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Wednesday, November 2, 2005 - Page updated at 12:00 AM

Entertainment
Rock's Def Leppard rolls with tragedies, plays here Tuesday

By Tina Potterf

Special to The Seattle Times

When VH1 rolled out a "Behind the Music" on Def Leppard - one of its
warts-and-all TV documentaries that showcase the meteoric rise (and often
precipitous fall) of pop and rock acts - it seemed a logical choice.

In a few years, the band of working-class lads from Sheffield, England, went
from toiling in a factory to filling arenas and selling millions of records.

Def Leppard reached its zenith in album sales and radio play in the 1980s and
found audiences around the world hungry for the group's brand of tempered rock
that was less headbanging and more heartfelt.

But personal tragedies nearly sheared apart the band that had played a defining
role in the British rock movement and once seemed invincible.

Def Leppard, still going strong 25 years since playing its first real gig, will
bring its rock to the Everett Events Center on Tuesday night. Canadian pop-rock
balladeer Bryan Adams will share the billing.

Though Adams' career of late has been as a distinguished photographer, the
singer still has the chops to perform classics such as "Summer of '69," "Heaven"
and "Run to You."

After coming together as an official band around 1980, Def Leppard dug its heels
into the rock landscape in a big way in 1983 with the release of its third
album, "Pyromania," and the infectious single "Photograph," which helped propel
the album to seven-time platinum sales (7 million sold) in the U.S. alone. But a
year later, the band experienced its first bout of adversity when drummer Rick
Allen's left arm was severed in a car accident.

Rather than disbanding, Def Leppard - with Allen still on board - soldiered on
and by 1985 was again touring and working on its fourth album, "Hysteria."

Driven by hot singles "Pour Some Sugar On Me," "Armageddon It" and "Animal," the
album secured Def Leppard's place in the annals of modern rock. "Hysteria" sold
16 million copies to become the group's most successful release.

Singer Joe Elliott, guitarists Phil Collen and Steve Clark, bass player Rick
Savage and drummer Allen were ensconced in the rock lifestyle and indulging in
the fast life. But it all came crashing down when Clark died in 1991, reportedly
after mixing alcohol with painkillers.

Clark's death hit the band hard, so much so that Collen seriously considered
leaving.

"Steve was my best friend. We used to be drinking buddies until I stopped and he
didn't," Collen said during a phone interview from a tour stop in Louisville,
Ky. "With one of us gone, it was just different."

With the encouragement of lead singer Elliott and as a tribute to his friend,
Collen agreed to stay on.

"It's based on friendships. If you lose a family member, you don't get a new
family," Collen said. "We experience these things together, and it keeps you
together. We relate our experiences to five other people."

In 1992, Def Leppard recruited former Dio and Whitesnake guitarist Viv Campbell
and set out to tour in support of its fifth release, "Adrenalize."

Though the band's later releases have failed to match the success of "Pyromania"
and "Hysteria," Def Leppard's story is one of survival and perseverance.

"At age 47, it's amazing to still be doing something today that I love," Collen
said. "I never thought I'd be doing this beyond 30."

Copyright © 2005 The Seattle Times Company

Def Leppard and Bryan Adams
When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Everett Events Center, 2000 Hewitt Ave.
Tickets: $44.50-$59.50; available at 866-332-8499, 
www.everetteventscenter.com and in person at the box office