Def Leppard Albums for song lyrics and biography.

Def Leppard is part of The New Wave of British Heavy Metal. Rick Savage, Pete Willis and Tony Kenning formed Def Leppard in 1977 in the British city of Sheffield. Originally known as Atomic Mass, when Joe Elliott joined they changed the name to Deaf Leopard. They then changed to Def Leppard because Deaf Leopard sounds like punk. Steve Clark joined before the recording of Getcha Rocks Off under the private label Bludgeon Riffola. Tony Kenning was replaced by Frank Noon, who was then replaced by Rick Allen. Unlike most of the NWOBHM groups, Def Leppard had clean vocals, not just smashing guitars. This very evident on Hello America, which featured the crunch of Thin Lizzy's guitar with the backing vocals that remind one of Queen.

Def Leppard's first major label album was On through the Night. High 'N' Dry was produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange, as were AC/DC's albums. Bringin' on the Heartbreak was one of the first metal videos played on MTV. Pete Willis was replaced by Phil Collen due to overdrinking. He later recorded with the bands Gogmagog and Roadhouse. This personnel change took place during the recording of Def leppard's Pyromania, which sold over six million copies. Pyromania included Photograph, Rock of Ages, and Foolin'. However, in December '84, Rick Allen crashed his Corvette into a concrete wall, resulting in the amputation of his left arm. Rick was committed to continuing as Def Leppard's drummer. He drummed on pillows, and realized that he could do some of the percussive work with his legs instead of his arms. He worked with Simmons to design a custom electronic drum set.

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The first single from Def Leppard's Hysteria, Women, was not very successful. The video for Women featured a world where women were created by men, and WOMEN stands for "Worship Our Master's Every Need". The UK single from the album was Animal. Album sales were slow before Pour Some Sugar On Me became a hit. The seventh and last single to be released from Hysteria album was Rocket. Much of Def Leppard's success is credited to producer Robert John Mutt Lange. Mutt is credited on every single track on Hysteria. The death of guitarist Steve Clark from a drug overdose and other problems resulted in a long delay before another album could be released. Adrenalize was released in 1992 with Def Leppard as a four-piece. The album entered the US charts at #1. It sold six million copies, and the single Let's Get Rocked was nominated for Best Video of the Year at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards. However, many fans consider it one of their weakest albums. Retroactive was a collection of songs which were either rare or never previously released. Some of this album's songs were written as B-sides for Hysteria singles. Vault 1995, Def Leppard's Greatest Hits, went platinum seven times. In 1992, Vivian Campbell joined Def Leppard. Vivian Campbell had previously been in Whitesnake, Sweet Savage, Trinity, Dio, Shadow King, and Riverdogs. Def Leppard's next albums were Slang, Euphoria, and X. Def Leppard has stated that they are very happy with X, and that they wish it had been the follow-up to Hysteria.

The Best Of Def Leppard was released in 2004, and was also available as a double disc set. The first disc was pretty much Vault reworked, and the second disc had less-known songs. Def Leppard released a cover version of the Kinks' Waterloo Sunset in the UK. The Best Of Def Leppard was not released in North America. Instead, a double CD entitled Rock Of Ages: The Definitive Def Leppard was released. No Matter What, a cover of Badfinger, was released as a single. Collen and Elliot were both involved in the side project Cybernauts. It was released over the internet, and only Japan got to buy a live 'album'. It was limited edition and has since been deleted. Vivian Campbell had a side band called Clock. Phil Collen has a side band called Man-Raze.