Def Leppard drummer to display artwork in Boca Raton
For nearly 40 years, Rick Allen has been providing the beat behind British rock group Def Leppard and its many hits (“Pour Some Sugar On Me,” “Rock of Ages,” “Armageddon It”), most of that with just one arm and a steady foot.
What fans might not know is that the 52-year-old drummer has also been expressing his art on canvas, with a camera and now even with jewelry.
hey all have the same inspiration, he says.
“It comes from every experience I go through,” says Allen, who’s presenting his latest collection, “Angels and Icons,” at Boca Raton Town Center’s Wentworth Gallery on Saturday.
Allen’s life has taken a circuitous route, with momentous ups and downs — the rise of the band he’s been in since his 15th birthday; the near-fatal 1984 car accident that resulted in the loss of his arm, nearly ending his music career; his recovery and development of his current drumming style with one hand and a special drum kit where he uses his foot; Def Leppard’s triumphant post-accident return to the charts with the mega-hot 1987 album “Hysteria”; the 1991 death of guitarist and close friend Steve Clark and the band’s eventual life as a perennial road fixture, even as current guitarist Vivian Campbell battles cancer.
Read more: My Palm Beach Post