Rick Allen
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Rick Allen
- Genres: Rock
Biography
Few other musicians in the history of rock have had to overcome such a severe, career-threatening injury as Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen had to in 1984, when his arm was amputated due to a near-fatal car crash. Born Richard John Cyril Allen on November 1, 1963, in Sheffield, England, Allen took up the drums at the age of 10. By the age of 12, he was accomplished enough to play in local groups, and he soon began emulating such drummers as Led Zeppelin's John Bonham, Thin Lizzy's Brian Downey, and Queen's Roger Taylor. Shortly after turning 15, Allen spotted an ad in a local newspaper for a group that was looking for a drummer. The group turned out to be Def Leppard, and despite all of its members being several years older than Allen, he got the gig anyway. Since he was still underage, the group would often have to lie about his age to get him into the clubs they were playing, and when they inked contracts, Allen's father had to sign for him.For Def Leppard's first two releases, 1980's On Through the Night and 1981's High N' Dry, the group was a straightforward heavy metal outfit, considered to be one of the leaders of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. But on 1983's Pyromania, Leppard's sound took on a more mainstream and anthemic tone, resulting in massive breakthrough success (the album would go on to sell nine million copies in the U.S. alone). With the group's future looking bright, Leppard took a much needed break from the road in 1984, and concentrated on working on their highly anticipated follow-up to Pyromania. But tragedy was lurking around the corner for the then 21-year-old, when he was involved in a serious car accident on New Year's Eve of 1984. Driving just outside his hometown of Sheffield, another car drove Allen's off the road, resulting in his car crashing into a field and Allen being thrown from his vehicle. His left arm had been completely severed at the point of his shoulder, and although doctors originally believed they could re-attach it, they discovered an infection had set in and had to amputate it.
Admirably, the group stood behind their fallen bandmate, as Allen constructed an electronic drum set, which he could trigger with his feet. After countless delays, Leppard finally reappeared in 1987 with their fourth album overall, Hysteria, which, amazingly, sold even better than Pyromania, eventually selling over 12 million copies in the U.S. Allen and Leppard continued to issue albums throughout the '90s and beyond (and overcame yet another tragedy, when founding guitarist Steve Clark died in early 1991), including such titles as 1992's Adrenalize, 1993's Retro Active, 1996's Slang, 1999's Euphoria, and 2002's X. Over time, Allen was able to incorporate more acoustic drums into his set-up, creating a balance between traditional drums with electronic ones. Allen received some unwanted publicity in 1995 for allegedly fighting with his then-wife at Los Angeles International Airport, during which time Leppard's record sales slipped considerably. But the group managed to retain a sizeable following, as many continued to acknowledge Pyromania and Hysteria as among the finest '80s rock records. Allen and Def Leppard's story was retold in the late '90s and early 21st century, when the VH1 TV channel aired a Def Leppard edition of their Behind the Music series, as well as creating a made-for-TV movie, Hysteria: The Def Leppard Story. ~ Greg Prato, Rovi
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Rick Allen
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Rick Allen (drummer)
| Rick Allen | |
|---|---|
 Rick Allen live with Def Leppard on August 13, 2008 in Winnipeg |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Richard John Cyril Allen |
| Also known as | Thunder God, Black Knight |
| Born | 1 November 1963 Dronfield, Derbyshire, England |
| Genres | Hard rock, heavy metal, glam metal |
| Occupations | Musician |
| Instruments | Drums, percussion, vocals |
| Years active | 1979–present |
| Labels | Island, Mercury, Polygram |
| Associated acts | Def Leppard |
| Website | http://www.defleppard.com |
Richard John Cyril "Rick" Allen (born 1 November 1963) is the drummer for the English hard rock band Def Leppard. He is famous for overcoming the complete amputation of his left arm and continuing to play with the band, which subsequently went on to its greatest popular success worldwide. His fans now call him the "Thunder God".[citation needed]
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Contents
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Def Leppard
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This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (August 2011) |
When Allen was 15, his mother replied on his behalf to an ad placed by a band called Def Leppard looking for a drummer to replace Tony Kenning ("Leppard loses skins" was the ad's headline), and on 28 November 1978, Allen joined the band. In 1979, he dropped out of school (other band members quit their jobs around the same time) to concentrate on a career in music. In September of that year, they opened for Sammy Hagar at London's Hammersmith Odeon and in October and November played shows as a support act for AC/DC. Allen celebrated his 16th birthday with a performance at the Hammersmith Odeon. On 14 March 1980, the band released their first album, On Through the Night. Since their first album, Allen still continues to record and tour with the band.
Accident and recovery
On 31 December 1984, Rick was involved in a street-racing accident. 21-year-old Allen was driving in his Chevrolet Corvette on the way to a New Year's Eve party at his family's home in Sheffield, England, when an Alfa Romeo passed him. Allen claims that the driver had been egging him on and that he would not allow him to pass. In his rage to pass this driver, he became reckless, did not see a turn up ahead and lost control of his car, which sailed over a stone wall and into a field. He was thrown from the car, with his left arm severed because the seat belt was not properly fastened. The car ended up upside down, with his girlfriend Miriam Barendsen secure in her seat. She was not seriously injured and found Allen in the field. They were helped by two passers-by (one of whom was a nurse and the other of whom was an off-duty police officer), and Allen was taken to a hospital. Doctors initially reattached Allen's arm, but because of infection, it was removed again permanently. He left the hospital three and a half weeks later and was back with Def Leppard in the Netherlands two weeks after getting out of the hospital with recuperation expected[citation needed] to last six months.
Allen thought that he could not continue drumming for Def Leppard and became very depressed, so Def Leppard's lead singer, Joe Elliott, stopped to visit Allen in an attempt to cheer him up. The band was on a pause, so soon after, Elliott and Allen met with some engineers and started to design a drum set to assist Allen's drumming. After all of this, he could still play some drum rhythms with one hand, using his left foot (typically for hi-hat pedals in common drum kits), to play the snare drum. Former Status Quo drummer Jeff Rich was a source of help and encouragement during Allen's convalescence, and they designed an electronic kit Allen could play using only one arm. (The Ludwig acoustic drum kit he used on earlier albums High 'n' Dry and Pyromania was later given away by Def Leppard's one-time management.) Electronic drum manufacturer Simmons created a kit to their specifications, and Allen made his post-accident debut in 1986 with a well-received set at the "Monsters of Rock" festival at Castle Donington. In August 1987, the band released their fourth album, Hysteria, which, after a relatively slow start in the U.S., ultimately became another huge success, selling over 20 million copies worldwide.
Allen's drum sets and gear
1979–1984
Allen used Pearl Drums from 1979–1980. From 1980–1984, he used a Ludwig drum kit and Paiste's RUDE and 2002 cymbal lines during the High 'N' Dry and Pyromania recording and touring sessions.
His setup for 1980–1982 consisted of nine pieces: Black Beauty Super Sensitive snare (6-1/2" x 14"), bass (16" x 22"), four rack toms, (as seen of the videos from the album High & Dry), (12" x 13", 13" x 14", 14" x 15", and 15" x 16"), two floor toms (16" x 16" and 16" x 18") which were suspended by a Ludwig cymbal stand, and a gong drum (18" x 20"). In early 1983, he removed the gong tom and two of the rack toms from his kit. The reason when asked at a Meet & Greet was that the 14" x 15" tom broke and so Rick replaced that with the "gong" drum. Also, when asked why he removed the rest of the drums from the kit, Rick replied, "I got tired of lugging them around on tour".
1985–present
Most electronic drums use piezoelectric triggers which sense a hit from a drumstick or a pedal and activate a sampled or synthesized sound in response. The customized kit built by Simmons for Allen included drum pads (placed primarily in front of Allen and to his right) triggering the sound of the snare drum and toms to be played with his surviving arm, combined with multiple pedals (mainly placed on the floor to his left), duplicating many of the same sounds. This allowed Allen (after much practice) to play patterns using his right hand and left foot that two-armed drummers would typically play with their right and left hands. Allen subsequently experimented with hardware from other electronic percussion companies, such as Clavia's drum system, Forat's F/16 system, and the Hart Dynamics Acupad system.
In more recent years, as the artificial drum sound popular in the 1980s has largely disappeared, Allen has favoured a sound more like that of an acoustic drum kit, using the electronic pads to trigger samples made from recordings of Allen's acoustic drums.
Allen has used DW acoustic drums, Zildjian acoustic cymbals, Hart Dynamics Acupad electronic pads, Akai samplers, and 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.[1] He is ranked #7 on the UK website Gigwise in the 100 Greatest Drummers Of All Time list.[2]
On 14 June 2009, Allen headlined Download Festival with the rest of Def Leppard. Towards the end of the set, vocalist Joe Elliott dedicated the set to Allen in scenes reminiscent of their 1986 Monsters Of Rock performance. What followed was well over five minutes of ovation from the crowd and Allen being taken aback with tears. In February 2011, it was confirmed that Def Leppard would once again headline the Download festival.
On 16 October 2009, Yamaha announced the addition of Rick Allen to their artist roster.[3] Allen plays Yamaha Oak Custom drums with a matching subkick.[4]
Sticks
Allen has used Zildjian drumsticks since the formation of the band in 1977. His signature sticks in the Zildjian line are entitled "Thunder God" in reference to what his fans call him. He currently uses Easton Ahead sticks.
Raven Drum Foundation
Rick Allen and his wife Lauren Monroe are the co-founders of The Raven Drum Foundation, a charity located in Malibu, California, with a mission to serve, educate, and empower veterans and people in crisis.[5] The Raven Drum Foundation commonly works to help individuals and communities in crisis through healing arts programs, drum circle events, and collaborative partnerships. Allen described the foundations involvement with Camp Kilpatrick in 2009:
"Rhythm is such a big part of their culture and their own way of communicating, so we were able to go in there and design a program around them. It developed into drum council, which is an ongoing program that we provided for the camp. We had tremendous success."[6]
Recently, they have had a special focus on veterans of war through their "Veteran Resiliency Project" including support for the Wounded Warrior Project. Rick and Lauren also host "Resiliency Radio", an interactive radio show intended to help empower, educate, and inspire during difficult times.[7]
One Hand Drum Company
The One Hand Drum Company was created by Rick to assist in providing awareness and funding for his Raven Drum Foundation. Currently, the primary focus of the One Hand Drum Company is promoting StikRick, a drawing by Rick of a one-armed drummer that he sometimes uses with his autograph. The StikRick site sells t-shirts, hats, and other items with the StikRick drawing along with a "Life Is Great!! Be A Rockstar!!" slogan. Proceeds from the One Hand Drum Company go to support the Raven Drum Foundation charity.[8]
Side projects
- Even though he was not credited, Allen co-wrote the soundtrack to a 1998 Disney TV-movie called Brink!.
- In May and June 2000, he played two shows with the Mark Mason Project, featuring guitarist Mark Englert previously of Dramarama.
- Allen has written music with his wife Lauren as well as played on her albums.[9]
- In November 2004, Allen collaborated with Krishna Das in the recording of a CD entitled All One.
Personal life
Allen was married to his first wife Stacey from 1991 to 2000, during which he became a father with the birth of his daughter Lauren Shane (born May 20, 1997). In 1995, Allen was arrested for spousal abuse in Los Angeles International Airport when he dragged his wife Stacey into a restroom by the throat and slammed her head against the wall.[10] He pleaded guilty to the charge and was sentenced on 6 August 1996 to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, seek counseling, and spend 30 days on a graffiti-removal work crew.[11] They remained together after this incident, but eventually divorced in 2000.
Allen was married on 10 October 2003 to Lauren Monroe. On 1 December 2010, he became a father for the second time with Monroe to daughter Josefine ("Josie").
References
- ^ Whirlwind / Def Leppard[dead link]
- ^ 100 Greatest Drummers Of All Time. Gigwise. Retrieved on 2011-09-15.
- ^ Yamaha Welcomes Legendary Rick Allen to its Drum Roster | Yamaha Artists. Yamaha.com (2009-10-16). Retrieved on 2011-09-15.
- ^ Solid as Oak: Def Leppard Drummer Plays Yamaha – Drums – News & Events – Yamaha United States. Usa.yamaha.com (2009-10-09). Retrieved on 2011-09-15.
- ^ Mission and Vision. Raven Drum Foundation. Retrieved on 2011-09-15.
- ^ "Ability Magazine: Def Leppard's Rick Allen" (2009)". http://abilitymagazine.com/Def.html. Retrieved 2012-04-03.
- ^ Resiliency Radio. Raven Drum Foundation. Retrieved on 2011-09-15.
- ^ One Hand Drum Company – About Us. Noflash.stikrick.com. Retrieved on 2011-09-15.
- ^ Lauren Monroe Music Store – Freedom Sessions. Laurenmonroe.com. Retrieved on 2011-09-15.
- ^ Shaw, Jessica; Steffens, Daneet (21 July 1995). "Celebrity news for the week of 21 July 1995". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,298028,00.html. Retrieved 2009-12-18.
- ^ Helligar, Jeremy (19 August 1996). "Passages". People. http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20142039,00.html. Retrieved 2009-12-18.
External links
- The Raven Drum Foundation
- One Hand Drum Company & StikRick
- Rick Allen: Thunder God
- Rick Allen @ DefLeppard.com
| Preceded by Frank Noon |
Def Leppard Drummer 1978–present |
Incumbent |
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Mentioned in
Dalton & Dubarri
(Rock Band, '70s)
The Skunks
(Blues Band, '60s)
Slang
(1996 Album by Def Leppard)
Def Leppard: Hysteria
(2002 Music Film)
Born For You
(1996 Album by Rockie Charles)
» More