Def Leppard Research Paper

Throughout my childhood, one of my favorite songs was “Pour Some Sugar On Me” by Def Leppard. Every time I got into the car, I would ask my father to put on this song. In this paper I am going to give a brief history of the band, describe the type of music they perform, and explain what makes Def Leppard unique.
Deaf Leppard was formed in 1977 in the town of Sheffield, England. Shortly after the band was created, they changed the spelling to “Def Leppard.” Def Leppard was a part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. This musical movement that occurred in the late-1970s was an era of new musical style. In this era, the trend of punk rock in Europe ended and hard rock/heavy metal trend began. The original members of the band are as

follows (1977): Joe Elliott (lead vocalist), Rick Savage (bass), Tony Kenning (drums), and Pete Willis (guitar).

The following year Kenning left the band, so they hired Rich Allen as there permanent drummer. Also in 1978, Def Leppard hired a second guitarist Steve Clark. Two years later in 1980, the band released their first album On Through the Night, which brought them slight success. In 1981, their second album High’n’Dry began their rise to fame. The following year, Def Leppard fired Pete Willis for excessive alcohol consumption, and replaced him with guitarist Phil Collen. With these five member, Def Leppard had legendary success. In 1983, they released their third album Pyromania, and in 1987 they released their fourth album Hysteria. “Pour Some Sugar On Me” was one of the seven hit singles that came from the Hysteria album. These two albums were by far their most successful with a combined total of over 30 million copies were sold. In 1992, Steve Clark

died from fatal mixture of prescription drugs and alcohol. Later that same year Vivian Campbell was hired to replace Clark, and the structure of the band has remained constant to the present day. Even though the band has been around for thirty-eight years, they continue to create new music, and go on world tours.
Def Leppard’s genre can be described as hard rock or heavy metal. The instruments commonly associated with these genres are electric guitar, bass guitar, and drums. In these genres the drums are mainly used to establish the beat of the song. The bass guitar assists in the process of establishing the beat, but can also contribute some guitar riffs. A riff is or sequence of notes or chords. The role of the electric guitar is to create rhythm, and to also play lead solos. The last important element of this genre is the vocals. Generally, the vocals are raspy, involve screaming or wailing, and consists of a high pitch range. Def Leppard combines all these aspects to produce their genre of music.
There are many bands that play similar music to Def Leppard, but they have unique qualities that set them apart.

One of these qualities was their ability to withstand the test of time. Throughout the bands history they have went through multiple hardships, and band members. The dynamics of the band changed so many times it is hard to believe that they stayed together, let alone made several chart topping hits. One more unique quality involved their drummer, Rich Allen. In 1984, Allen was involved in a serious car crash in which he lost his left arm. Allen wanted to continue his role as Def Leppard drummer. To achieve this goal, he Simmons Electronic Drum Company to develop a custom drum kit were he could mainly use his feet. The band never gave up on Allen, and just two years later he was fully recovered and able to play flawlessly on his new drum kit. This was another hardship that the band faced, but their love to create music

prevailed.
Over the years, listening to Def Leppard has impacted my life. I hope learning some of the band’s history, knowing what type of music they perform, and seeing what makes them unique encourages you to listen to some of their music.