Candied metal for masses
Def Leppard were far from the worst offenders when it came to the 1980s' many crimes against metal.
If one could ever call what Def Leppard does "metal," that is. Haircuts, flashy guitar solos and nifty band logo aside, "the Lep" has always been a little too polished and pretty-boy to really deserve the heavy-metal mantle.
Since the band began spewing its candied major-chord stadium shouters in Sheffield more than 25 years ago, its high-tech production, harmonious histrionics and Gary Glitter choruses have marked it as a less (consciously) gay Queen than as a true cousin to harder-rocking British contemporaries like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden.