Joe Elliott, Steve Clark, Pete Willis, Rick Savage, and Rick Allen. The British boys who encompassed the original lineup of Def Leppard formed in 1977. Together, they released the debut album, On Through The Night, which is where we immediately jump into today's Retro Spin.
The album has a very different sound to it than fans of Def Leppard's future work encompassed. While you can hear hints of the harmonies that would shape classics like Bringing On The Heartbreak, Photograph, Hysteria, and more, this is more so a straight forward hard rock album. It feels more so like a 70's classic rock album in retrospect. Considering the tracks that encompass the album were written and recorded in the latter part of that decade, this is also no surprise.
Where this ultimately falters for me is that I'm not particularly a fan of classic rock. It's because of this that overall, On Through The Night is relatively hit or miss for me. I want to like it because it's the foundation of what Def Leppard would become. However, the style, and overall sound, conflicts with my ears. It's just now what I want from this group.
Mind you, it's not a total bust. I did end up grabbing a select few tracks for my shuffle list. However, this decision was more so for the guitar work than anything lyrical. Overall, there's really nothing particularly catchy about the album. Nothing that I would consider commercial, in any sense of the word. As such, it's no surprise that it was a relatively overlooked record when it first came out.
Fortunately, Def Leppard would soon partner with producer, Mutt Lang, who would help formulate their sound, bringing forth all that goodness that the band has gone on to be known for. This was only amplified when Phil Collen joined the group with 1983's Pyromania on lead guitars. However, his joining was only a result of Pete Willis being fired from the group for continued issues with drinking, which often resulted in him being unable to play for sessions.
I'm sure it hardly needs mention the accident which occurred in late December 1984, which resulted in drummer, Rick Allen, losing his arm, but this led to a hiatus for the band. They wouldn't return until Monsters of Rock in 1986, where the six members came back stronger than ever for their first live show since the incident, paving the way for their biggest selling album to date, 1987's Hysteria.
After embarking on a massive tour, the group quickly returned to the studio to record a follow up album. However, tribulations continued to strike. This time in the form of ongoing alcoholism from Steve Clark. The guitarist would eventually enter into rehab, but substance abuse continued, and he passed away in 1991.
Determined to bottle lightning twice, Def Leppard pressed forward with 1992's Adrenalize, and while it's not a bad album, many consider it to be the beginning of the end of the band's best days. Following its release, Vivian Campbell, formerly of Dio, stepped in to fill the roll left by Clark.
Def Leppard joined several other bands on stage on April 20, 1992 for the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, an event held at Wembley Stadium, and broadcast around the world on MTV. It's been considered one of the greatest live events since 1985's Live Aid.
The lineup of Elliot, Savage, Allen, Collen, and Campbell have remained in place as of 1992, going on to release albums from 1996 to 2022. However, sales have steadily declined, at least for physical album sales. This, of course, could just be a product of our time, and not necessarily a result of their overall popularity.
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| THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS February 9, 1980 |
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| THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS February 9, 1985 |
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