Nomination for Induction of Def Leppard into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

TO:

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation
1290 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10104

December 14, 2010

We, the undersigned, petition the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation for consideration of nomination and induction of an iconic band and rock and roll legend, Def Leppard.


Performers
Artists become eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first record. Criteria include the influence and significance of the artists contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock and roll.


Based on this criteria, the following information support our belief and support for this petition and should serve as a solid foundation for your consideration within this category:


Def Leppard officially formed in 1977, in Sheffield, South Yorkshire.
The bands debut release, On Through The Night, was released March 14th, 1980.
The second release, High n Dry, was released July 11th, 1981, and marked the beginning of a long-time collaboration and friendship with famed producer Robert John Mutt Lange.
Bringin On the Heartbreak was one of the first (heavy) metal videos played on MTV in 1982.
Guitarist Phil Collen joined the band in 1982 during the recording of the bands third studio album, Pyromania, replacing original member Pete Willis.
Guitarists Phil Collen and Steve (Stephen) Clark began to forge a new style of co-lead guitars which focused on dual, split-harmonies/melodies instead of the traditional lead and rhythm roles. This musical style has since influenced generations of musicians and producers alike.
Pyromania was released January 20th, 1983. The lead single, Photograph (written as tribute to Marilyn Monroe), surpassed Michael Jacksons Beat It as the most requested video clip on MTV.
Pyromania sold over six million copies in 1983 (more than 100,000 a week that year), second only to Michael Jacksons Thriller, and has since been certified Diamond by the RIAA.
Def Leppard began writing for their fourth album, later titled Hystera, in February, 1984. New Years Eve 1984, drummer Rick Allen lost his left arm (he was left-handed) in a car accident. Committed to his music, Rick was determined to continue playing drums, forming a partnership with Simmons to create an electronic drum kit consisting of numerous foot pedals to perform many of the actions previously done with his left arm. Ricks official return to performance occurred at the 1986 Donnington Monsters of Rock festival in Leicestershire, England.
After suffering numerous setbacks, Hysteria was released August 3rd, 1987.
Hysteria is one of only a handful of albums that charted seven (or more) singles on the US Hot 100: "Women" (#80), "Animal" (#19), "Hysteria" (#10), "Pour Some Sugar on Me" (#2), Love Bites (#1), "Armageddon It" (#3), and Rocket (#12). It remained on the charts for three years and has sold over 20 million copies worldwide.
In 1989, Def Leppard won Favorite Heavy Metal Artist, as well as Favorite Heavy Metal Album (for Hysteria) during the American Music Awards. It was the first time that a Heavy Metal category was added to the awards show, and has since been deleted.
The successful 15-month tour and enormous exposure on MTV and radio helped Def Leppard sell more records in the US than any other rock band in the 80s.
Guitarist Steve Clark died of an accidental overdose on January 8th, 1991, during the initial pre-production period for their fifth studio album, Adrenalize. After his death, the band decided to continue with the recording of the album as a four-piece band, having guitarist Phil Collen record all guitar tracks and mimicking Steves unique play-style.
The music video for Lets Get Rocked marks the bands only recorded performance as a four-piece. The video utilized then-advanced animation and graphics, similar to the video Money for Nothing from artist Dire Straits. Lets Get Rocked was nominated for Best Video of the Year at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards.
Adrenalize was released March 31st, 1992, simultaneously entering US and UK album charts at #1, remaining on the US charts for 5 weeks.
Guitarist Vivian Campbell, of Dio and Whitesnake fame, joined the band in 1992, filling the vacancy left by Steve Clark.
Retro Active, the fifth studio album, was released in October of 1993 with the success of the song Two Steps Behind, recorded as part of the movie soundtrack for the Arnold Swartzeneggar film, Last Action Hero.
The song Miss You in a Heartbeat from Retro Active peaked in the Top 5 in Canada, one of their biggest hits there. The album has sold over 3 million copies, to date.
Following the 1995 release of Vault: Def Leppard Greatest Hits (1980-1995), the band entered the Guinness Book of World Records on October 23rd by performing three concerts on three continents in one day (Tangiers, Morocco; London, England; and Vancouver, Canada).
The 1999 release of Euphoria, featuring the single Promises, also marked a reunion with producer Mutt Lange, hitting the US Mainstream Rock charts at #1 for 3 weeks. The album was certified Gold in both US and Canada.
On September 5th, 2000, Def Leppard was inducted into the Rock and Roll Walk of Fame on Hollywoods Sunset Boulevard by long-time friend Brian May, of Queen.
On July 18th, 2001, VH1 produced and aired Hysteria the Def Leppard Story, a biopic that featured well-known actor Anthony Michael Hall (as producer Mutt Lange), covering the bands history between 1977 and 1986. The broadcast produced come of the channels highest-ever ratings and is still available on DVD.
On May 23rd, 2006, the band released Yeah!, which consisted of cover songs from the various artists that influenced the band since childhood. It debuted at #16 in the U.S., their tenth consecutive Top 20 album, selling over 140,000 copies to-date.
The band states the Yeah! Tour was their second largest tour behind Hysteria, marking a significant revival of their popularity.
The band was one of several inaugural inductees of VH1 Rock Honors on May 31st, 2006.
The bands most recent release, Songs from the Sparkle Lounge was released on April 28th, 2008. The album debuted at #5 on the Billboard top 200 in the U.S., and featured the hit single, Nine Lives, which was co-written by and featured country recording artist Tim McGraw.
In October of 2008, the band collaborated with country super-star Taylor Swift for the TV show CMT Crossroads: Def Leppard and Taylor Swift. This was released on DVD June 16th, 2009, by Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart states this was their best selling DVD of the week and 10th best selling music release.
The band was earning approximately $700,000 a show during their 2009 tour, placing them in the top 20 shows on tour.
Denying all claims of a break-up, the band is currently working on a new live album to be released in 2011, a new tour, a boxed set, and a cartoon of the band for TV.


According to the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) on-line database, Def Leppard has received the following certifications:

16 Gold albums(500,000 units sold), 2 Singles
8 Platinum albums (1,000,000 sold)
18 Multi-Platinum certifications (each album recertified at 1,000,000 units)
2 Diamond Awards (10,000,000 units sold)


Certainly with these accolades, triumphs, benchmarks, certifications, and facts, Def Leppard is deserving and long-overdue for nomination and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.