About
Also known as: Def Leopard, Def Lepard, デフ・レパード
Few bands have racked up the kind of commercial muscle Def Leppard built out of Sheffield in the late 1970s and 1980s. They came up through the new wave of British heavy metal, but producer Mutt Lange helped them carve out something slicker and more melodic on High 'n' Dry, and by Pyromania they had a Diamond certified US smash on their hands. Hysteria then took things to another level entirely, topping charts in the UK, US, Canada and Australia, spinning off six Top 20 US singles including the Billboard Hot 100 number one Love Bites, and selling over 15 million copies worldwide. They kept going through real adversity too. Drummer Rick Allen lost his left arm in a 1984 car accident, designed his own custom electronic kit with extra foot pedals, and stayed in the band. After guitarist Steve Clark died in 1991, the remaining four recorded Adrenalize, which hit number one in the UK and US and sold over eight million copies. Vivian Campbell joined for the subsequent tour and has been part of the lineup ever since. With over 100 million records sold worldwide, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019.
