Def Leppard, the hard rockers who almost single-handedly sparked off the hair metal craze that, for better or worse, rocked the world, and particularly the US, in the 80s started out a bunch of talented and ambitious but naive English northerners. The famed angular logo, the macho posing, the "bludgeon riffola" trademark guitar sound, the mullet hairstyle, the excess, the Learjet, the one-armed drummer - these guys had it all.

Sheffield, England, in 1977 saw the formation of a schoolboy group, Atomic Mass, with Pete Willis on guitar, Rick Savage on bass and Tony Kenning on drums. They soon recruited ambitious singer Joe Elliott who renamed them Deaf Leopard, though Kenning soon changed that. The band to this day have consistently denied that Led Zeppelin had any influence on how the name is (mis)spelt. The band went on recruit another guitarist, the classically trained Steve Clark to complement the tight riffer Willis.

The band lay about writing and rehearsing songs in an old spoon factory, eventually going out and playing a few gigs in 1978 when the restless Clark threatened to quit. The band soon enough acquired a steady following locally to rival that of "southern" metallers like friends Iron Maiden. Kenning soon left the band to spend more time with his girlfriend, and Frank Noon temporarily joined them for the (independent) recording of their first EP, Getcha Rocks Off, inspired by Maiden having releasing their own The Soundhouse Tapes earlier that year. 15-year old prodigious schoolboy Rick Allen (with both arms then intact) would soon take his place.

Getcha Rocks Off got noticed, got a bit of airplay on BBC Radio One, and soon enough the band was enjoying modest levels of success. Def Leppard always aimed to reach out to a wider audience than just dirty headbangers, and that meant appealing to the girls as much as they did to the guys. The harmonies in the backing vocals and the band's youthful good looks and polished dress sense certainly did them no harm in this regard - the band drew its inspiration as much from the 70s glam scene as from the crop of metal at the time! Soon, Def Leppard were heralded as the bands to forefront the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, along with Iron Maiden, Samson, Saxon and a host of other acts. Of these, the friendly rivals Leppard and Maiden would prove to be the most enduring.

The band soon secured a major record deal and embarked on a successful US tour, putting out their first album On Through The Night, and two hit singles in Wasted and Hello America. The band distance themselves from the Tom Allom-produced first effort now but the crunch of the riffs and the harmonies give a good indication of the direction the band were heading in. However, the British metal press decided it didn't like the direction the Leps were heading in and proceeded to blast the band, which resulted in the band being canned at their appearance at the Reading Festival in 1980.

Licking their wounds, the band set about recording their second album, High 'N' Dry (1981). With master producer, Robert John "Mutt" Lange (AC/DC, Boomtown Rats, Foreigner, the Cars, Billy Ocean and more recently Bryan Adams, The Corrs and his wife Shania Twain!), in control now, the band proceeded to craft a more Top-40 friendly sound with riff-laden rockers in Let It Go and Another Hit And Run and even a prototype ballad in Bringin' On The Heartbreak. Sales weren't spectacular to start with, but soon enough a new video channel called MTV would play their video for Heartbreak in heavy rotation. Suddenly, sales for High 'N' Dry were picking up and would eventually hit two million.

But now came the killer. High 'N' Dry had basically been Mutt Lange producing songs already written by the band. For their next effort, Pyromania (1983), he would participate in the songwriting process and pack Elliott off to voice coaches to improve his singing and breathing technique. The result would pay off immensely - Def Leppard would now conquer America with the album staying for months in the top 10, and three major US hit singles in Photograph, Foolin' and Rock of Ages.

The slick production of tight, well-written songs was a sure success. Michael Jackson's Thriller was the only reason Pyromania didn't hit the top, but 10 million in worldwide sales was still very impressive. Still no success back home in Britain, though.

The dark side was guitarist Pete Willis' firing midway through recording, mainly due to his drinking problems and his inability to cope with the band's changing lifestyle. Phil Collen, more at ease with being in the spotlight, would come in to replace him, taking over most of the lead guitar duties from Steve Clark and eventually recording half the guitar solos on Pyromania. Willis has sadly since faded into obscurity. Pyromania would however pave the way for bands like Motley Crue, Poison, Bon Jovi and Guns N' Roses to take their share of the pie.

After a triumphant world tour, the band settled down to record their fourth album. However, Mutt Lange who'd taken part in the songwriting sessions declined to produce the album, citing stress and tiredness.
Rock star drumming sensation Phil Collins expressed an interest in taking over, before calling it off. An abortive attempt to record with Jim Steinman (the man behind Meat Loaf's success) followed, before the band to decide to produce the album themselves.

December 31 1984 saw disaster strike, however, as drummer Rick Allen crashed his Corvette Stingray on the A57 outside Sheffield. His left arm was torn off at the shoulder and could not be reattached. To his credit, though, Allen would make an inspired comeback to rock drumming, using a custom electronic kit with foot pedals so he could use his left foot to do what his left arm would have previously.

Meanwhile, Lange returned to rescue the band from its woes. Hysteria (1987) would go on to be a worldwide smash. Animal, the first UK single, would reach number 6 in the charts, propelling the band to UK sales of well in excess of a million and stardom at home at last. Meanwhile, in the US, initial sales were healthy but soon levelled off at 3 million, still leaving the band in massive debts.

However, the rousing Pour Some Sugar On Me had become a Florida stripclub anthem and was soon receiving massive amounts of airplay, turning into a smash hit single. The anthemic Armageddon It, the melodic Hysteria, Rocket and the band's only US number 1, tender ballad Love Bites, would follow as single followed single up the charts. The band would eventually rack up 18 million in sales (12 in the US), making Hysteria the largest selling hard rock/heavy metal album of all time (it's gone diamond, let alone platinum), and Def Leppard the first band in history to sell more than seven million copies each in the US of successive albums.

Again, following yet another triumphant world tour, ther band set to work to release their next album. By now, new guitarist Collen was firmly a part of the songwriting process, and the band had matured enough in confidence to let Lange go off and produce Bryan Adams' 1991 smash Def Lepp-soundalike album Waking Up the Neighbours, which featured monster hits with the same trademark sound, including (Everything I Do) I Do I?t For You. Guitarist Steve Clark was however now having his own problems with the bottle, and Phil Collen was increasingly having to record Clark's guitar parts along with his own. Clark eventually died, after time in rehab, in January 1991 in London.

1992 saw the band release Adrenalize, which leapt into the charts at number 1, spawning four top 20 hit singles including Let's Get Rocked (then the band's biggest UK hit at number 2), Make Love Like A Man, Heaven Is, Stand Up (Kick Love Into Motion), yet another ballad in Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad? and Tonight. Irishman Vivian Campbell (formerly of Dio and Whitesnake) was recruited to join the band in time for the world tour that followed. Adrenalize sold over seven million worldwide but the backlash against melodic hard rock had already begun.

Def Leppard would soon, in 1993, step back from their traditional gloss to release an acoustic ballad Two Steps Behind on the soundtrack to the Arnold Schwarzenegger film Last Action Hero. This was followed by Retro Active, an eclectic collection of B-sides and outtakes that was a firm reminder to critics that Def Leppard's songs could stand up well even in the absence of the glitzy production.

Vault, the band's Greatest Hits collection, was released in 1995, appropriately enough with the band's biggest UK hit to date, When Love & Hate Collide (no. 2 in late 1995). This was followed by Slang the year after. Slang was a courageous attempt by the band to update its sound to a more contemporary post-grunge and industrial feel, but bombed in spite of widespread critical acclaim. Except for Asia, that is, where the album still racked up healthy sales of almost three million, with hit singles in Slang (UK top 20), Work It Out, Breathe A Sigh and All I Want Is Everything.

Shunned by fans and non-fans alike, the band returned to their trademark bombastic sound for Euphoria (1999). Former producer Mutt Lange returned to lend his expertise for three of the songs, and F1 driver Damon Hill guested as lead guitarist on opener Demolition Man. The album fared better than Slang did, with Promises hitting number 1 on the US Rock charts.

However, Def Leppard is still widely recognised as an anachronism by both popular and metal press alike. With the 80s now regarded as an era most people wish never happened, it's increasingly unlikely that Def Leppard will ever reach the status of legends they aspire to. Nonetheless, the band still have a healthy following and with the current resurgence of Iron Maiden and their own show-stealers Bon Jovi, they might yet have a chance.

Def Leppard now have a cracking new official web site.