I appreciate the fantastic comments on here. This documentary was made by my late father John Wilford and his film company. It was an incredible time and meeting the band was an absolute privilege..
That is fantastic I hope you could share some stories or share some photos you are very lucky and your Grampa helped with a superb documentary 😊 Thank you 😊
I’ve always greatly admired the band members for sticking with and standing by their drummer at his lowest ebb. It shows true loyalty, love and integrity.
Rick Savage Joe Steve Steamin Clark & Pete weren’t American they’re brits, their culture/logic doesn’t allow for that...Pete getting fired totally diff thing...
@@jjecklund8100 Back in the day there were plenty of blue collar/salt of the Earth people in America that would have done the same.My dad included.😉 Now.Not so much.😔 I'm just glad they're still around.Considering how easily the could have become addicts.
Oh yes. And this years stadium Tour is def leppard or bust! I'm going if it kills me I WILL BE IN MINUTE MAID PARK WHEN THEY GET HERE caused I've scraped every dime for 3 Whole years this time. Talk about eliminating any and all impulse shopping to accomplish this goal
Steve was the magic behind the whole band. If it weren't for him they never would've played that 1st "High School" gig. His excellent riffs at the beginning of songs are what caught the attention of everyone. A lot of people don't realize that Steve made more money than the others because he had the most input into the songs! He did the majority of composing the entire content of songs. He wrote lyrics, designed the melodies with the chords, and of course, polished every song with his riffs. He was a multi-talented musician, he was naturally gifted! If only he would've seen himself as others did....he was so overly critical of himself, I hope when he went to heaven he finally saw who he really was, a beautiful, talented, gifted, and truly loving man who put others before himself. R.I.P. Steve, you are a legend!
I doubt that Steve Clark would appreciate you trashing the other members of the band by minimizing their contribution to its success, as well as that of producer Mutt Lange. No one knows what each of these guys would have done if they had not gotten together...or what might have gone better without Clark's addiction. It is one thing to appreciate Steve Clark's enormous talent, but you can do it without making it sound as though he was all there was to the "magic" of Def Leppard. Just nonsense.
Rick Allen is so strong, amazing, and such an inspiration to anyone who wants to be a drummer without an arm. It just takes perseverance. He has that and then so much more. ❤
Wow, never seen this before! Such an honest and inspiring look at this iconic band. And Rick’s account of his accident at the 40:00 mark was just heartbreaking. When he broke down in that field and his dad walked over to hug him, my heart just melted. I think people forget how emotionally devastating this event was to him, as well as physically devastating. The fact that he overcame his injury and basically re-learned how play the drums just as well if not better than before, is truly a testament to the human spirit, especially considering how young he was at the time! Hats off to Rick for having the courage and tenacity to to come back the way he did, and to his bandmates for their love, support and loyalty. They have all said many times that they are family, and 3+ decades later, they still are. 💜
I enjoyed watching this, not seen it before! It brought me to tears at the part when Rick broke down in that field, heartbreaking.. but to have the courage he had and support he needed behind him to keep going is something else! So glad Rick didn't give up! ❤️ Love DL music 🎶❤️
FACTS ... He's Always Been A Strong Willed and Talented Musician his courage and dedication to his career/craft and of course to the band has been unwavering it's been understood that they've never treated him any different with anything else ; they've encouraged him and he's also become an even more Advanced drummer
What about the anonymous, the not famous millionaire people that go through this by themselves everday, with medical coverage that covers something one day, but not the next(how much is this going to cost me brings my stomach pain)and without much support just the group therapy, The feeling off your alone because to feed, bath, and getting you around is hard work, its understandable people have their own lives to contend to, but in saying that its also give you motivation, the strength if you like to want to show them you dont need them to do it for you, you always get the feeling people are thinking hes wants me to do that for him? Its crazy how in less than 10 seconds you're life can change. Its all good now. Thank for letting me fent that I feel better lol. If you read it or not.
Yes😢 it’s hard to watch old Def Leppard concerts etc and see the beautiful magnificently talented Steve Clark without tearing up seeing him alive happy and doing what he loved ROCKING OUT!!!
Def Leppard has seen its share of highs and it has seen its share of lows. They handled it with class. They took exactly the right amount of time to grieve the loss of Steve Clark. When Rick Allen was in his car wreck, they could have quit or hired a new drummer but they gave Rick the chance and the time to recover. they supported him. This is a very close group no egos. I like them since I heard High & Dry. Keep rockin lads!
This band in the 1980s was an unstoppable machine! I’ve been going to their concerts since 1983, when they were opening for other bands, and they blew those bands off the stage! After Rick’s accident, they came back stronger than ever! They are still amazing today and have never wavered!
@@boblongdickder6178 I think part of what ya say is true. Different people have different interpretations. I just like to call them a rock band. Too many people like to come up with different types of something. I listen to a lot of metal and believe me the sub genres are very funny. Just keep it simple.
I grew up with these guys. They were only about 6-7 years older than I. I listened to them as a teen...and still love them. I would even pipe their music into my helmet while flying combat missions in Iraq. I will listen to and love their music until I die, and even after that, I will be a Def Leppard fan. My favorite of all time.
In the 80s I was a teen and truly the biggest def leppard fan around. I waited in agony three years for hysteria. Never giving up. I am proud of that being only 15 when hysteria finally came out. I bought the Lp the day it came out because the cd didn’t come in the store before a week later. 1987. Girls girls girls. Tell no tales. Hysteria. Tango in the night. Whitesnake 1987, crazy nights. Permanent vacation. So many albums I bought brand new that now are 35 year old classics.
Dad grew up in Washington and saw all the great bands and said hands down Def Leppard was the best. Also, one year in Reno papa roach cancelled a show because their drummer had a stomach bug and I remember the radio stations just ripping them saying the drummer from Def leppard wouldn't have canceled.
I saw DL twice.First time opening for Ozzy in '81.Joe had just turned 21.Rick Allen was 17.😮 Then in '87 when Tesla opened.Best dbl.bill I EVER saw. Both bands killed it.🤟
@@christaylor2288 look at the change in musical direction after Pete Willis quit . They were considered 1 of the Heaviest Metal bands of the time. The songs on High n Dry are much harder to play than anything on Hysteria, or Pyromania. If High n Dry would have had Foolin ,instead of Bringing On the Heartbreak , I would consider it an absolutely perfect album. Foolin is a little darker than Bringing On the Heartbreak despite the Slade English title. Pete Willis , and Steve Clark both had great raw energy together. Phil Collen is too by the book
@@godetonter4764 Look at the change of quality in the song writing after Steve died. My personal favourite of their albums is High n' Dry but Hysteria is close and it's hard to deny that it's pretty much the ultimate 80's hard rock album. Adrenalize was decent, Retroactive had some good tracks but after that it has just been one weak release after another. :(
Rest In Peace Steve Clark! There still no guitarist like you ever. I was happy to see Def Leppard in 1983 and 1989, seeing the Terror Twins was absolutely epic! Great upload of this amazing documentary. I still have my 1981 Concert shirt with white sleeves and black with Rock Brigade on the back with the band in the front. Vintage, but all mine! Def Leppard will always be great! 👍
What a great documentary - really rare stuff and great to see Joe presenting. You can also hear Phil laying down demo tracks for Stand Up (Kick Love Into Motion) from Adrenalize not released until 1992. Very sad to think about a year and a half after this documentary Steve would have passed away. Little did the band know what lay in store.
It's sad to think that Steve would die two years later. Maybe even less than two years later, depending on the exact date of when this documentary was aired.
Flew to London from the U.S. on the first week of January 1991. Steve Clark died about 3 miles from me on January 8th. My 22nd birthday was the next day. He was only 30. RIP
I am reminded of an incident that happened in the summer of 1987 during the Monsters of Rock tour that was at Wimbledon Stadium in August of that year. Def Leppard was on the ticket, along with many other top metal bands of that era, including Ozzy Osborne. This was the first tour they had been on since Rick Allens accident. Ozzy told Rolling Stone magazine that putting Rick Allen on stage basically amounted to a "freak show." After having watched Def Leppards performance, Ozzy humbled himself to Rick, and apologized for what he had said. I thought that was a touching story.
Saw them live this summer. We're all quite a bit older, but everything that the little kid in me loved in the band is all still there. I'm so glad youtube lets old stuff like this that is absolutely awesome can find new life.
Pete Willis was a integral part to Def Leppard sound early on the nwobhm sound was him and Clark a charm they lost when he was fired Unfortunately, they had a great unique early sound that was lost
Been tracking the band's Summer Stadium Tour since first of the month & have tickets for San Antonio next month! Will be my 4th time to see them live! Been a fan since the 80s and was in my mid 30s! I'm still jumping to my feet when I hear their music. They still rock!!
In the 80s Def Leppard was my favorite band, but I must admit I much preferred the early Leppard music. I never cared for Hysteria or what came after it. It may be their biggest seller, but Def Leppard lost something special with that album. Their harder rock edge. After it, everything sounded exactly like it. The hard rocking Leppard has never returned. I hated the loss of Pete Willis, but understood why. I will always respect Rick Allen's sheer tenacity and determination in overcoming insurmountable obstacles, and my heart broke at the loss of Steve Clark, my favorite band member.
I remember MTV had a Def Leppard day back in 93' and they featured this documentary. I actually started taping it with about 4 minutes left, so I'm very happy to have found this almost 30 years later. Thank you!
Oh wow!! I wonder if I taped it but I don't remember this docu at all! I was just about 23 and was working two jobs, had my first serious boyfriend and moved in with him that September so I doubt I watched it. He was an overnight cab driver and was home during the day so he probably wouldn't let me record it while I was working LOL.
I remember this being part of the "Heavy Metal Heaven" season on BBC2 back in the summer of 89. Rick going back to the scene of the crash brought a tear to my eye at the time.
Man the 80's were fun. People were happy. They worked to buy toys and have fun not to survive. The girls were hot, the guys were good looking, the cars were fast and the gas was cheap. The beer flowed free and keggers were still the rage, And the music was awesome!
I mean you might be suffering from a little bit of golden age fallacy. AIDS was a blossoming epidemic. The manufacturing sector of the United States was being decimated.
@@michaelcorcoran8768 And the cold war brought us to the very brink of nuclear war with Russia. Point is that there are always negative things going on in the world. It's the totality of the events that make for an era worthy of whistful nostalgia. Reagan told Gorbechov "Tear down that wall!" And the Berlin Wall fell establishing peaceful relations that are still being felt today. Nastalgia? Sure, but of times that were certainly worthy of the time spent remembering.
Eirik Rødberg 1 second ago Nonsense. The Cold War in the 80a was not really dangerous like things are now. Indeed the 80a were the golden years. No doubt about it. I lived it. I know.
This documentary was amazing!! I fell in love with this band when they first came out, and I'm more in love with them today!! They are so awesome and down-to-earth!! Unbelievable!! ❤ from 🇨🇦
In their early days, the Thin Lizzy influence was really clear. Among our music royalty in this country, even if we don't always fully realise it. Love the fact that Joe narrates this himself, gives the documentary a much more personal feel.
I went to the same school as Rik, then lived a few minutes walk from the school where their first gig was and even rehearsed and recorded around the same old factories they did…..so I have a lot of sentimental emotions towards leppard, always will have
And little did they know that if you lost your Histeria album then you can download it now.. Still and will always be most peoples one of the top 10 bands. Still listing to them in 2022...
Still one of my top favorite groups of all time! Never could I ever forget the early albums of Def Lepperd growing up in the 80s they were it man. Rick Allen was one of my biggest inspiration's behind my playing as a drummer growing up. ❤️
I’ve always seen small excerpts of mutt giving this interview over the years but I never knew what it came from or where the full video was. This is great thanks I thought I’ve seen all the Def Leppard docs
This group wanted to build a better life by leaving Sheffield and singing their hearts out. They succeeded overcoming impossible obstacles and staying focused on self-improvement. The consequences of their collective efforts and sacrifices were very strong friendships and a permanently positive mark on the entire world! Just look at the energy in their music. It makes an exploding Supernova look insignificant by comparison. People were singing their music before it was even released. The sincerest form of thank you!!!
Rock of Ages, still rollin' - rock'n'rollin'!!!! Thank you so much for sharing this programme. My parents wouldn't let me stay up to watch it first time on TV in the UK. Awesome - thank you so much.
And thinking about it, every picture of Mutt I ever saw, is in this very situation. So this might even be the only interview with Mutt Lang in the entire RU-vid universe.
In over 40 years I thought I've seen every clip from Def Leppard. There is a ton of stuff here I've never seen before. Just one or two clips of Mutt. If the person that did the interview with Mutt would put out the interview in its entirety, it's probably the only interview with him, in existence.
I saw this when it first came out early hours of Saturday 26 August 1989. It was repeated on Thursday 4 January 1990. I was in hospital, then recovering from a serious operation (also day of first ever showing of One Foot In The Grave) on BBC1.
The whole time I watched this video...I thought about Steve Clark and I don't think they knew what was going to happen to Steve not too long after this video RIP Steve Clark
Hysteria was the first full album I ever heard. It was on tape (it was a copy... forgive me!) and I was my first tape I ever had... I didn't know how they worked so for the first 4 months of having the tape I only listened to side A... until one day I played the side B on accident and realized there were more songs I never heard before... it was great to discover!
Woah it's cool to hear an early version of "(Stand Up) Kick Love Into Motion" @ 35:47. It really stinks to think about what all was going on behind the scenes during this documentary with Steve & how he'd die just a few years later. I'd give anything to have had an Adrenalize album with Steve playing on those songs. Ugh it still hurts.
The American rock scene was so much more aware of what young audiences wanted to listen to. This was the 80’s but it was the same in the 60’s when I was a teenager. I’m not surprised Def Leppard were drawn to the USA, watching this video now I feel depressed at how reluctant English promoters were to show any excitement about a young group like Def Leppard. I was blown away when I went to the States when MTV was launched. I remembered my teens, listening to Radio Caroline, under the bed covers, retuning constantly to hear my favourite songs.
Def Leppard were a rare example of the American market getting onboard first rather than last, later on their US record company were the ones that screwed up early promotion for Hysteria in the States.
Awesome band seen them open The Georgia Jam in 1980 I think it was, went right out and bought their first alum and still love it today. Was good to see Pete Willis I always thought he was cool as hell!
My life has been enriched by their music (4+ decades now) Come As You Are vibes is what we embraced most about the band. With Mutt’s help and the band’s passion, they Adrenalized Rock music in America.
Bands may come and go but Def Leppard has stood the test of time. This is no longer a band. Its an institution in itself. Millions of people learning their songs on guitar all over the internet is proof of this!
It's a shame, really two sad things... Steve Clarke drinking himself dead and Pete Willis drinking himself out of the band. Brilliant riffers and song writers both.