Def Leppard is a famous rock band in Britain. It is one of the key drivers of the British heavy metal in the 1980s. In 1992, the band released a hit album, ‘Adrenalize,’ that entered the American charts at the top position and stood there for five consecutive weeks. Its first single as ‘Let’s Get Rocked,’ remained on MTV’s countdown for several weeks. It got nominated for “Best Video of the Year” at the ninth MTV Video Music Awards in 1992. Def Leppard is one of the most significant forces in rock music, with over 65 million albums sold throughout the world and two valuable Diamond Awards to its credit.
Inception
The Def Leppard rock band was formed in 1977 in Sheffield, England. The band was the part of the British Heavy Metal. Some of the original band members include Pete Willis(guitars), Rick Savage (bass), Joe Elliott (vocalist), and Tony Kenning(drums). Earlier the name of the band was kept as “Atomic Mass” by the original band members, later the name was changed to Def Leppard by Joe Elliott.
Initially, the band started off playing locally, and after some time, a few more members were included in this group as Steve Clark, Phil Collen, Rick Allen, and Vivian Campbell. The band got an opportunity to work with Mercury Records and signed a deal with this recording studio.
Evolution
Def Leppard made their major debut with “On through the Night” that was released in 1980. After the success of this album, they came up with another music album, “High ‘N’ Dry,” in 1981. The metal video ‘Bringin’ on the Heartbreak”s video had been their first ‘metal’ video played on MTV video.
Due to alcohol addition, Phil Collen was replaced by Pete Willis on July 11, 1982. Pete Willis recorded ‘Roadhouse’ and ‘Gogmagog’ with the band. In 1983, the band released, ‘Pyromania.’ Lange produced it. The album consisted of hit singles as, ‘Rock of Ages,’ ‘Foolin”, and ‘Photograph’ and it around six million copies of it was sold in 1983 and 1984.
In 1987, the band released their next album, as Hysteria. Its fourth single, titled ‘Pour Some Sugar On Me,’ was a big hit. Six singles in the album became the top twenty singles of that time.
In 1993, the band released another album, “Retroactive,” in which some of the tracks were written as B-sides for Hysteria singles. This was followed by another successful album “Vault” in 1995 that has been the Greatest Hits of Def Leppard band. This album recorded a sale of 3.5 million copies in that year. In 2002, Def Leppard released its tenth album as ‘X’ in 2002.
Some of the most popular studio albums of Dep Leppard band are as follows:
On Through the Night (in 1980)
High ‘n’ Dry (in 1981)
Pyromania (in 1983)
Hysteria (in 1987)
Adrenalize (in 1992)
Slang (in 1996)
Euphoria (in 1999)
X (in 2002)
Yeah! (in 2006)
Awards & Achievements
The band defined and established their style through the hit album, High ‘n’ Dry (1981). Their main track of the album “Bringin’ On the Heartbreak” was one of their first rock videos that got played in 1982 on MTV. The next studio album of the band as “Pyromania” (1983), comprised of lead singles as “Rock of Ages,” and “Photograph.” This album got diamond certification and made it a highly popular music band of that time. In 2003, this album stood at 384 positions on the list of 500 Greatest Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone.
Their studio album, Adrenalize, made its way to the No. 1 position in the US and UK charts in 1992. It also contained various hits that included “Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad,” and “Let’s Get Rocked.” In 1995, their greatest-hits music album, Vault, was released, and it featured the British hit “When Love & Hate Collide.” Def Leppard band won awards at the 1989 US Music Awards for favorite Hard Rock/ Heavy Metal Artist and music album for Hysteria.
Due to this significant contribution in the field of the music industry, Def Leppard made its place in the “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame” in the year 2019. With classic hits such as “Rock of Ages,” “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” “Hysteria,” “Foolin,” “Photograph,” and exceptional version of “Bringing on the Heartache,” the band continues to connect its powerful energy and rock sound with the strength of emotional essence of their musical creation.
Net Worth of Def Leppard in 2024
In 1987, their fourth album, ‘Hysteria,’ was released, which topped both the US and UK album charts. This album received certified 12× platinum for its sales of more than 12 million in America. To date, more than 25 million copies of the album have been sold all over the world. It comprised of hit singles that include America’s Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 as “Love Bites,” “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” “Armageddon It,” “Hysteria,” “Rocket,” “Women,” and “Animal.”
With over 100 million copies sold all across the world, Def Leppard has been considered as one of the best-selling rock bands in the world. Its two albums, ‘Pyromania’ and ‘Hysteria,’ received RIAA diamond certification. Def Leppard is one of the five-rock bands that has released two original studio albums making a sale of more than 10 million copies throughout the US. This band got ranked at No. 31 position in the list of “100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock” by VH1 and ranked at No. 70 position in “100 Greatest Artists of All Time”.
The net worth of main members of Def Leppard rock band is as follows:
Joe Elliott – $70 million
Rick Allen – $50 million
Phil Collen – $20 million
Vivian Campbell – $20 million
Throughout the musical career, the Def Leppard band has released numerous classic, outstanding albums that have inspired and entertained generations of music artists and fans worldwide. Their spectacular live shows, packed with influential melodic rock anthems, have made it one of the highly admired rock bands all over the globe.