Rick Allen

Rick Allen, Drummer for Def Leopard (Google images)

One day, I was on the computer looking up old rock bands. This I like to do to find out more about the bands I like. I came across a band called Def Leopard. I was looking up facts about the band when I noticed something. I came across a very unique person in the band. His name is Rick Allen and his story is an inspirational one about recovery.

Rick was born on November 1, 1963 in Derbyshire, England. When he was five he used to tap beats using his mother’s kitchen utensils. When he was 10, he convinced his parents to get him a drum kit. Six months of practicing and he was already in his first band, Smokey Blue. When he was 15, his dad noticed a flyer saying that a band called Def Leopard needed a new drummer. He joined the band in 1978 and pursed his music career.

Def Leppard Logo (Google Images)

In 1979, Def Leopard opened for Sammy Hager in London’s Hammersmith Odeon. Rick was only 17 when Def Leopard's first album “On through the night” came out in 1980 and was a big hit in the U.K. Next in 1981 was “High and Dry”, their first platinum album. And in 1983, Def Leopard’s album “Pyromania” sold ten million records. Def Leopard was quickly becoming one of the world's biggest bands.

All seemed to be going well for these rock stars until December 31, 1984. Rick was on to a New Year's Eve party when he got in a race with another driver. He lost control and drove over a wall and into a field. He was thrown out of the car causing the severing of his left arm. Luckily, a nurse drove by during the incident and took him the hospital. When the band's lead vocalist Joe Elliot heard about this, he drove 180 miles to see him. Doctors had reattached his arm, but it got infected and they had to remove it. Although the situation seemed bad, Rick believed he could still play the drums. He practiced tapping his left foot on a foam block at the end of his bed.

Rick Allen (Google Images)

Soon after the incident in 1985, he practiced playing on a custom made electronic drum kit. Later that year the band began to record again. Rick had overcome the incident and in 1987, the album “Hysteria” came out and was a huge hit. It was their first top 40 hit in the U.K. and had six top 20 hits in the U.S. “Hysteria” also included one of the band's most memorable songs “Pour some sugar on me”. Rick now lives in Malibu, California with his wife Lauren and co-founded the Raven Drum Foundation, which is a charity helping disabled kids overcome challenges. Rick is a hero to people near and far. His story is like the ones in T.A. Barron’s A Hero’s Trail because he overcame challenges to do something great.