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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977–present | all Def Leppard releases | |||
| 1978–present | all Def Leppard releases from On Through the Night (1980) to present | |||
| 1982–present | all Def Leppard releases from Pyromania (1983) to present | |||
| 1992–present | all Def Leppard releases from Retro Active (1993) to present | |||
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977–1978 | none | |||
| 1977–1982 | all Def Leppard releases from The Def Leppard E.P. (1979) to Pyromania (1983) | |||
| 1978–1991 | ||||
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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. | |||
| 2012 | fiddle[3] | |||
| Trixter guitarist Steve Brown stepped in for Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campell in 2014 and 2015 while Campbell underwent treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma.[4] [5] Brown also filled in for guitarist Phil Collen in May 2018 due to the birth of Collen's child.[6] | ||||
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 October 1978 | drums | The Def Leppard E.P. (1979) | ||
| December 1979 | synthesizers | "Hello America" from On Through the Night[7] (1980) | ||
| 1982 | keyboards | Pyromania[8] (1983) | ||
| , credited as Booker T. Boffin | ||||
| , credited as Stumps Maximus | 1987 | lead vocals | "Release Me" B-side from Hysteria singles (2009) | |
| 1991–1996 | ||||
| 1991 | backing vocals | Adrenalize (1992) | ||
| keyboards | "Stand Up (Kick Love into Motion)" from Adrenalize (1992) | |||
| April 1992 | backing vocals | "Action" from Retro Active (1993) | ||
| April 1993 | string arrangement | "Two Steps Behind" from Retro Active (1993) | ||
| 1993 | ||||
| March 1992 | tin whistle | |||
| grand piano | ||||
| mandolin | ||||
| 1996 | string and percussion arrangement | "Turn to Dust" from Slang (1996) | ||
| string leader | ||||
| dohl | ||||
| Sarangi | intro for "Turn to Dust" from Slang (1996) | |||
| outro for "Turn to Dust" from Slang (1996) | ||||
| 1998–1999 | guitar | end solo on "Demolition Man" from Euphoria (1999) | ||
| 2002 | shredding tele licks on "Gravity" from X[9] (2002) | |||
| 2003–2005 | saxophone | |||
| backing vocals | "Hell Raiser" from Yeah! | booklet" /> (2006) | ||
| "The Golden Age of Rock 'n' Roll" from Yeah | (2006) | |||
| mellotron | "Drive-In Saturday" and "Little Bit of Love" from Yeah! | booklet" /> (2006) | ||
| "The Golden Age of Rock 'n' Roll" from Yeah! | booklet" /> (2006) | |||
| "American Girl" from Yeah! | booklet" /> (2006) | |||
| 2008 | lead vocals | "Nine Lives" from Songs from the Sparkle Lounge (2008) | ||
| 2011 | "Kings of the World" from Mirror Ball – Live & More [10] (2011) | |||
| backing vocals | ||||
| 2022 | "Kick" and "Fire It Up" Diamond Star Halos (2022) | |||
| lead vocals | "This Guitar" and "Lifeless" from Diamond Star Halos (2022) | |||
| piano | Goodbye for Good This Time" and "Angels (Can't Help You Now)" from Diamond Star Halos (2022) | |||
| string arrangements | "This Guitar", "Goodbye for Good This Time" and "Angels (Can't Help You Now)" from Diamond Star Halos (2022) | |||
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments |
|---|---|---|---|
| July–October 1977 | vocals | ||
| July–September 1977 | bass | ||
| July–August 1977 | guitar | ||
| September–October 1977 | bass | ||
| October 1977 | vocals | ||
| Period | Members | Releases |
|---|---|---|
| July – Early August 1977 |
| none |
| Early – 10 August 1977 |
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| 10 August – September 1977 |
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| September – Early October 1977 |
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| Early – 25 October 1977 |
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| 25 October 1977 – 29 January 1978 |
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| 29 January – 31 October 1978 |
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| 31 October – 1 November 1978 |
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| 1 November 1978 – 11 July 1982 |
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| 11 July 1982 – 8 January 1991 |
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| 8 January 1991 – 15 April 1992 |
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| 15 April 1992 – Present |
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