Musicians - Steve Clark

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	Musicians - Steve Clark

Stephen Maynard Clark (April 23, 1960 - January 8, 1991) was the Co-Lead guitarist for British rock band Def Leppard until his death in 1991.

Biography

Childhood and Adolescence

Clark was born and raised in Hillsborough, the north-western suburb of Sheffield, England. From an early age he showed interest in music. His mother even took him to a concert of The Shadows was when he was 6. At 11 he asked his father for a guitar, and he agreed if he learned to play it properly by taking lessons.

His favorite guitarist was Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page, and after hearing "How Many More Times" he fell in love with the sound and knew that he wanted to continue with a musical career. He soon replaced his classical guitar with an electric one. After that, Steve started learning some Led Zeppelin songs note by note, which helped him improve his talent and technique.

Career and Technique

Before joining Def Leppard in 1978, he played cover songs with his small band, Electric Chickie, in Sheffield. Around that time, he met Pete Willis (Def Leppard's original guitarist/founder.) Steve asked for a slot in the band and joined Def Leppard in January 1978, as a guitarist and ended up being one of the main contributors to the band's music and lyrics.

He was known not to be a very technical guitar player, but his sloppy style fit perfectly with fellow bandmate/guitarist Phil Collen. Steve and Phil were even dubbed the Terror Twins by one of their roadies .

He is best remembered for the powerful riffs that drove Def Leppard's first four albums in the 1980s, for which he was also nicknamed as "The Riffmaster". Some of the songs he can be more appreciated are "Wasted" (from On Through the Night); "Bringin' on the Heartbreak" (from High 'N' Dry); "Die Hard the Hunter" (from Pyromania); and "Gods of War" (from Hysteria).

He also contributed songwriting on the band's 1992 album "Adrenalize" before his death.

Death

In 1991, Clark was found dead in his flat by his girlfriend, Janie Dean. The autopsy revealed he had died from a mixture of anti-depressants, painkillers and alcohol with no evidence of suicidal intent . He had battled with alcoholism for a long time and had gone through clinical treatment to deal with it.

Trivia

Clark was 5'11" with blonde/auburn hair.
He played the guitar solo in Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Freebird" for his audition to Def Leppard.
He played Gibson Les Paul guitars.
He worked the idea of "Wasted" while riding on a bus to practice.

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