List of Def Leppard band members

Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1977 in Sheffield as part of the new wave of British heavy metal movement. The following is a complete list of all official members, session musicians, featured artists, touring musicians, and live guests of Def Leppard's career

Def Leppard evolved from Atomic Mass after vocalist Joe Elliott joined Atomic Mass in November 1977. The lineup of Elliott, drummer Tony Kenning, bassist Rick Savage, and guitarist Pete Willis was completed by the addition of guitarist Steve Clark in January 1978. The band would play their first show on 18 July of the same year before recording their first EP in the fall after the departure of Kenning.

The departure of Kenning having left the drummer position open, Rick Allen joined the band in November 1978 and has been the full-time drummer ever since, despite the loss of his left arm in a car accident on 31 December 1984. Def Leppard recorded On Through the Night and High 'n' Dry as the five piece of Savage, Willis, Elliott, Clark, and Allen before Pete Willis was fired in July 1982. Willis was replaced by Phil Collen of Girl, and the band went on to the most commercially successful period of their career, the releases of Pyromania and Hysteria.

On 8 January 1991, during a leave of absence from the band, guitarist Steve Clark was found dead in his home. Savage, Elliott, Allen, and Collen recorded their next album Adrenalize as a four-piece before hiring Vivian Campbell, formerly of Dio and Whitesnake, to replace the deceased Clark. The lineup of Def Leppard has not changed since the addition of Campbell in April 1992, and is thus the longest standing lineup of the band since its incarnation. The current lineup has released four compilations, two live albums, and six studio albums in the time since, most recently the self-titled, Def Leppard, on 30 October 2015.

Current members

Rick Savage

Active: November 1977 – present

Primary instruments: bass guitar, backing vocals

Secondary instruments: guitar, acoustic guitar, acoustic bass, double bass, keyboards, lead vocals

Release contributions: all Def Leppard releases

Rick Savage, commonly referred to as "Sav", was a founding member and the guitarist of the pre-Def Leppard band, Atomic Mass. He later became the bassist for Atomic Mass and retained that position when Atomic Mass became Def Leppard in 1977.

Joe Elliott

Active: November 1977 – present

Primary instruments: lead vocals

Secondary instruments: backing vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards, piano, percussion

Release contributions: all Def Leppard releases

Soon after joining Atomic Mass as lead singer and guitarist, Joe Elliott proposed that the band changed their name to Def Leppard. He soon became just the lead vocalist when Steve Clark joined the band as full time guitarist a few months later.

Rick Allen

Active: 27 November 1978 – present

Primary instruments: drums, percussion

Secondary instruments: electronic drums, accordion, backing vocals, lead vocals

Release contributions: all Def Leppard releases except The Def Leppard E.P.

Rick Allen joined Def Leppard in November 1978, shortly after the band had recorded their first recording, The Def Leppard E.P. with session drummer Frank Noon following the departure of drummer Tony Kenning. Although credited for contributing backing vocals on early Def Leppard albums, Allen has limited his vocal duties in recent years.

Phil Collen

Active: 12 July 1982 – present

Primary instruments: guitar, backing vocals

Secondary instruments: acoustic guitar, lead vocals

Release contributions: all Def Leppard releases except The Def Leppard E.P., On Through the Night, and High 'n' Dry

Phil Collen joined Def Leppard following the firing of Pete Willis in 1982. Def Leppard was touring in support of High 'n' Dry and in the middle of recording Pyromania when Willis was fired, and therefore needed a replacement quickly. Collen left the band Girl to join Def Leppard as a guitarist.

Vivian Campbell

Active: April 1992 – present

Primary instruments: guitar, backing vocals

Secondary instruments: acoustic guitar, lead vocals

Release contributions: all Def Leppard releases including and following Retro Active

Vivian Campbell, often referred to as "Viv", joined the band after the release of Adrenalize. After the untimely death of Steve Clark in 1991, Def Leppard recorded and released Adrenalize as a quartet with Collen doubling up on guitar duties, but brought Vivian on before the start of the Seven Day Weekend Tour in support of the new album.

Former members

Tony Kenning

Active: November 1977 – 18 November 1978

Instruments: drums, percussion

Release contributions: none

Tony Kenning was a founding member of Atomic Mass. He is also responsible for the name change from "Deaf Leopard" to "Def Leppard". Kenning left the band in the fall of 1978 just as the band were about to go into the studio to record The Def Leppard E.P.

Pete Willis

Active: November 1977 – 11 July 1982

Instruments: guitar, backing vocals

Release contributions: The Def Leppard E.P., On Through the Night, High 'n' Dry, songwriting and rhythm guitar on Pyromania

Pete Willis was a member of Atomic Mass when the band became Def Leppard in 1977. He was fired on 11 July 1982 and replaced by Phil Collen.

Steve Clark

Active: 29 January 1978 – 8 January 1991

Instruments: guitar, backing vocals

Secondary instruments: acoustic guitar

Release contributions: The Def Leppard E.P., On Through the Night, High 'n' Dry, Pyromania, Hysteria, songwriting and demos for Adrenalize, Retro Active.

Steve Clark joined Def Leppard on 29 January 1978 after playing Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" in its entirety. He remained in the band until his untimely death on 8 January 1991.

Timeline

Lineups

Session musicians

Featured artists

Tim McGraw

Active: 2008

Instruments: lead vocals

Release contributions: "Nine Lives" from Songs from the Sparkle Lounge

Touring musicians

Jeff Rich

Active: August 1986

Instruments: drums, percussion

Played alongside Rick Allen for the first live shows back since the 1984 accident that resulted in the loss of Allen's left arm.

Sinéad Madden

Active: 2012

Instruments: fiddle^[11]

Steve Brown

Active: September – November 2014, June 2015

Instruments: guitar, backing vocals^[12]

Trixter guitarist Steve Brown stepped in for Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campell in 2014 and 2015 while Campbell underwent treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Live guests

Atomic Mass members

This is a list of members of Atomic Mass, which became Def Leppard shortly after Joe Elliott joined the band in 1977. Only Savage, Kenning, Willis, Elliott were members of Def Leppard.

See also

• Def Leppard discography
• List of awards and nominations received by Def Leppard

References

External links

• Official Def Leppard website