Pour some info on me – Here are 8 facts about Def Leppard you might not know

The 80s provided more than their fair share of iconic pop culture references. 

 

For starters, there’s absolutely everhing about George Michael’s Wham, Bono’s leather waistcoat circa ‘With Or Without You’, the just say no campaign, and an (in retrospect) fairly bizarre honest-to-goodness love of all things neon.

 

Def Leppard are steadfast giants in that already austere pantheon. The name oozes an 80s rock association, alongside the likes of Motley Crue and later Guns & Roses. 

Yet, there’s far more than meets the eye here. The band formed in the late 70s, and had their biggest commercial success in the early 90s. 

 

Not only that, Def Leppard maintains a strong, vibrant, and current diehard fanbase. 

 

In fact, they’re currently only a South American and European tour, alongside the aforementioned Motley Crue, which includes a date in Marlay Park on July 4th. 

 

So with that in mind, we want to present 8 facts about Def Leppard that you may not know. Let’s go!

1. The band hail from Sheffield

Yes! Def Leppard are proud Sheffield natives. The band met whilst in school in the proud Northern city, and their upcoming tour absolutely includes a stadium gig in Bramall Lane – the stadium that Sheffield United calls home

   2. How did they get their name?

A story enshrined in rock’n’roll mythos. When lead singer Joe Elliot first joined the group, they had the rather less impressive name of Atomic Mass. During an English class, he wrote a review for an imaginary band called Deaf Leppard, with the ‘a’ eventually being dropped from the name–perhaps in tribute to Led Zeppelin

   3. The band has a sizeable discography

At the time of writing, Def Leppard have 13 studio albums, four live albums, six compilation albums, and two extended plays. Their first album was On Through The Night in 1979 and their most recent LP was Drastic Symphonies  in May of 2023.

   4. They are playing Dublin in July

 

Def Leppard are relentless tourers. In fact – they’re currently in the middle of a world tour with Motley Crüe, which will see them perform in Marlay Park on July 4th. Guitarist Phill Collen, in a recent interview, said “You know, we started playing in a band cause we wanted to play live so the two years off was kinda weird.”

   5. They have had some teething issues

The band’s most commercially successful, and still most recognizable track, is without doubt ‘Love Bites’. The track is, to this day, the only one from the band to hit the number 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100, having done so in 1988

6. They were the first band to consecutively sell 7 million copies with two albums

In 1988, Def Leppard became the first act to sell 7 million copies of consecutive albums, thanks to Hysteria in ‘87 and Pyromania in ‘88. The former would spend a total of 6 weeks as the number-one album in America.

 

7. They’re rock’n’roll royalty

The band has won two American Music Awards, and two Grammy Awards – both of which came in 1989. To top it all off, they were inducted into the rock’n’roll Hall of Fame in 2019 by none other than Queen’s Brian May.

 

8. The band has just collaborated with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

1. Def Leppard have just released Drastic Symphonia, an album recorded in collaboration with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
   
   The project sees the band reimagining some of their most beloved tracks, as well as some hidden gems. Speaking on the creative ethos behind the album, the band say “Def Leppard has always enjoyed veering off the expected path – working with the likes of Tim McGraw, Taylor Swift & Alison Krauss for example. So, when the offer to revisit some of our back catalogue with the Royal Philharmonic was presented to us, we all jumped at it. Although we’re far from the first band to ever do this, working directly with an orchestra at Abbey Road on some of our more orchestrated songs seemed too good of an opportunity to pass up.”

 

Drastic Symphonies is out now. def