Def Leppard

In the late 1970s following the punk movement a band emerged from Sheffield that went on to be the leading charges of the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) that enjoyed huge success in America and the UK. Def Leppard formed in the 70s but went onto enjoy huge commercial success in the 1980s and beyond and are one of the biggest selling bands of all time with over 100 million albums sold worldwide and are only a few select of bands to sell two studio albums grossing 10 million sales in America alone.

They are that big. The original band formed at a school in Sheffield with Rick Savage, Joe Elliott and Steve Clarke. They released a self titled EP which was extensively played by BBC radio DJ John Peel and the airplay ensured a constant command for there early material.

They were seen as the new front runners of the heavy metal scene which had declined during the prog rock and punk rock era. They soon released there first album 'On Through the night' and although did well in the UK reaching top 15, many were put off as they were possibly being Americanised in there sound.

The band continued the good work and they caught the eye of ACDC producer Mutt Lange who agreed to work on there second album High 'n' Dry which helped defined there sound. Around that time MTV exploded and one of the early videos 'Bringin on the heartache' got extensive airplay and promoted the band and soon that exposure led to supporting Ozzy Osbourne.

The next album Pyromania shot the band into the mainstream where the release of Photograph saw the MTV generation enjoy the band and the album sold over 6 million copies instantly, the video became the most requested on MTV and even beating Michael Jackson effort 'Beat it'.

This success fuelled the whole pop metal scene and the Leppards were the main catalyst for this. Following that success the band moved to Ireland to work on the next album but were beset with problems, Firstly Mutt Lange originally worked on the new album then pulled out due to exhaustion and Drummer Rick Allen lost his arm following a car accident outside his native city A57 where his car left the road and hit a wall.

The band supported Allen during this period and had a custom made drum kit made to continue in his role as Def Leppard drummer. After 3 years of struggles, rewriting material they eventually released Hysteria and the album was again a huge success. It reached number one in the UK and number 2 in the USA and the first single Animal was there first top 10 in the UK peaking at number 6.

This saw a number of songs released as singles from the album including Pour some sugar on me, Rocket, Love Bites and Armageddon it. All top 40 hits in the USA and the native UK. The success led to winning American Music awards for best band and best album and were nominated for BRIT awards but missed out on the big prize.

The 1980s saw the band start from a small room in Sheffield to becoming one of the global names of the 1980s. The 1980s saw the band release 4 studio albums and 20 singles, they enjoyed 5 top 20 single successes and all the albums going top 30 in the UK. A band that still continues today and there music as well as the band looks haven't aged that badly for rockers.