A clip from an upcoming episode of “Rock & Roll Road Trip with Sammy Hagar” shows Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott discussing why the band retained Rick Allen despite the drummer losing his arm in a car crash.
“When Rick lost his arm, they way we’d become even then… we were so tight that we were like, ‘You don’t kick your brother out your family if he has an accident,” Elliott said. “And so, if he can’t do this, it’s up to him to tell us.’ And that gave him the confidence to give it a go.”
Saying it was so cool, Hagar added, “It’s so unheard of in rock. I mean, I’ve been thrown out of so many bands… you go all the way with these people to the top, sell gazillions [of] records, so all this stuff. Then all of a sudden they throw you out… for some ego trip or something.”
“Especially those two bands,” Elliott said. Hagar continued, “I’ve been thrown out of two. But it’s okay – I’m happy,” presumably suggesting the two bands were Van Halen and Montrose.
Allen lost his left arm in an accident in 1984, when the band was recording their fourth album, Hysteria.
This episode of the fifth season of the “Rock & Roll Road Trip” series will air on April 19 via AXS TV.
Source: RTT Music News
