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50 free Def Leppard trivia questions with answers — music quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
Def Leppard started as Atomic Mass, three schoolboys in Sheffield in 1976, added an 18-year-old singer who missed his bus and a 15-year-old drummer, and ended up one of only five rock bands with two Diamond-certified studio albums in the United States. Along the way they lost a guitarist to alcohol, watched their drummer lose an arm and come back on a custom electronic kit, and spent more than three years making Hysteria. These 50 questions run from the band's name (originally "Deaf Leopard") through On Through the Night, High 'n' Dry, Pyromania, Hysteria, Adrenalize, Slang and the later albums, plus the Guinness record for three continents in one day, the Taylor Swift crossover, the Las Vegas residency and the 2019 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. Easy questions cover the hits and the line-up; harder ones ask about producers, chart positions, side projects and who inducted them. Every answer is cited to a page we checked, with a short explanation so you learn something even when you miss. Play it solo or print it for a classic-rock round.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Def Leppard formed in which English city?
Sheffield
The band's roots go back to 1976, when three Tapton School students formed a group called Atomic Mass.
Q 02What was the name of the schoolboy band that became Def Leppard?
Atomic Mass
Rick Savage, Tony Kenning and Pete Doubleday formed it at Tapton School in 1976.
Q 03Who is Def Leppard's lead singer?
Joe Elliott
He tried out as a guitarist at 18 after a chance meeting with Pete Willis when he missed a bus in November 1977.
Q 04What spelling did the singer originally propose for the band's name?
Deaf Leopard
He dreamed it up while designing posters in art class; Tony Kenning tweaked the spelling so it sounded less punk.
Q 05How old was Rick Allen when he joined as full-time drummer in 1978?
15
He replaced Tony Kenning, who quit just before the sessions for the band's first EP.
Q 06Which BBC Radio 1 DJ's airplay of "Getcha Rocks Off" sent sales of the band's first EP soaring?
John Peel
Peel was then known as a champion of punk and new wave rather than hard rock.
Q 07Def Leppard emerged as part of which early-1980s movement?
New wave of British heavy metal
Their melodic take on the sound led Rolling Stone to include them in the "Second British Invasion".
Q 08What was the title of Def Leppard's 1980 debut album?
On Through the Night
It reached the UK Top 15, though some early fans felt songs like "Hello America" pandered to the US.
Q 09Which producer, known for his AC/DC work, shaped the band's sound starting with High 'n' Dry?
Mutt Lange
His meticulous studio approach defined their melodic hard rock style and continued through Hysteria.
Q 10Which High 'n' Dry track became one of the first rock videos played on MTV in 1982?
Bringin' On the Heartbreak
The album itself only peaked at 38 in the US, but the video raised the band's profile there.
Q 11Why was guitarist Pete Willis fired in July 1982?
Drinking on the job
Phil Collen of the band Girl replaced him the very next day, midway through recording Pyromania.
Q 12Phil Collen joined Def Leppard from which band?
Girl
He played on five tracks of Pyromania after Pete Willis had recorded the rhythm parts.
Q 13Which 1983 album turned Def Leppard into a household name?
Pyromania
It sold six million copies in 1983 alone and has been called the catalyst for the pop-metal movement.
"Photograph" displaced which Michael Jackson video as MTV's most requested?
Q 21Rick Allen's comeback was sealed with an ovation at which 1986 festival?
Monsters of Rock
Jeff Rich had played alongside him on a warm-up tour of Ireland that August.
Q 22In what year was Hysteria finally released?
1987
It took more than three years to record and topped the UK, US, Canadian and Australian charts.
Q 23Which Hysteria single was the band's first UK Top 10 hit?
Animal
It reached number six and started a run of ten consecutive US Billboard Top 40 singles.
Q 24Which power ballad became Def Leppard's only US Hot 100 number one?
Beat It
It also held number one on the US Album Rock Tracks chart for six weeks.
Q 15Which album kept the band's 1983 breakthrough LP from the top of the US charts?
Thriller
Pyromania peaked at number two while selling more than 100,000 copies a week that year.
Q 16A 1984 US Gallup poll named Def Leppard favourite rock band ahead of which acts?
The Rolling Stones, AC/DC and Journey
Pyromania had been a far bigger hit in America than in the UK, where it stalled at number 18.
Q 17The band moved to which city in 1984 for tax purposes while writing Hysteria?
Dublin
Mutt Lange initially bowed out of producing through exhaustion, and Jim Steinman briefly worked with them instead.
Q 18Which Meat Loaf collaborator was briefly brought in to produce the Hysteria sessions?
Jim Steinman
He worked with the band only briefly and none of the recordings were released; Lange later returned.
Q 19On what date did Rick Allen crash his Corvette and lose his left arm?
31 December 1984
Doctors reattached the arm, but an infection forced its amputation.
Q 20Which company helped Rick Allen design the custom electronic kit he returned with?
Simmons
He realised his legs could take over work his arms had done, and showcased his progress with the intro to "When the Levee Breaks".
Love Bites
It hit the top in October 1988, more than a year after the album came out.
Q 25What was the US peak chart position of "Pour Some Sugar on Me"?
No. 2
"Armageddon It" reached number three and "Rocket" number 12 from the same album.
Q 26Roughly how many copies has Hysteria sold worldwide?
Over 15 million
It stayed on the charts for more than two years and is one of the best-selling albums of all time.
Q 27How many singles from Hysteria charted on the US Hot 100?
Seven
"Women" scraped in at number 80 alongside the six Top 20 hits, a feat matched by only a handful of albums.
Q 28Which guitarist died in January 1991 from a mix of prescription drugs and alcohol?
Steve Clark
His worsening alcoholism had already stalled the Adrenalize sessions; he had been granted six months' leave.
Q 29Def Leppard recorded which 1992 album as a four-piece?
Adrenalize
It entered at number one in both the UK and US and sold more than eight million copies worldwide.
Q 30Vivian Campbell joined in 1992 after playing in which two bands?
Dio and Whitesnake
Adrian Smith, John Sykes and Gary Hoey were among the other guitarists who auditioned.