Def Leppard are a hard rock and heavy metal band, formed in Sheffield in the UK in 1977. They are considered to be part of the New Wave of the British Heavy Metal movement.
Def Leppard have had a mix up of members, since 1992 they have consisted of Rick Savage on bass guitar and backing vocals, Joe Elliott who is the lead vocalist, Rick Allen playing the drums, Phil Collen on the guitar, and Vivian Campbell also on the guitar. This is the band's longest-standing line-up.
The band's success came in the 80s when they released their debut album, "On Through the Night", which successfully reached the 'Top 15' in the UK. Despite this success, the band performed at Reading Festival where they were greeted with unhappy fans who pelted beer cans and bottles filled with urine at them on stage. This came after fans were angry that the band were conforming to please an American market, being disloyal to their local roots.
However, after their release of their second album in 1981, named "High 'n' Dry", they began to find their feet and get to grips with their own original sound. Impressively, Def Leppard's video for "Bringin' On the Heartbreak" became one of the first metal videos played on MTV in 1982. This success brought the band back to likeness in America where they then went on to tour, opening for Ozzy Osbourne and Blackfoot.
Their most successful album came in the form of "Hysteria", released in 1987 considered on of the most successful bands of the ‘New Wave of British Heavy Metal’ in the 80s in the UK.
Bryson Tiller
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