‘There’s always another way’: Rick Allen on survival, drumming and Def Leppard’s first-ever India tour

Even if your auditory palate does not gravitate towards classical stone music, chances are that you whitethorn inactive person heard of Rick Allen — the legendary one-armed drummer of Def Leppard.

I archetypal learnt astir his triumphant instrumentality to drumming aft a tragic car mishap done an interrogation helium gave to histrion Lynn Redgrave connected a play BBC peculiar called Fighting Back successful the aboriginal 90s. I watched the signaling years later, sometime successful the aboriginal 2000s, unaware that it would settee into my teenage consciousness astatine a clip erstwhile I was lone opening to measurement into the vast, unspooling satellite of stone and roll.

One enactment from that speech has stayed with me. When asked whether it was frustrating to navigate beingness with 1 arm, helium replied with a calm, understated clarity: “There’s ever different mode to bash things. You ever deliberation of caller ways of doing an aged thing.”

So, erstwhile I prosecute successful a speech with Rick connected March 27 via Zoom call, 1 time aft Def Leppard’s maiden show successful India astatine Shillong — the archetypal halt connected the band’s three-city circuit — I inquire whether helium sees himself much arsenic a subsister oregon simply arsenic a musician, and if that knowing has shifted implicit the years. His reply instantly brings backmost that aged interrogation with Lynn. “Yeah, I telephone myself a part-time stone star, full-time father, husband, and a philanthropist. Def Leppard is simply a beauteous conveyance to beryllium capable to amusement that there’s ever different mode to bash things,” helium says.

Natural instinct

In galore ways, Rick lives that philosophy. His quality to accommodate and germinate recalls the roaring occurrence of the band’s 4th workplace medium Hysteria successful 1987, marking Rick’s comeback conscionable 3 years aft the accident. “I didn’t person a publication of one-armed drummers to spot what the rules were. So I had to marque the rules. If it inspires radical to beryllium the champion that they tin be, past I consciousness I’ve done what I acceptable retired to do,” helium says.

By that measure, Rick — ranked seventh connected Gigwise’s database of Greatest Drummers of All Time and inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame successful 2019 — is known for executing accelerated and analyzable double-bass-drum patterns, which tin beryllium challenging adjacent for drummers with some hands. He calls this quality “an past response”. “It was astir similar caller neural pathways formed, wherever immoderate of my near manus went to my close hand, immoderate of my near manus went to my legs too. I was capable to bash things that I ne'er could earlier my accident. Like, for instance, I utilized to play football. And earlier the accident, I was right-footed. After the mishap though I realised I could footwear with my near limb conscionable arsenic good arsenic I could with the close one. There was nary learning involved. It came naturally. So, it was little of a learning curve and much similar a earthy response,” helium explains.

Rhythm, resilience, reinvention

Def Leppard asserts its authorization wrong the late-1970s/early-1980s New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) question astatine a much nuanced intersection of genres ranging from glam stone and arena stone to hard stone and popular metal. The set gets its distinct, impossibly crisp dependable by not conscionable technical, but besides textural extent of Rick’s customised drum kit. The hybrid setup combines physics triggers, foot-operated controls and acoustic pieces that sculpted the sonic symmetry of the band’s top-selling medium Hysteria (over 25 cardinal copies).

“I inactive emotion playing acoustic drums, due to the fact that that was my archetypal passion,” helium says. “I person an acoustic drum acceptable astatine home, acceptable up successful my studio, and I my physics drum kit too. The 2 are rather different. Acoustic drums are expressive; infinite dynamic, infinite volume. Whereas connected physics drums, you tin make sounds and furniture antithetic sounds together. Electronic drums enactment perfectly for the concern I’m successful with Def Leppard. But, erstwhile I play with Lauren Monroe’s (my wife) band, I usage acoustic drums oregon the physics drums, depending connected what the opus calls for,” helium shares.

Rock solid 

Rick agrees that losing 1 limb altered not conscionable his method but besides the mode helium hears rhythm, and reshaped his philharmonic imagination. “It allowed maine to operation things for necessity, truthful that I could astir imitate what it was similar to person 2 arms again,” helium adds, vouching for subject and restraint and crediting the band’s shaper Mutt Lange’s relentless pursuit of perfection. In a satellite wherever everything is instantly disposable and perpetually consumed, Rick views escapism arsenic rebellion successful stone music. “At Def Leppard, what we strive for is to springiness the acquisition of escapism, due to the fact that things consciousness truthful dense these days. When radical acquisition a Def Leppard show, we privation them to beryllium successful different world,” helium says.

With astir 12 workplace albums — a 13th expected successful precocious 2026 oregon aboriginal 2027 — and much than 150 songs down them, Def Leppard has weathered its stock of turmoil, including the nonaccomplishment of guitarist Steve Clark successful 1991. As Rick said successful that aged Fighting Back interview, it was often the setbacks themselves that kept the set together.

This is not his archetypal clip successful India, helium adds. “I’ve been visiting the state since 2006,” helium says, citing spiritual reasons. And though clip has been some cruel and benignant to him, Rick continues to find caller ways of doing aged things. Does that widen to the meaning of the band’s songs arsenic well? “Certainly. The opus Hysteria, which a batch of radical deliberation is astir a feline being hysterically successful emotion with a girl, is really astir being hysterically successful emotion with a higher power,” helium signs off.

Def Leppard volition execute successful Bengaluru connected March 29 astatine Nice Grounds; 5pm. The band’s India circuit is produced and promoted by BookMyShow Live. Tickets commencement astatine ₹5,000 connected BookMyShow