By STEVE MASCORD
DEF Leppard drummer Rick Allen has mentioned a couple of times that as he prepared to play Donington in 1986 after losing an arm in a car accident, ‘certain people’ referred to him as ‘a freak show’.
He made reference to the slur in VH1’s Behind The Music and in a magazine article in 2021 – but did not name the offender.
That changed on Tuesday night when Allen and his bandmates were launching their new book Definitely at London’s Royal Festival Hall and he was asked about the show.
“For a while I was on cloud nine, I actually felt really good,” Allen told a crowd of fans at South Bank.
“It wasn’t until I got wind that Ozzy said something derogatory – that kinda burst my bubble a little bit.”
That’s Ozzy, as in Osbourne.
“He said something about not letting me on stage. Can I say it?
“‘You’re not gonna let the freak show on stage?’ – he said that to our manager.”
Singer Joe Elliott added: “He was drunk … he redeemed himself.”
Allen continued: “He was. Then after the show, he went up to Peter (Mensch, manager) and this this is where Ozzy really redeemed himself and the genus of Ozzy…
“He said ‘I was wrong’.”
Earlier Elliott had told the crowd how Allen had played warm-up shows in Ireland with the assistance of a second drummer, Jeff Rich from Status Quo.
But one night Rich’s plane was delayed and they had to play without him. Rich told Elliott after watching Allen “I guess I’ll be going home tomorrow.”
Definitely is narrated by the band itself and is available on a limited run now by mail order. Hot Metal will receive a small commission if you buy it via the link below,
