Def Leppard Atomic Mess News

Def Leppard bassist Rick 'Sav' Savage could have been a very familiar name on football matters @ nationwide if his original career choice had gone to plan. As a budding centre-forward for Sheffield United schoolboys, Sav seemed destined for greatness in the beautiful game…

Despite an immensely successful and lucrative career as bassist for veteran rockers Def Leppard, Rick Savage would be the first to admit that he has made mistakes during his 25 years in the music business.

But he resolutely maintains that the worst decision he made in his entire life came prior to his pre-Def Leppard days. As a gifted young footballer he signed schoolboy forms for Sheffield United - but what followed was not the pathway to soccer stardom but a chastening experience which has scarred him for life.

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Joe Elliott, fanatical Sheffield United follower and front man for veteran rockers Def Leppard, has played to millions in countless countries during a distinguished musical career that spans a quarter of a century. Playing at Wembley is one of his fondest memories, but surprisingly not in front of 75,000 adoring rock fans…

Def Leppard are one of rock's most enduring and hardest working bands who are currently on the final leg of their 18-month World tour promoting their tenth album -'X'. During their illustrious career the band have played countless gigs in huge stadia but for singer and mad-keen football fan Joe Elliott his fondest stadium memory is the time he traded in his mike stand and guitar for football boots to take part in an 'international' at Wembley in 1991.

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The Sheffield rock legend tied the knot with Lauren Anne Monroe, a massage therapy teacher with whom he has created a successful charitable music foundation.
Rick's mum Kathleen, who lives in Stannington, has flown to America with Rick's step-dad Jim Daly. The wedding has been planned for about a year.

Rick, who lost his arm in a car crash in 1984, met Lauren three years ago at a massage therapy class.

Lauren, who studies tribal culture and energy medicine, started giving him visualisation exercises to use as physical therapy when he was touring with the band.

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A devoted Def Leppard fan claims he was sacked for going to watch his heroes in concert.

South Yorkshire carpenter Glyn Wilkinson was given tickets by his daughter Kerry for the family to see the band's homecoming gig in Sheffield.

He was working in London and decided to leave the building site early in order to get back to South Yorkshire so he could take wife Pauline and son Glyn jnr to the Arena show.

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Steve Clark, the 30-year-old guitarist for the hard-rock band Def Leppard, was found dead at his London townhouse, Scotland Yard said yesterday.

Authorities said they were investigating the cause of Clark's death, but added there were no obvious injuries and no suspicion of foul play.

Clark was found by his girlfriend on the living room floor at his home on Old Church Street, in the fashionable Chelsea district of London, police said.

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Hard rock veterans Def Leppard's collaboration with the production team behind hits by *NSync and Britney Spears will arrive in stores in July.

Island Records announced the group will celebrate its 25th anniversary with the release of "X" on July 30.

The new album sees the group teamed with various producers, including sessions at Joe Elliott's Dublin home conducted by longtime band associate Pete Woodruffe. Aerosmith producer Marty Frederickson oversaw sessions in Los Angeles.

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I've added more information about the 2004 Def Leppard Convention in Las Vegas. This includes info on location and ticket purchases.

Rick Allen knows the healing power of drums and came to share it in Conejo Valley on Sunday afternoon.

Allen's nonprofit organization, Raven Drum Foundation, sponsored a drum circle at Chumash Interpretive Center in Thousand Oaks that was attended by about 70 people.

The drummer from rock group Def Leppard, Allen lost his left arm after his Corvette rolled over in 1984. He resumed his career by using electronic technology to adapt his drum kit to his needs and still plays with the group.

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Def Leppard's drummer Rick Allen had to work the hardest he ever had to in his young life when faced with a harrowing car wreck that took his left arm.

With support and time, Allen was able to return to the band after retraining himself on the drums.

Along the way, he received many letters, both of support and looking for support. There were others all over the world suffering the same way he had.

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Melodic Rock (via Rick Savage) is reporting that the band will start recording for the follow up to X in January 2004.

Also, he band "is currently putting together a live compilation album that will feature tracks from the band's earliest days to the last show of the current tour. No release date is yet planned and Rick wasn't sure if it would be available alone or as part of the planned 25th Anniversary box set."

An international music tour is hectic enough for most rock stars, but Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen has added an extra engagement to his diary … his wedding!

The Sheffield musician will marry sweetheart Lauren Anne Monroe in California at the end of their American tour just eight days before the pair, accompanied by the rest of the band, fly to the UK for ten British dates. Yesterday the famous rockers kicked off their 33-date tour of America in Cincinnati, Ohio.

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The drum rhythm baits the hook of "We Will Rock You." In sports stadiums, it begs for a game-saving touchdown.

But pounded out as a communal pulse from a sacred drum circle led by a one-armed rocker whose fall and rise is heavy metal legend, it becomes prayer.

Rick Allen, Def Leppard's drummer, is sitting under an oak tree in shorts and a T-shirt with one sleeve tucked inside. He is shaking an instrument called a cabassa and, with a bare foot, tattooing a bass drum set on soil that was once part of an Indian village and is now the Chumash Interpretive Center in Thousand Oaks.

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Rick Allen, the one-armed drummer of rock supergroup Def Leppard, brought his Raven Drum Foundation to town Sunday and hosted a Drum Circle at the Chumash Interpretive Center in the Lang Ranch area. Allen, who started with the rock group at age 15, lost his left arm in a 1984 automobile accident.

Meeting the challenge of keeping his career alive, Allen devised a drum set that allows his left leg to take over the drumming actions usually accomplished with the left arm. The accident and his subsequent recovery took the path from a life in the fast lane of the rock world to a life of spiritual enrichment.

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The Bright Star Foundation has teamed up with StubHub, the leading online ticketing company, for a series of exclusive Def Leppard concert ticket auctions. The auctions are active now at www.StubHub.com, and proceeds go to the Bright Star Foundation, promoter of Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen's Raven Drum Foundation and local charities focusing on physical disabilities along the Def Leppard tour route.

The winning bidder in each auction will receive two concert tickets from drummer Allen's personal allotment, plus special passes to meet Allen at the concert. Proceeds from the charity auctions will go to the Bright Star Foundation, which creates awareness, raises money, and educates the public on behalf of an entertainer's chosen charitable cause.

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So I've gone and changed the look for the Def Leppard Archive. The previous layout was the original from way back in 1996 when I started the Def Leppard Archive and I had only done minimal changes to it since then. I haven't changed the site organization, so all files and documents will be in the same place and still easy to find. The change is still in progress, so expect to see new stuff and tweaks in the following weeks (months?).

I have more detailed information online about the new look and what you should expect. If you have any comments and/or suggestions, please tell me. Thanks!