Unless you lived in cave all of your life, you have heard of Def Leppard. November of 1977, Def Leppard had their first rehearsal in what else- a spoon factory near Bramall Lane, Sheffield (UK). The band was originally named ‘Deaf Leppard’ by lead singer Joe Elliot in school in 1977. However, bass player Rick “Sav” Savage, guitarist Pete Willis, and drummer Tony Kenning renamed it Def Leppard which stayed.
Def Leppard has come a long way since their first gig at Westfield School in Sheffield, where they received only 5 pounds ($ 8 USD) from a teacher’s pocket. For starters, they replaced their drummer with Rick Allen in 1978, who was only 15 years old at the time. Rick Allen had a near fatal car accident New Year’s Day in 1984. It cost him his left arm and nearly his career, but he overcame adversity with electronic drums and playing with his feet. Steve Clark, their second guitarist, died in 1991 after a fatal overdose of alcohol and painkillers. (I was 16 at the time and remember it well because I had moved out of my parent’s home later that year).
On March 16th, 1999, Def Leppard received the Diamond Awards in the U.S. The award is for selling over 10 million copies in the U.S for one album (Hysteria, which has sold 12 million in the U.S, 16 million worldwide). To put this in perspective, only 61 albums in recorded history, and 45 artists have achieved this success. Even more incredible is the fact that that out of those 45 artists only 8 were British artists. This amazing feat led to the band being inducted into the Hollywood Rock Walk Hall of Fame in September of 2000.
It is hard to choose just ten of my favorite songs by Def Leppard. They are British gods to me, and I admire them greatly. Any girl growing up in the 1970’s and 1980’s wanted to date or marry a guy like the ones in Def Leppard. Consequently, every guy wanted to look like them. Not many were lucky enough to fill these legendary shoes!
TOP 10 SONGS BY DEF LEPPARD
#10 Hello America (On Through The Night) Released March 1980
This was, as the title implies, their first song tribute to America-where they debuted in 1980. Unlike Def Leppard, most of the music from other bands in this era lacked timeless quality due to the crossover from the 1970’s to the 1980’s. Music was undergoing many changes like puberty-awkward and unsightly at times! Besides, can you think of any guy who looks like dynamite in a nautical red-striped shirt like Joe Elliot did?
#9 Wasted (On Through The Night) Released March 1980
The guitar riffs are absolutely stellar in this song! The band kicks butt and smokes any band of this time period! The best part is that the band has never had any drug problems and yet they were able to pull off a believable account of drug addiction with this song.
#8 Die Hard The Hunter (Pyromania) Released February 1983
Even though this song may not have made the biggest bucks for Def Leppard, the song makes me cry every time. If you read the lyrics, you’ll understand why. It reminds me of what my dad did for America when he fought in the Vietnam War.
#7 Women (Hysteria) Released August 1987
This song made every girl dance sexy in their “Madonna-esque” fashions, and every guy try to get “lucky” with those same girls in their cars on Friday night. This was a time in life when we didn’t fear “brown people with unmarked packages”, high-profile buildings blowing up, and government health care! It was an innocent time in history.
#6 Animal (Hysteria) Released August 1987
Where in recent history can you find a good quality video with half naked girls and wild animals dancing around a band in a provocative manner? Nowadays you have songs with only five to seven words that are repeated over and over senselessly. PETA would now be outraged by wild animals being in a rock video. And, half naked women in current music videos don’t actually cover their bits and pieces!
#5 Love Bites (Hysteria) Released August 1987
I went to a Def Leppard concert on February 14, 1993. My first child was born three months nearly to the day after that concert. When I have a crippling bout of depression, I peel myself out of the bed and watch this video. Even though the video reminds me of my lost children, my lost youth and attractiveness, and lost innocence, the video always cheers me up for some reason.
#4 Pour Some Sugar On Me (Hysteria) Released August 1987
Even 23 years later, this song sounds good. If you are having a successful date, or just want to spice up a not so great marriage, this is the song to listen to!
#3 I Want To Touch U (Adrenalize) Released March 1992
This is a sweet song that would be a great “first dance” at a wedding. It reflects the maturity of the band and their personal relationships.
#2 Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad (Adrenalize) Released March 1992
Most people can relate to having lost an important person in their life, or wishing that person existed at all. This song reflects that agonizing pain in livid imagery.
#1 Rock Of Ages (Pyromania) Released February 1983
This song was actually inspired by a similarly named Christian Hymn. Def Leppard had a songbook with hymns lying around in the studio, and they created this song after looking at it. Though it was a joke at the time, it went on to make large revenue for the band. The song was re-released for the albums Historia in 1988, In The Round In Your Face in 1989, and Vault in 1995.
In the likely event that you want more of Def Leppard, you can go to their website by clicking here.
A special thanks to the official Def Leppard Fan Site for all of this great information and awesome pictures!
