Classic Rock
Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen recalls tour with AC/DC when he was 16
Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen recalled in an interview Modern Drummer when the band was AC/DC‘s opening act during the “Highway To Hell” tour. Allen was only 16 back then and revealed how the late legendary singer Bon Scott was backstage.
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Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen recalls tour with AC/DC when he was 16:
“Hammersmith Odeon in London. I remember we were on the ‘Highway to Hell’ tour with AC/DC, and I remember Bon Scott coming in the dressing room with a bowl of what we call Smarties – over here you call them M&Ms.And he just wished me happy birthday, and I mean, at the time I was living a dream.”
You played the Hammersmith Odeon when you were 16? Was that ‘On Through the Night’?
“In 1980 – it must’ve been, it must’ve been ‘On Through the Night.’ And in fact, that very same show, we got the soundcheck down, the place went quiet, and I decided to walk out and just take a look at the kit.”
“And there’s this guy looking around my kit, and I’m like, ‘Can I help you…?’ He turned around and looked at me, and it was [Jimi Hendrix drummer] Mitch Mitchell. I was like, ‘Whoa! That is so cool.'”
Being in the band, you really came together and really they did everything to make you welcomed back and they waited for you [after the car accident that cost Rick his arm], and kudos to those guys and to you. I think that’s one of the most beautiful things that could ever happen.
“They left the decision to me whether I wanted to go on or not. They gave me time to grow and develop really a whole new style, and that’s all I needed – I just needed the time.”
“I needed the time to build my confidence and realize that I could do it. Nobody ever said, ‘Well, you have to make a decision now,’ and I think that was the most important thing. Just that time that they gave me just to find myself.”
Do you still have the letter from Phil Collins?
“I’m sure I have it somewhere, but I’ve moved quite a bit since then. It happened just outside my hometown in Dronfield, the Sheffield area, and it’s been a long time… it was the last day of 1984 [when the car crash happened], so I ruined everybody’s New Year, for sure.”
