![]() ![]() Recently, they have had a special focus on veterans of war through their “Veteran Resiliency Project” including support for the Wounded Warrior Project. The Raven Drum Foundation commonly works to help individuals and communities in crisis through healing arts programs, drum circle events, and collaborative partnerships. To see the drummer come back from this terrible accident is amazing to still be the drummer in one of the most successful bands ever is also amazing.Īllen and his wife Lauren Monroe are the co-founders of The Raven Drum Foundation, a charity located in Malibu, California, with a mission to serve, educate, and empower veterans and people in crisis. ![]() Understandably, Allen’s accident changed his outlook on life forever. In August 1987, the band released their fourth album, Hysteria, which, after a relatively slow start in the U.S., ultimately became another huge success, selling over 20 million copies worldwide. Electronic drum manufacturer Simmons created a kit to their specifications, and Allen made his post-accident debut in 1986 with a well-received set at the Monsters of Rock festival at Castle Donington. After all of this, he could still play some drum rhythms with one hand, using his left foot (typically for hi-hat pedals in common drum sets) to play the snare drum.įormer Status Quo drummer Jeff Rich was a source of help and encouragement during Allen’s convalescence, and they designed an electronic kit Allen could play using only one arm. Lead singer Joe Elliott and Allen set about working with some engineers and hatched a plan to design a drum set to assist Allen’s drumming. Apparently the members of Def Leppard had other ideas and still thought that with their support Rick would remain in the group. Doctors initially reattached Allen’s arm, but because of infection it was removed again.Īllen obviously thought that his drumming days were over, and became very depressed. They were helped by a passerby who was a nurse, and Allen was taken to a hospital. Luckily she was not seriously injured and found Allen in the field. The car ended up upside down, with his girlfriend Miriam Barendsen secure in her seat. Rick was thrown from the car, his left arm severed because the seatbelt was not properly fastened. The car sailed over a stone wall and into a field. In his rage to pass this driver, he became reckless, did not see a turn up ahead, and lost control of his car at high speed. Allen claims that the driver had been egging him on and that he would not allow him to pass. ![]() The 21-year-old was driving in his Chevrolet Corvette on the A57 (which has been named as one of most dangerous roads in the UK) on his way to a New Year’s Eve party at his family’s home in Sheffield, England, when an Alfa Romeo passed him. Since he was still underage, the group would often have to lie about his age to get him into the clubs they were playing, and when they inked contracts, Allen’s father had to sign for him. The group turned out to be Def Leppard and despite all of its members being several years older than Allen, he got the gig anyway. ![]() Allen had already been a member of three other groups (Smokey Blue, Rampant and the Jonny Kalendar band). Shortly after turning 15, Allen’s mother spotted an ad in a local newspaper for a group that was looking for a drummer. Rick’s idols were Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham, Thin Lizzy’s Brian Downey, and Queen’s Roger Taylor. Def Leppard, the definitive hard rock band of the ’80s. They were all over MTV, both UK and US audiences loved them, they were at the forefront of a new wave of heavy metal/rock groups - Def Leppard were now living the dream - they were rock stars. The group’s latest album Pyromania had turned Def Leppard into a household name. Formed in Sheffield in 1977, Def Leppard had enjoyed their best year ever. The day that changed Allen’s life forever happened on 31 December 1984 when the drummer was involved in a tragic accident. The drummer with Def Leppard who had the 1987 worldwide No.1 album Hysteria, and the 1988 US No.1 single “Love Bites,” lost his left arm in an accident after crashing his Corvette Stingray on the A57 outside Sheffield in England in 1984. ![]()
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