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Def Leppard are an English rock band formed under the name Atomic Mass in 1977 in Sheffield as part of the new wave of British heavy metal. At the time of the band changing their name to Def Leppard, they consisted of bassist Rick Savage, lead singer Joe Elliott, guitarist Pete Willis and drummer Tony Kenning. The band currently consists of Savage and Elliott alongside drummer Rick Allen (since 1978) and guitarists Phil Collen (since 1982) and Vivian Campbell (since 1992).
Def Leppard evolved from Atomic Mass after vocalist Joe Elliott joined Atomic Mass in November 1977. The lineup of Elliott, drummer Tony Kenning, bassist Rick Savage, and guitarist Pete Willis was completed by the addition of guitarist Steve Clark in January 1978.[1] The band played their first show on 18 July of that year, before recording their first EP in the fall with session drummer Frank Noon after Kenning's departure.
With the drummer position open, Rick Allen joined the band. Def Leppard recorded On Through the Night and High 'n' Dry as the five-piece of Savage, Willis, Elliott, Clark, and Allen before Pete Willis was fired in July 1982. Phil Collen of Girl replaced Willis, and the band went on to the most commercially successful period of their career, the releases of Pyromania and Hysteria.
31 December 1984, Rick Allen was involved in a car crash which involved the loss of his arm. Despite his injury, he continued to drum with the band, playing his first post accident show in Cork on 5 August 1986 with Status Quo drummer Jeff Rich providing backup.[2]
On 8 January 1991, during a leave of absence from the band, guitarist Steve Clark was found dead in his home. Savage, Elliott, Allen, and Collen recorded their next album Adrenalize as a four-piece before Vivian Campbell joined as a second guitarist. The lineup of Def Leppard has not changed since Campbell joined the band on 15 April 1992, and is thus the longest standing lineup of the band since it began. The current lineup has released four compilations, three live albums, and seven studio albums, most recently Diamond Star Halos on 27 May 2022.
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rick Savage | 1977–present |
|
all Def Leppard releases | |
| Joe Elliott |
| |||
| Rick Allen | 1978–present |
|
all Def Leppard releases from On Through the Night (1980) to present | |
| Phil Collen | 1982–present |
|
all Def Leppard releases from Pyromania (1983) to present | |
| Vivian Campbell | 1992–present | all Def Leppard releases from Retro Active (1993) to present | ||
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Kenning | 1977–1978 |
|
none | |
| Pete Willis | 1977–1982 |
|
all Def Leppard releases from The Def Leppard E.P. (1979) to Pyromania (1983) | |
| Steve Clark | 1978–1991 (his death) |
| ||
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeff Rich | August 1986 |
|
Played alongside Rick Allen for the first live shows back since the 1984 accident that resulted in the loss of Allen's left arm. | |
| Sinéad Madden | 2012 | fiddle[3] | ||
| Steve Brown |
|
|
Trixter guitarist Steve Brown stepped in for Vivian Campell in 2014 and 2015 while Campbell underwent treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma.[4][5] Brown also filled in for Phil Collen in May 2018 due to the birth of Collen's child.[6] | |
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frank Noon | 31 October 1978 | drums | The Def Leppard E.P. (1979) | |
| Chris Hughes | December 1979 | synthesizers | "Hello America" from On Through the Night[7] (1980) | |
| Robert John "Mutt" Lange |
|
|
||
| John Kongos | 1982 | keyboards | Pyromania[11] (1983) | |
| Thomas Dolby, credited as Booker T. Boffin | ||||
| Melvin Mortimer, credited as Stumps Maximus | 1987 | lead vocals | "Release Me" B-side from Hysteria singles (2009) | |
| Pete Woodroffe | 1991–1996 |
|
||
| John Sykes | 1991 | backing vocals | Adrenalize[8] (1992) | |
| Phil "Crash" Nicholas | keyboards | "Stand Up (Kick Love into Motion)" from Adrenalize[8] (1992) | ||
| P.J. Smith | April 1992 | backing vocals | "Action" from Retro Active[9] (1993) | |
| Michael Kamen (died 2003) | April 1993 | string arrangement | "Two Steps Behind" from Retro Active[9] (1993) | |
| Ian Hunter | 1993 |
|
| |
| Fiachna Ó Braonáin | March 1992 | tin whistle |
| |
| Liam Ó Maonlaí | grand piano | |||
| Peter O'Toole | mandolin | |||
| Stevie Vann |
|
|
| |
| Craig Pruess | 1996 | string and percussion arrangement | "Turn to Dust" from Slang[12] (1996) | |
| Gavyn Wright | string leader | |||
| Av Singh | dohl | |||
| Ram Naravan | Sarangi | intro for "Turn to Dust" from Slang[12] (1996) | ||
| Shyam Vatish | outro for "Turn to Dust" from Slang[12] (1996) | |||
| Damon "Demon" Hill | 1998–1999 | guitar | end solo on "Demolition Man" from Euphoria[10] (1999) | |
| Stan Schiller | 2002 | shredding tele licks on "Gravity" from X[15] (2002) | ||
| Eric Carter |
|
| ||
| John "Bro" Campbell | 2003–2005 | saxophone |
| |
| Justin Hawkins | backing vocals | "Hell Raiser" from Yeah![13] (2006) | ||
| Anita Thomas-Collen | "The Golden Age of Rock 'n' Roll" from Yeah![13] (2006) | |||
| Kristine Elliott | ||||
| Ronan McHugh | mellotron | "Drive-In Saturday" and "Little Bit of Love" from Yeah![13] (2006) | ||
| Emm Gryner |
|
"The Golden Age of Rock 'n' Roll" from Yeah![13] (2006) | ||
| Marc Danzeisen |
|
"American Girl" from Yeah![13] (2006) | ||
| Tim McGraw | 2008 | lead vocals | "Nine Lives" from Songs from the Sparkle Lounge (2008) | |
| Dick Decent | 2011 |
|
"Kings of the World" from Mirror Ball – Live & More [16] (2011) | |
| Ronan McHugh |
|
|
| |
| Debbi Blackwell-Cook | backing vocals | |||
| Dave Bassett | 2022 | "Kick" and "Fire It Up" Diamond Star Halos (2022)[18] | ||
| Alison Krauss | lead vocals | "This Guitar" and "Lifeless" from Diamond Star Halos (2022)[18] | ||
| Mike Garson | piano | Goodbye for Good This Time" and "Angels (Can't Help You Now)" from Diamond Star Halos (2022)[18] | ||
| Eric Gorfain | string arrangements | "This Guitar", "Goodbye for Good This Time" and "Angels (Can't Help You Now)" from Diamond Star Halos (2022)[18] | ||
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicholas Mackley | July–October 1977 | vocals | |
| Paul Hampshire | July–September 1977 | bass | |
| Pete Doubleday | July–August 1977 | guitar | |
| Andy Nicholas | September–October 1977 | bass | |
| Paul Holland | October 1977 | vocals | |
| Period | Members | Releases |
|---|---|---|
| July – Early August 1977 (Atomic Mass) |
|
none |
| Early – 10 August 1977 (Atomic Mass) |
| |
| 10 August – September 1977 (Atomic Mass) |
| |
| September – Early October 1977 (Atomic Mass) |
| |
| Early – 25 October 1977 (Atomic Mass) |
| |
| 25 October 1977 – 29 January 1978 (Atomic Mass/Deaf Leopard/Def Leppard) |
| |
| 29 January – 31 October 1978 (Def Leppard) |
| |
| 31 October – 1 November 1978 (Def Leppard) |
|
|
| 1 November 1978 – 11 July 1982 (Def Leppard) |
|
|
| 11 July 1982 – 8 January 1991 (Def Leppard) |
|
|
| 8 January 1991 – 15 April 1992 (Def Leppard) |
|
|
| 15 April 1992 – Present (Def Leppard) |
|
|
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