Def Leppard 2000 – Present
 Rick Savage (bass), Pete Willis (guitar), and Tony Kenning (drums), all students at Tapton School in Sheffield, formed a band called Atomic Mass in 1977. Following a chance meeting with Willis, Joe Elliott tried out for the band as a guitarist. During his audition, however, it was decided that he was better suited to be lead singer.
Soon afterward they adopted a name proposed by Elliott, Deaf Leopard. At Kenning's suggestion, the spelling was slightly modified in order to make the name seem less like that of a punk band, and perhaps also as an indirect homage to Led Zeppelin.
Having rented a practice space in an old spoon factory on Bramall Lane, Def Leppard added a second guitarist, Steve Clark, in January 1978 and spent the following months developing their sound. In November, just prior to recording sessions for what would be a three-song release known as the Def Leppard EP, Kenning abruptly left the band. He was replaced for those sessions by Frank Noon. By the end of the month Rick Allen, then only 15 years old, had joined the band as its full-time drummer.
Sales of the EP soared after the track Rocks Off was given extensive airtime by renowned BBC Radio DJ John Peel, considered at the time to be a champion of punk rock and new wave music.
Throughout 1979, the band developed a loyal following among British hard rock/heavy metal fans, and were even initially considered the leaders of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (a status eventually claimed by Iron Maiden). Their growing popularity led to a record deal with the major label Phonogram/Vertigo (Mercury Records in the US).
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