Def Leppard: The Drummer Who Came Back to Play With One Arm

Rick Allen joined Def Leppard on November 1, 1978, his 15th birthday. A year later he dropped out of school to focus on the band. By the early ’80s, he was the drummer in one of England’s most promising bands.

In 1983, the album Pyromania made them stars in the US. The band holed up to work on the follow-up. And then came the last day of 1984.

On the afternoon of December 31, Allen was driving down a country road near Sheffield. He lost control of the car and was thrown out. The crash cost him his left arm: doctors managed to reattach it, but an infection forced them to amputate.

Anyone would have thought his career was over. He later admitted he felt defeated at first. But he was held up by his family, his friends and hundreds of thousands of letters that poured in from all over the world.

The band never looked for another drummer. Allen learned to play on an electronic kit designed just for him: what he used to do with his left arm, he now does with pedals he works with his left foot.

A year later, on August 3, 1987, Hysteria came out. It had taken them more than three years to finish. The name was Allen’s own idea, inspired by the media frenzy around his accident.

Sales were slow at first, but the album ended up at No. 1 in both the US and England, with seven hit singles. Today it has sold more than 20 million copies and is the band’s best-selling album.

Almost forty years later, Rick Allen is still Def Leppard’s drummer. And on November 8 he’ll be at the Santander Arena in Santiago, when the band returns to Chile with Extreme.