Troy Smith
Legendary 80s rock band Def Leppard has recently released a new tell-all book depicting the sex, drugs, rock and roll, and tragedy that they experienced during the peak of their fame.
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With such classic hits as “Photograph”, “Pour Some Sugar on Me”, “Rock of Ages” and so many more, Def Leppard truly is one of the greatest bands of the 1980s.
In the midst of being one of the most popular bands in the world, their star drummer Rick Allen had his left arm severed during a car accident on December 31, 1984. The book goes into incredible detail on this tragedy, even explaining that Allen had his arm re-attached, then again taken off when an infection occurred.
Allen was in a coma for three weeks.
The New York Post reports on this tell-all book….
In fact, while Def Leppard was crushing it on the charts, things came crashing down for them when drummer Rick Allen’s left arm was severed in a car accident on Dec. 31, 1984.
“It was unimaginable,” writes lead singer Joe Elliott in the new book “Definitely: The Official Story of Def Leppard.” “For two or three hours, we assumed that Rick would have to leave the band. Because there’s no such thing as a one-armed drummer.”
After the harrowing accident in Sheffield, England, Allen was in a coma for three weeks.
“During that time, they put my arm back on and then took it off again because it had got infected and I didn’t know a thing about it,” Allen recalls in the book. “When I came around … I didn’t want to be here anymore. I just wanted to disappear … I just felt completely defeated.”
But it didn’t take the percussionist long to find his groove again.
“Rick got a piece of foam for the bottom of his bed so he could push himself upright and tap at it with his feet and make beats and sounds with his one arm and two feet,” writes Elliott. “Within a week or so of the accident, he was convinced he could continue.”
https://nypost.com/2023/06/14/def-leppards-tragic-hard-partying-rock-stardom/
The book also goes into incredible detail about the partying and drug abuse of Pete Willis, one of the band’s original guitarists. They depict a story in which several band members discovered cocaine all over a hotel elevator, including footprints leading to Willis’ room. The New York Post reports on that portion of the book…
“One night during our tour of Europe in 1981, Pete had gone to bed bollocksed while the rest of us stayed down in the bar,” Elliott recalls. “When we went to go up to our rooms, the carpet of the elevator was covered in white powder with these tiny footprints in them. Little high heel size seven boots. We looked at each other and went, ‘That’s Pete.’ We got up to our floor and followed a trail of white powder to Pete’s room.”
When Willis’ substance abuse — mainly alcoholism — worsened during the recording of “Pyromania,” he was booted from the band.
“We sat him down and said, ‘Listen, mate, we’re sorry, but we’re going to have to fire you,’” writes Elliott. “He offered to go to rehab. And we just said, ‘Sorry, Pete. It’s too late. You’re gone.’”
https://nypost.com/2023/06/14/def-leppards-tragic-hard-partying-rock-stardom/
For millions of Def Leppard fans out there, this book is surely a must read. I will be picking up a copy myself.
