Page 50 - Classic Rock - The Complete Story of Def Leppard 2019

RICHARD SAVAGE
in Atomic Mass. We didn’t gig in Atomic
Mass, we were just a school band…
I think Pete came to see us. We only did
one show. And Joe, he was one of the few
that also came to see us. I didn’t even
know Joe at the time. But it was more
when we formed Def Leppard. It was
Pete who was pulling the band together
– Pete, [drummer] Tony Kenning and Joe.
I came on board as the other guitar player,
but we didn’t have a bass player. It was
me who said: “Listen fellas, this is
holding us back. I’ll play bass.”
That made us a proper band, like
Zeppelin or Free or one of those. At the
time it was: “I’ll play bass ’til we find
a bass player.” That’s become a running
joke. Thankfully we still haven’t found
a bass player, so I’m still here!
You were also very talented as
a teenage footballer. You were signed
on schoolboy terms with Sheffield
United FC. How come you swapped that
dream of being a professional soccer
player for being in a band?
I was signed to Sheffield United at the age
of 14. In those days you had a first team,
48 CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM
a reserve team and an intermediary team,
and I generally played in that.
But you are a Sheffield Wednesday fan,
so how did that work?
Huge Wednesday fan, yeah. I had the
choice of Wednesday, United, Barnsley,
Rotherham and Chesterfield. But out of
those clubs, Sheffield United had just had
one of their best seasons in their history.
Sheffield Wednesday had just had their
very worst. It was a no-brainer, really.
Plus my father was a United fan, and
he sort of persuaded me to. They’d just
finished like sixth in the old First
Division so it just seemed the better
decision. It was a great team, they had
HEAVY METAL, WE’RE NOT VERY
GOOD AT THAT. WE NEVER FELT WE
WERE WORTHY OF THE NAME. AT
THE SAME TIME, THE TITLE NWOBHM
WASN’T WORTHY OF US.
Hell raiser: Tony Currie, who played for England, and
contrary to
Alan Woodward, who sadly recently just
reputation, on
the Hysteria tour passed away…
the boys liked
nothing more
than a quiet night So what made you leave football to go
in with the telly
after a show. play in Def Leppard?
It was pretty strange how it all fell into
place. I met Joe in the August of ’77, and
within six or seven weeks I’d made up
my mind. Basically, Sheffield United
made my mind up for me. I hated the two
years I spent there. I didn’t get on with the
players that were there. There was a lot of
backstabbing going on. It was all dog eat
dog, and I’m just not that mentality. Even
in the first team, you saw it. It really
turned me against wanting to be