VERY BEST: Def Leppard

This band was formed in 1977 when vocalist Joe Elliott joined Tony Kenning (drums), Rick Savage (bass guitar) and Pete Willis (guitars) who had a band called ‚Atomic Mass‘. When Elliott joined they changed their name to ‚Def Leppard‘ as Elliott had designed band posters in art class for ‚Deaf Leppard‘ but they wanted to sound ‚less punk‘. Before the group released their debut EP Kenning abruptly left and was later replaced by Rick Allen. Also Steve Clark joined the formation in 1978 as a guitarist.

In 1980 the band released their debut album „On Through The Night“ which peaked at #15 in the UK and #51 in the US album charts. In 1981 AC/DC producer Robert John „Mutt“ Lange had taken over to work with the band as they released their 2nd studio album „High ’n‘ Dry“, which peaked at #38 in the USA and #26 in the UK. In 1982 Willis was fired after excessive alcohol consumptin and replaced by Phil Collen.

Their 3rd album „Pyromania“ was released in 1983 and peaked at #2 in the US Billboard album charts, while reaching #18 in the UK. Two singles of the album „Rock Of Ages“ and „Photograph“ reached the Top 20 of the US Hot 100 Single Charts while topping the US Rock charts. The album has been certified Diamond in the States since 2004 for selling over 10 million copies.

In 1984 drummer Rick Allen lost his left arm in a car crash but continued to be part of the group as he and friends reconstructed his drum kit to use his legs instead. In 1987 the band released their 4th studio album „Hysteria“ which became a massive world wide success, topping the charts in the USA, UK, Australia, Canada and reaching Top 10 across Europe. The album has been certified Diamond in the USA and Canada. 4 singles of the album reached the Top 10 of the US Hot 100: „Hysteria“, „Pour Some Sugar On Me“, „Armageddon It“ and „Love Bites“ which topped the US Single Charts in October of 1988.

In 1991 the band was hit hard again as guitarrist Steve Clark passed away. He was later replaced by Vivian Campbell in 1992. That year the group released their next studio album „Adrenalize“ which topped the charts in the USA, UK, Australia and Canada among other places. It has been certified triple platinum in the USA and quadruple platinum in Canada. The single „Let’s Get Rocked“ peaked at #2 in the UK, becoming their best chart result in their homecountry charts. It was later tied by „When Love & Hate Collides“ in 1995 from their „Vault: Def Leppard Greatest Hits“ album.

In 1996 the band released their next studio album „Slang“ which peaked at #14 in the US and #5 in the UK as their prominence had started to fade. Their next 2 albums „Euphoria“ in 1999 and „X“ in 2002 both peaked at #11 in the USA, as did „Euphoria“ in the UK while „X“ reached #14.

The last 4 albums of the band were „Yeah“ in 2006 (US: #16, UK: #52), „Songs from the Sparkle Lounge“ in 2008 (US: #5, UK: #10), „Def Leppard“ in 2015 (US: #10, UK: #11) and finally this year in 2022 they released „Diamond Star Halos“ which peaked at #10 in the USA and #5 in the UK.

Here now I present to you my favorite 30 songs of this legendary group, hope you enjoy! What are your favorites? Write in the comments and discuss this ranking but please keep it civil. Thank you!

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No copyright infringement intended you can buy and stream all these songs in your favorite store in full length. No money is made with these videos, they are simply a hobby to celebrate music.

To support Def Leppard go to their official sites, buy and stream their songs. Thank you!