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Def Leppard are an English hard rock/heavy metal band from Sheffield, who formed in 1977 as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. Largely on the strength of their albums Pyromania and Hysteria, Def Leppard became one of the top-selling rock bands throughout the 1980s, selling over 65 million albums worldwide, including over 35 million in the United States alone. Def Leppard are ranked #31 on VH1's "Greatest Artists of Hard Rock".
Def Leppard's music is a mixture of hard rock, album-oriented rock (AOR), and heavy metal elements, with its multi-layered, harmonic vocals and its melodic guitar riffs. However, even though they were often considered the leaders of the NWOBHM movement of the late '70s, in the mid-1980's they had associated more with the pop metal movement, in large part due to their mainstream success and production. Despite all of this, Def Leppard have expressed dislike of the "pop metal" label.
By the release of the Hysteria album, the band had developed a distinctive sound featuring heavy drums and effects-laden guitar sounds overlaid with a multi-layered wall of husky, harmonised vocals. Def Leppard is one of only five rock bands with two original albums selling over 10 million copies each in the US. The others are The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and Van Halen.
Current members: Joe Elliott – lead vocals, additional guitars, keyboards (1977–present) Phil Collen – guitars, backing vocals (1982–present) Vivian Campbell – guitars, backing vocals (1992–present) Rick Savage – bass, keyboards, additional guitars, backing vocals (1977–present) Rick Allen – drums, percussion, backing vocals (1978–present)
Former members: Steve Clark – guitars, backing vocals (1978–1991) Pete Willis – guitars, backing vocals (1977–1982) Tony Kenning – drums, percussion (1977–1978) Frank Noon – drums, percussion (1978)
Touring musicians: Jeff Rich – drums, percussion (August 1986 – supplement to Rick Allen)