Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in Sheffield in 1976. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage, Joe Elliott, Rick Allen (drums), Phil Collen, and Vivian Campbell.
They established themselves as part of the new wave of British heavy metal of the early 1980s.
members: Joe Elliott, Rick Savage, Rick Allen, Phil Collen, Vivian Campbell, Tony Kenning, Pete Willis, Steve Clark
formed in: Sheffield
labels: earMUSIC, Island Records, Mercury Records
genres: hard rock
awards: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
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Rick Savage, Tony Kenning, and Pete Doubleday, all students at Tapton School in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, formed a band called Atomic Mass in 1976. Pete Willis joined in 1977, departing briefly but returning full time. The band originally consisted of Doubleday (and later Willis) on guitar, Savage on bass guitar after briefly playing guitar, Kenning on drums, Andy Nicholas on bass and Nick Mackley on lead vocals. Other members to come and go were Paul Holland (vocals), Melanie Davis (guitars, keyboards, violin, bass), Paul Hampshire (lead guitar) and Nick Hawnt (vocals). Only 18 at the time, Joe Elliott tried out for the band as a guitarist following a chance meeting with Willis after missing a bus in November 1977. During his audition...
Def Leppard has a "catchy" and "guitar-driven" musical style, described as hard rock, glam metal, pop metal, arena rock, and power pop, while their early work has been characterized as heavy metal. The band's music combines hard rock, AOR, pop and heavy metal elements, with its multi-layered, harmonic vocals and its melodic guitar riffs. In addition, making a concession to popular tastes of its time, Slang featured a sparser sound and alternative rock feel. Though they were often considered one of the top bands of the new wave of British heavy metal movement of the late 1970s, the band disliked the branding, stating: "We didn't agree that our music was anything like Iron Maiden's." The band's music also contains sentimental ballads....
With Pyromania and Hysteria both certified Diamond by the RIAA, Def Leppard are one of only five rock bands with two original studio albums selling over 10 million copies each in the US, alongside the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and Van Halen. Both Pyromania and Hysteria feature in Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
"Pour Some Sugar on Me" is a song by the English rock band Def Leppard from their 1987 album Hysteria. It reached number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart on 23 July 1988.
"Pour Some Sugar on Me" is considered the band's signature song, and was ranked number two on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of the 80s" in 2006.
The song came about by accident as a last-minute addition to Hysteria. Near the end of recording the album, while on a tea break during vocal sessions, lead singer Joe Elliott was jamming with a riff he had come up with some time earlier on an acoustic guitar. Producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange, expressing great liking of it, suggested that it be developed into another song, with Elliott's riff becoming the song's chorus.
The somewhat delayed success of "Pour Some Sugar on Me" (due to the new promo release) helped send Hysteria to number 1 on the Top Pop Albums chart (now the Billboard 200) a year after release, selling four million copies during the single's run. The song reached number 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100, number 18 on the UK Singles Chart and number 26 on the Australian Singles Chart.
Two different music videos for the song were produced. The first version (directed by Russell Mulcahy) shows the band playing inside a derelict Irish stately home (Mount Merrion House at Stillorgan, Dublin) while it is being demolished by a wrecking ball and a burly, sledgehammer-wielding, female construction worker played by Rosemary Henderson, who at the time was appearing on Saturday morning children's television in Ireland.