Artist of the day – Def Leppard
Def Leppard are an English hard rock/heavy metal band from Sheffield who formed in 1977 at the time of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. Leppard have sold over 70 million albums world-wide. Thanks to their classic albums, Pyromania and Hysteria, Def Leppard became one of the top selling and influential rock bands in the 1980s.
The music of Def Leppard is a mixture of hard rock, glam rock, AOR, and heavy metal elements. The band has occasionally been associated with the pop metal movement of the 1980s, although its sound is more accurately associated with the contemporary NWOBHM genre of the late 1970s. The band’s songs generally feature simple guitar hooks and catchy, melodic choruses. The Def Leppard sound is also characterized by its combination of hard rock and polished melodic backing vocals.
By the release of the Hysteria record, it was apparent that the band had developed a distinctive, futuristic sound featuring heavily processed drums and effects-laden “space-aged” guitar sounds, overlaid with a multi-layered wall of husky, harmonized vocals. Def Leppard is one of only seven rock bands with two original albums selling over 10 million copies each in the U.S. The others are The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Eagles, Metallica, and Van Halen.
| Members | Joe Elliott Rick Savage Rick Allen Phil Collen Vivian Campbell |
|---|---|
| Past members | Steve Clark(deceased) Tony Kenning Frank Noon Pete Willi |
