Band
biography
Deft
Leppard is the only UK tribute with official recognition
from Def Leppard themselves.
Deft
Leppard formed in May 2005 when two friends Arron Sutton
and Ashley Cooper decided it was high time somebody was
brave enough to try and tribute one of the most
influential bands of the 80's.
The
idea was pitched to long time Def Leppard fan Mark
Checkley and the core of the band was in place. "I
have been a massive Leppard fan since the very early days
when I saw them supporting Sammy Hagar at the Odeon, so I
jumped at the chance of being in a tribute to them".
With
Mark on board Ashley approached his previous band-mates
Ian Stephenson, Mike Thomas and Lee Craddock who were all
very much up for the idea. "I saw Def Leppard in the
round in '87 and it was awesome, so I was really excited
to try and recreate that kind of show" states Ian,
"but I was not without my reservations also. Def
Leppard don't actually have a keyboard player in their
line-up! But we all felt that to be as accurate as
possible to the studio Leppard sound, we needed the
additional production that you can get from keyboards to
help layer the guitars and create that album
ambience....and well, the crowds and reactions we get show
it works"
Unfortunately,
due to family commitments Arron left the band in 2007.
However, his replacement, Alex Wall has come into the fold
and fitted like a glove. He has complemented the band with
a slightly grittier edge, reminiscent of Steve Clark
himself...
Having
wowed crowds all over the UK and Channel Islands, Deft
Leppard have firmly established themselves as one of the
top rock tributes around and they continue to go from
strength to strength...