Def Leppard came a long way since their first rehearsal in a spoon factory in Sheffield's Bramall Lane in November 1977. Their first public gig was at Westfield School in July 1978 for a fee of just £5. They were signed by Phonogram (UK) and Mercury (US) in 1979.

Their third album (Pyromania) really took America by storm and sold over 7 million copies, but it was not until 1987 that they hit the jackpot in Britain. Hysteria took three years and £1 million to make, but it topped the charts and spawned seven singles. It sold over 16 million copies worldwide - 12 million of those in the US alone.

In 1999 Def Leppard were one of the inaugural recipients of the newly-launched Diamond Awards in the USA - devised for artistes that have sold over 10 million records in the US. Only 45 artists have achieved this level of success and only eight of those are from the UK, including The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Elton John, George Michael, Eric Clapton and the Bee Gees.