Biographie

Rick Allen was only 15 years old when he joined Def Leppard to be their full time drummer.

It wasn't until their 1987 Hysteria album that they broke out in their native United Kingdom. Their greatest success was in the United States, where Pyromania sold 10 million copies, but just 60,000 in the UK. Early on, they took a lot of stick in the British press, which left a mark on the band. "We don't worry about England anymore," Joe Elliott told Sounds in 1982. "We're just trying to put across the point that everybody's missed out and that is that we've been shit on and people have said things about us that are a lot of bullshit".

While some individual members had serious problems with drugs and alcohol, the band was quite tame when they toured, avoiding the typical rock mayhem and excess. Said Joe Elliott: "Since rock bands discovered accountants, they don't throw TVs out of windows at 500 quid a time".

They are one of only five rock bands with two original studio albums selling over 10 million copies in the U.S.

Members included Joe Elliott, Pete Willis, Rick Savage, Rick Allen, Stephen Clark and Phil Collen.