A look back at the career of British heavy metal legends Def Leppard

The band who brought us 'Pour Some Sugar On Me' and 'Photograph'

Author: Scarlett MartinPublished 2nd Oct 2021
Last updated 25th Nov 2021

Sheffield's heavy metal legends Def Leppard have been an unstoppable force since their formation over 40 years ago. After selling 100 million albums worldwide and continuously selling-out arena shows across the globe throughout their career, the band have firmly cemented their place in rock history.

Def Leppard are set to perform to their legion of fans once again in 2022, when they join Poison, Joan Jett and Mötley Crüe for their 'Stadium Tour', which was previously postponed due to the pandemic. With the exciting news of the band returning to the stage, we've take a look back at the biggest moments from their long and interesting career.

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Def Leppard through the years: The band's career timeline

Career beginnings

Def Leppard were formed in 1977 by school friends Rick "Sav" Savage, Tony Kenning, and Pete Willis. Shortly after deciding to start a band, they were joined by Joe Elliot and the four-piece started rehearsing in a spoon factory in Sheffield.
Originally named Deaf Leopard (a name first created by Joe Elliott while he was at school in 1975), the band changed the spelling to Def Leppard to give the band a punk edge. At Christmas 1977, the band perform their first gig of six songs to a handful of their friends. The Six songs included covers by David Bowie, Thin Lizzy and their own original song 'Misty Dreamer'.

1978: First public gig

In January 1978, guitarist Steve Clark joined the band and, after months of rehearsals and writing songs, they played their first public gig together at Westfield School in Sheffield in July 1978. In November, founding member Tony Kenning is fired from the band and swiftly replaced by Frank Noon for the recording of the band's debut, self-produced EP, 'The Def Leppard EP'. Sales of the EP soared after the song 'Getcha Rocks Off' caught the attention of John Peel, the renowned DJ who played the track extensively on his show. In late November, drummer Rick Allen, who was just 15 years old, joins the band full time. In 1979, after the success of their EP, Def Leppard are signed to Phonogram and supported AC/DC on their UK tour.

1980: Debut album release

Def Leppard released their debut album 'On Through the Night' in March 1980. The album, which featured singles 'Hello America', 'Wasted' and Rock Brigade', reached Number 15 on the UK album chart and 51 on the Billboard 200. In May 1980, the band goes to the US for the first time and open for Pat Travers, Judas Priest, Ted Nugent and AC/DC respectively. Upon returning home in August that same year, Def Leppard play a show at Reading Festival. Convinced that the band were only trying to appeal to American fans, the audience started to throw bottles and beer cans at them while they were performing.

1981: Follow-up album released a year later

'High 'n' Dry', Def Leppard's second album, was released in July 1981 and featured songs such as 'Bringin' On The Heartbreak' and 'Let It Go'. The band's video for 'Bringin' On the Heartbreak' was one of the first heavy metal videos played on MTV a year later and helped Def Leppard to gain an even bigger following in the US.

1982: Pete Willis departed

Founding member, Pete Willis leaves the band in 1982 and is replaced by former LUCY member, Phil Collen. Def Leppard then release their third album, 'Pyromania' in January 1983, which went on to sell 7 million copies in the US alone.

1984: Rick Allen lost his arm

On New Years Eve 1984, drummer Rick Allen was involved in a car crash which resulted in him losing his left arm. After adapting a Simmons electronic drum kit, Allen taught himself how to drum one-armed and remained the band's official drummer. Whilst recording their fourth studio album, the band played eight shows as part of the European Monsters of Rock tour. The tour was a roaring success and prove that Allen was more than capable of continuing as the band's drummer.

1987: Fourth album 'Hysteria'

After three years of recording, Def Leppard released their fourth album, 'Hysteria' in August 1987 which debuted at Number 1 in the UK and US. 'Animal' became the band's first Top 10 single and was swiftly followed by the Number 1 hit, 'Love Bites'.

1991: Steve Clark's death

In January 1991, while Def Leppard were working on their fifth studio album, guitarist Steve Clark sadly passed away. Def Leppard continued recording the album as a four-piece and in 1992, welcomed former Dio and Whitesnake guitarist Vivian Campbell to the band.

Later that year, the band release the album 'Adrenalize' which enters the US and UK charts at Number 1, thanks to the popularity of singles 'Let's Get Rocked' and 'Make Love Like A Man'. In 1993, Def Leppard released 'Radio Active', a collection of unreleased tracks and B-sides that went on to sell over two million copies worldwide. The album performed particularly well after the single 'Two Steps Ahead' was featured on the soundtrack for the Arnold Schwarzenegger film, Last Action Hero.

1995: Three continents in one day

On the 23rd October 1995, Def Leppard played three continents in one day and received a mention in the Guinness Book Of Records. The band played an acoustic set in a cave in Tangiers, Morrocco followed by a show in London and then Vancouver. A year later in 1996, Def Leppard released their sixth album, 'Slang', which charted at Number 14 in the US and Number 5 in the UK. Its release was followed by a world tour which saw Def Leppard play in Southeast Asia, South Africa, Europe and the US over the next year.

1999: US Diamond Award for 'Hysteria'

In March 1999, Def Leppard are awarded a Diamond Award in the USA for selling over 12 million copies of their album 'Hysteria' in the US. Just a few months later, the band release their seventh studio album 'Euphoria' which includes the hit single 'Promises'.

In 2000, Def Leppard were inducted into Hollywood's RockWalk on Sunset Boulevard by Queen's Brian May. Later the same year, the movie 'Hysteria: The Def Leppard Story' was released, covering the band's early career. The movie was considered a huge success, with millions tuning in to watch it. After taking some time out to focus on side-projects such as the David Bowie cover band Cybernauts, the band reunited to release 'X', their eighth studio album in 2002.

2005: Co-headlining with Bryan Adams

After a couple of years of touring and working in the studio, Def Leppard co-headline a US tour with Bryan Adams and later perform at 2005's LIVE 8 festival in Philadelphia, where they play in front of a million people. On 23rd May 2006, Def Leppard released 'Yeah!', an all-covers album which paid homage to classic rock songs from their childhood such as David Bowie's 'Drive-In Saturday' and The Kink's 'Waterloo Sunset'. They embarked on their 'Downstage Thrust Tour' in 2007 which saw them play 52 shows in 52 locations throughout the course of the tour.

2008: 12th studio album

The band's 12th studio album, 'Songs From The Sparkle Lounge' is released in April 2008. The album was named after the backstage area where the majority of the songs were recorded while the band were on tour in 2006. The album even featured a collaboration with country star Tim McGraw in the single 'Nine Lives'. Later that year, Def Leppard performed with Taylor Swift at CMT Crossroads, pairing country artists with acts from different genres and introduced the heavy metal legends to a younger fanbase. A year later, the band headlined Download Festival, 23 years after their first appearance, and performed a set in front of 80,000 fans.

2011: Second Download headline slot

After taking a year off, Def Leppard returned to the music scene with their first live-album 'Mirror Ball – Live & More' in 2011 and debuted at Number 16 on the Billboard Top 200 album chart. Later that year the band headlined Download Festival for the second time and embarked on tours in the US, UK, Japan and Australian.

In 2012, Def Leppard were joined by Poison & Lita Ford for their 'Rock of Ages Summer tour' which saw the band perform to audiences in North America, Canada, and Mexico.
Def Leppard began their 11-show Las Vegas residency at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in March 2013. Called 'Viva! Hysteria', the residency saw the band perform their multi-Platinum album 'Hysteria' in full along with a medley of their greatest hits.

2014: Working with KISS

In the summer of 2014, Def Leppard joined forces with KISS for their 42-city US 40th Anniversary tour. A dollar from each ticket was donated to military charities such as the Wounded Warrior Project. The band released the long-awaited 11th album 'Def Leppard' in 2015 - their first new material in seven years. Featuring the song 'Let's Go', the record was awarded the 2016 Classic Rock Roll of Honours Award for Album of the Year.

2017: 30th anniversary of 'Hysteria'

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of 'Hysteria', Def Leppard released a remastered edition of the album in August 2017 which included B-sides, live tracks and audio for 'In The Round In Your Face (Live)'. The release saw 'Hysteria' reach Number 1. Later that year, Def Leppard performed at Rock in Rio.

In November 2018, Def Leppard released a compilation album called 'The Story So Far – The Best Of', which featured 34 of the band's greatest hits. However, it also features the band's cover of Depeche Mode's 'Personal Jesus' and the Christmas song 'We All Need Christmas'. The band also entered the brewery world in 2018 after collaborating with Elysian Brewing to create the "Def Leppard Pale" beer which was sold nationwide during the Def Leppard x Journey 2018 tour.

2019: Induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Def Leppard were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in March 2019 alongside The Cure, Janet Jackson, Stevie Nicks, Radiohead, Roxy Music and The Zombies. In June 2019, the band were back at Download Festival for their third headline slot, alongside Tool and Slipknot. The heavy metallers returned to Vegas in August 2019 for their second residency, this time at Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. The 12-night show, entitled 'Sin City' saw the band perform a medley of hits from 'Pour Some Sugar On Me' to 'Billy's Got a Gun'.

2021: 'The Stadium Tour'

Def Leppard were set to embark on 'The Stadium Tour' alongside Mötley Crüe, Poison and Joan Jett in the summer of 2021, after it was postponed from 2020 due to the pandemic. The tour was set to kick off in June 2021 in Nashville, Tennessee and conclude in September 2021 in San Diego, California, however multiple shows have now been moved to 2022.
The band have recently launched the 'Def Leppard Vault', which is a collection of the band's memorabilia for their fans and curated by the band members themselves.