Def Leppard’s journey from Sheffield, England schoolmates to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees will be the focus of an upcoming documentary.
The band has announced the impending arrival of Long Live Def Leppard, their first authorized full-length documentary,
with Bleecker Street’s Crosswalk setting a North American theatrical release for early 2027. Jeff Feuerzeig, the documentarian behind The Devil and Daniel Johnston and Author: The JT LeRoy Story, will helm the film, which will include “never-before-seen footage and unparalleled access to its members,” a press release states.
“In the summer of ’81, after reading about Def Leppard in Creem, I saw the not-yet-famous band open for Ozzy Osbourne on his first Blizzard of Ozz tour at Asbury Park’s Convention Hall,” Feuerzeig said in a statement. “These young lads from working-class Sheffield were punching far above their weight and playing for keeps. I was smitten, a fan for life. It has been an honor to collaborate with the guys and bring their unique, heartwarming, and often humorous underdog story to the screen. This is not your typical sex, drugs, and rock & roll tale. Long live Def Leppard, indeed!”
Long Live Def Leppard will feature new interviews with its five current longtime members — singer Joe Elliott, guitarists Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell, drummer Rick Allen, and bassist Rick Savage — who will share the stories behind the “Pour Some Sugar on Me” group.
“Born out of working-class Sheffield, Def Leppard’s story is one of an unbreakable brotherhood,” Crosswalk said in its synopsis. “After exploding onto the global rock scene with their hit albums Pyromania and Hysteria, the band faced two devastating chapters: drummer Rick Allen’s life-altering accident, which cost him his arm, and the loss of guitarist Steve Clark, whose anthemic and dynamic riffs earned him a permanent place among the guitar legends of all time. Those tragedies became defining moments in the band’s history, as Def Leppard rebuilt themselves and went on to become one of the most enduring forces in rock.”
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