all existing recordings unsuitable for release, he ordered the band to start over again.
Recording sessions continued throughout 1986, and that summer the band returned to the stage for the Monsters of Rock European tour.
Hysteria
Def Leppard finally completed their fourth album, Hysteria, in early 1987. The record was released in the spring and received many warm reviews.
Many critics argued that the album compromised the band's metal sound for "sweet pop".
The Hysteria album failed to catch on instantly. "Women", the first single, did not become the band's breakthrough hit, but the release of "Animal" helped the album gain momentum. The song became Def Leppard's first Top 40 hit in the UK.
But more importantly, it hit the group's top six hits in the US, which also included "Hysteria", "Pour Some Sugar on Me", "Love Bites", "Armageddon It" and "Rocket".
For two years, Def Leppard's presence on the charts was inevitable - they were the kings of high-end metal.
Teenagers and younger bands copied the musicians, their hair and ripped jeans, even when the hard rock front of Guns N' Roses took over the scene in 1988.
The album "Hysteria" proved to be the peak point of Def Leppard's popularity, but their work began in the early 90s.
Then the group first took a break in creativity, and then again set to work on a new album.
However, during the recording sessions, Steve Clarke died of an alcohol and drug overdose. Clark constantly struggled with alcoholism, and after their heyday with the release of "Hysteria", his bandmates forced the musician to take a sabbatical.
Although he entered rehab, Clarke's habits continued and his abuse was so severe that Collen began recording most of the band's guitar parts himself.
Adrenalize
After Clark's death, Def Leppard decided to end their forthcoming album as a quartet with the release of Adrenalize in the spring of 1992. "Adrenalize" received mixed reviews from listeners, and while the album debuted at number one and contained several successful singles, including Top 20 hits "Let's Get Rocked" and "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad", the record was a commercial disappointment after "Pyromania ” and “Hysteria”.
Following the release, the band added former Whitesnake guitarist Vivian Campbell to their line-up, thus resuming playing with two guitars.
In 1993, Def Leppard released a collection of rare records "Retro Active". Two years later, the band released a greatest hits compilation, Vault, in preparation for their sixth album.
Decline in popularity
Slang saw the world in the spring of 1996, and although it proved to be more adventurous and outlandish than its predecessor, it was received with indifference.
This shows that Def Leppard's heyday was indeed over and they were now just a very popular cult band.
The band began recording again, returning to their patented pop metal sound for "Euphoria".
The album was released in June 1999. Despite the success of "Promises", the record failed to produce any other hits, leading to a return to pop ballads in 2002's "X".
New albums of the 2000s
In 2005, the two-disc Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection appeared, and in 2006, Yeah!, an extensive collection of covers.
In 2008, the musicians released their ninth studio album, Songs from the Sparkle Lounge, which debuted at number five and was supported by a lucrative summer tour.
Material from this tour helped make up the majority of 2011's Mirror Ball: Live & More. This is a three-disc live album containing the full tour performance, three new studio recordings and video footage on DVD.
Two years later, another live album followed: Viva!
In 2014, the band announced the upcoming release of their 11th studio album and the first recording of new music since 2008. The resulting album, Def Leppard, was released on earMUSIC in late 2015.
In February 2017, the band released And And Will Will Of Next Time, also a live recording.
Later that year, a "Super Deluxe Edition of Hysteria" was released to celebrate the album's 30th anniversary. Further re-releases continued in 2018 with The Story So Far: The Best of Def Leppard.
