Def Leppard - Pyromania (30th anniversary)

Today (January 20th) marks the thirtieth anniversary of the release of Pyromania, the third studio album from English rock band Def Leppard.

Click here for my full review of this 80's classic and get ready to rock (rock) 'till you drop.

Happy Birthday, Rick Allen

Happy birthday today to Rick Allen. Born on November 1st, 1963, the drummer for the English rock band Def Leppard is truly an inspiration to everyone the world over.

Despite a tragic car accident when he was just 21 years old, Allen overcame the complete amputation of his left arm and continued to be one of the best drummers in rock 'n roll history. He and his wife Lauren even co-founded the Raven Drum Foundation, a charity with a mission to serve, educate and empower veterans and people in crisis.

My son was born with a right brachial-plexus injury which basically was nerve damage to his right hand and the lower half of his right arm. Though he has had some nerve and muscle graft surgeries when he was a toddler, his usage of his right arm is much less precise than most of us. We've often used Rick Allen as an example for our son, to show him how someone can overcome a situation like this to pursue the career they love.

Here are a couple links to Def Leppard albums I have previously reviewed on the blog:

For Pyromania from 1983, click here

For Hysteria from 1987, click here

Def Leppard - Pyromania

On January 20th of 1983, the British rock band Def Leppard released their third studio album entitled Pyromania. Phil Collen joined the band as a guitarist mid-way through the recording of this record (he replaced Pete Willis who had already laid down all the rhythm guitar tracks) “Mutt” Lange was the album’s producer.

Pyromania reached number 70 in Australia, number 26 in New Zealand, number 23 in Sweden, number 18 in the UK, number 4 in Canada and number 2 on the US Billboard Hot 200 charts. It ranked number 62 on Rolling Stone’s Top 100 Albums of the 80’s list and number 384 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All-Time list. Three songs from the album became Top 40 singles in the US.