April 23rd, 2018 would've been Steve Clark's 58th Birthday. He got invited to audition for Def Leppard by original guitarist Pete Willis and Joe Elliot after running into him at a Judas Priest gig. According to Elliott in Behind the Music, Clark auditioned for Def Leppard in January 1978 by playing all of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" by himself. His impact on the band was massive. They would go on to sell more than 100 million records worldwid and are one of only five rock bands with two original studio albums selling over 10 million copies in the U.S (Pyromania and Hysteria). Sadly, we lost Steve to alcohol poisoning in January of 1991. His legacy lives on with his songwriting, unforgettable riffs and attitude on some of the biggest rock records of all time
In tribute to Steve, here's his longtime bandmate and friend Phil Collen answering some candid, fan questions and revealing some cool facts you probably didn't know along the way.