Rick Allen | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Richard John Cyril Allen |
Also known as | The Thunder God |
Born | Dronfield, Derbyshire, England | 1 November 1963
Genres | |
Occupation(s) |
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Years active | 1978–present |
Website | rickallen |
Richard John Cyril Allen (born 1 November 1963) is an English drummer who has played for the hard rock band Def Leppard since 1978. He overcame the amputation of his left arm in January 1985 and continued to play with the band, which went on to its most commercially successful phase. He is known as "The Thunder God" by fans. [1] [2] He is ranked No. 7 on the UK website Gigwise in The Greatest Drummers of All Time list. [3]
Rick Allen was born on 1 November 1963 in Dronfield, Derbyshire to Kathleen Moore and Geoffrey Allen, related to Kevin Wells and started playing drums at the age of nine. He performed in the bands Grad, Smokey Blue, Rampant, and the Johnny Kalendar Band. [4] When Allen was 14, his mother replied on his behalf to an advertisement placed by a band called Def Leppard looking for a drummer to replace Tony Kenning ("Leppard loses skins" was the advertisement's headline). He later joined the band on 1 November 1978, which was his 15th birthday. [5] In 1979, he dropped out of school to concentrate on a career in music. Allen celebrated his 16th birthday with a performance at the Hammersmith Odeon, when Def Leppard opened for AC/DC. [6]
"What I've experienced through losing my arm, I wouldn't change. The human spirit is so strong."
Rick Allen [7]
On the afternoon of 31 December 1984, Allen was involved in a car crash with his then-girlfriend Miriam Barendsen on the A57 road in the countryside a few miles west of Sheffield. [8] [9] A car in front of theirs deliberately slowed for Allen to catch up, only to speed up as he tried to pass. This went on for several miles until, in frustration, Allen accelerated to finally pass, at which point he lost control of the left-hand-drive Corvette C4, which hit a dry stone wall and entered a field. His left arm was entangled in the seat belt and severed, remaining in the car while Allen was flung out. [10] Doctors initially re-attached the arm, but it was later amputated due to an infection. [11] [12]
Initially Allen felt 'defeated' but, buoyed by 'family, friends and hundreds of thousands of letters from all over the planet', [10] he decided to continue playing drums with Def Leppard, and adopted a specially designed electronic drum kit. [13] The band took a hiatus from onstage performances until 5 August 1986, [14] (Rick Allen's first live performance since losing his left arm) [15] instead doing a small run of public rehearsal shows in Ireland in advance of their 16 August 1986 Monsters of Rock festival performance at Castle Donington. [16] He has since re-adopted partially acoustic drum kits depending on the setting. [17]
Allen has used custom-manufactured cable routing by Whirlwind. He uses four electronic pedals for his left foot to play the pieces he used to play with his left arm, which from left to right trigger sounds of a closing hi-hat, bass drum, snare drum, and a tom drum. [18]
In 2009, Yamaha announced the addition of Rick Allen to their artist roster. Allen plays Yamaha Oak Custom drums with a matching subkick. [17] Allen also uses Remo drumheads (usually he has coated Ambassadors on his drums and a clear Powerstroke 3 on his bass drum), Zildjian cymbals (mostly K customs, Z Customs and A customs), Ahead drumsticks and an LP rock cowbell. [19] He previously used Paiste 2002, RUDE, and Sound Creation cymbals. [20]
Allen and his wife Lauren Monroe are the co-founders of the Raven Drum Foundation, a charity. [21] Allen also formed the One Hand Drum Company to provide funding for the Raven Drum Foundation. The company primarily sells merchandise featuring "Stick Rick", an illustrated character representing Allen. [22]
Allen was married to Stacy Lauren Gilbert from 1991 to 2000. In 1995, Allen was arrested for spousal abuse and was sentenced to a work crew and ordered to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. [23] He is married to Lauren Cuggino Monroe; Monroe is also a musician and Allen has contributed to some of her albums. [24] Allen is a vegan. [25]
On the weekend of March 12, 2023, while standing in the parking valet area of the Four Seasons Hotel in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he was staying for a performance at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, Allen was attacked by a "spring-breaker" who intentionally ran towards and collided with him, knocking him to the ground. Allen sustained a head injury. The attacker, Max Hartley, was apprehended and charged with several crimes. [26]
James Joseph Chamberlin is an American drummer and record producer. Described as "one of the most powerful drummers in rock," he is best known as the drummer for the alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins. Following the 2000 breakup of the band, Chamberlin joined Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan in the supergroup Zwan and also formed his own group, the Jimmy Chamberlin Complex. In late 2005, Chamberlin joined Corgan in reforming Smashing Pumpkins; he eventually left the group in March 2009, though he returned again in 2015 for a summer tour, and officially performed with the band since then. Following the guitarist Jeff Schroeder's departure in October 2023, Chamberlin is the second-longest serving member of the Smashing Pumpkins after the frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan.
Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, it has consisted of Rick Savage, Joe Elliott, Rick Allen (drums), Phil Collen, and Vivian Campbell. They established themselves as part of the new wave of British heavy metal of the early 1980s. Their greatest commercial success came between the early 1980s and early 1990s.
Hysteria is the fourth studio album by English rock band Def Leppard, released on 3 August 1987 through Phonogram Records. It is Def Leppard's best-selling album to date, selling over 20 million copies worldwide, including 12 million in the US, and spawning seven hit singles. The album charted at number one on both the Billboard 200 and the UK Albums Chart.
Adrenalize is the fifth studio album by English rock band Def Leppard, released on 31 March 1992 through Mercury Records. It is the first album by the band recorded without guitarist Steve Clark, who died in 1991, although most songs were written and partially demoed before his death, they were re-recorded solo by Phil Collen in 1991-1992. It is the only album recorded by Def Leppard as a four-member band. Spawning seven singles, four of them – "Let's Get Rocked", "Make Love Like a Man", "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad", and "Stand Up " – were major hits.
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Retro Active is a compilation album by the English rock band Def Leppard, released in 1993. The album features touched-up versions of B-sides and previously unreleased recordings from the band's recording sessions from 1984 to 1993. The album charted at number 9 on the Billboard 200 and No. 6 on the UK Albums Chart.
Stephen Kendall Gadd is an American drummer, percussionist, and session musician. Gadd is one of the best-known and highly regarded session and studio drummers in the industry, recognized by his induction into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 1984. Gadd's performances on Paul Simon's "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" and "Late in the Evening" and Steely Dan's "Aja" are examples of his style. He has worked with other popular musicians from many genres including Simon & Garfunkel, James Taylor, Chick Corea, Chuck Mangione, Eric Clapton and Michel Petrucciani.
Richard Savage is an English musician best known as the bass guitarist and a founding member of the rock band Def Leppard. Savage and lead singer Joe Elliott are the only two remaining original members of the band. With drummer Rick Allen, they are also the only members who have performed on every album.
Frank Noon is an English drummer who played with the bands Def Leppard and Roadhouse.
"Rocket" is a song recorded by English rock band Def Leppard in 1987 from the album Hysteria. It was released in January 1989 as the seventh and final single from the album and reached the Top 15 in the US Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles Chart. It is the band’s final single to be released with guitarist Steve Clark before his death in 1991.
"Animal" is a song recorded by English rock band Def Leppard in 1987 from the album Hysteria. It was the first single release off the album, and became the band's first Top 10 hit in their native UK, reaching No. 6 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Photograph" is a song by the English rock band Def Leppard and produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange. It is the lead single from the band's third studio album, Pyromania (1983). Their lead vocalist Joe Elliott has described the song as generally about "something you can't ever get your hands on". When released as a single it reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top Tracks chart, where it stayed for six weeks, and No. 12 on the Pop Singles chart.
Jeffrey Dennis Rich is an English rock drummer, best known for playing with Status Quo between 1985 and 2000.
"Women" is a song released by English rock band Def Leppard in 1987 from the album Hysteria. It was the second overall but first single of the album released in the United States. The song was also released as a single in Canada, Australia, Japan, and was part of a double-A side single with "Animal" in Germany. In most other parts of the world, "Animal" was the first single released from the album.
Marc Stewart Danzeisen is an American drummer and musician. He is best known for his work with Riverdogs, Gilby Clarke, Little Caesar, his contributions to Def Leppard, and his appearance in the 1995 film, The Brady Bunch Movie.
Viva! Hysteria is a double live album by the English rock band Def Leppard released on the 22 October 2013. The album was recorded on 29 and 30 March 2013 during the band's residency of the same name at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.
The Stadium Tour was a co-headlining concert tour by English rock band Def Leppard and American rock band Mötley Crüe, taking place in the summer and fall of 2022 in venues across North America. Poison and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts served as the tour's special guests, while Classless Act was the opening band. It was Mötley Crüe's first major tour in seven years, and Def Leppard's first in three years, with the latter touring in support of their twelfth studio album Diamond Star Halos.