On December 31, 1984, Rick Allen lost his arm after a serious traffic accident. During his subsequent hospital stay, the Def Leppard drummer received many encouraging letters from friends and fans. However, he particularly remembered a message from his musician colleague Phil Collins. The support of his band colleagues also gave him support at the time. The musician said this in the podcast “Rock Talk With Mitch Lafon”.
“Phil Collins’ letter was one of the first I opened, an encouraging letter during my hospital stay in 1985,” says Allen. “[Es waren] just incredibly encouraging words. I received hundreds or thousands of letters, but his stood out because he obviously knew what it would be like, or at least had a sense of what it would be like to be involved as a drummer in something so terrible. That’s why me [der Brief] means a lot.”
Lots of support for Rick Allen
Losing an arm could have spelled the end of Allen’s career as a Def Leppard drummer. But the constant support of his bandmates also gave Allen comfort at the time: “I think what the boys did for me took all the pressure off me. They gave me time to decide whether I wanted to continue or not. And that really gave me support in my difficult situation.”
The musician continues: “At some point I was able to overlook my situation [… ]. The moment I started playing drums again, I realized that I could actually continue.”
A special drum set was then developed so that Allen could continue playing his parts. Nevertheless, there were of course moments when he was on the verge of giving up: “I was in a coma for three weeks, and during that time my arm was sewn on and then taken off again […] I didn’t notice anything about it. When I regained consciousness and realized what had actually happened to me… I remember at a certain point I thought, ‘I don’t want to go on anymore’. I felt too insecure and was completely exhausted.”
In the end it was worth continuing. Two years later, Allen proved that he definitely still had it. Def Leppard’s next album was released in August 1987 – with Allen on drums. The long player immediately made it to the top of the charts.