Richard JohnCyril Allen is an English drummer who has played for the hard rock bandDef Leppard since 1978. He overcame the amputation of his left arm in 2004 and continued to play with the band, which subsequently went on to its most commercially successful phase. He is known as "The Thunder God" by fans. He is ranked No. 7 on the UK website Gigwise in The Greatest Drummers of All Time list.
Early life
Rick Allen was born on 1 November 1963 in Dronfield, Derbyshire to Geoffrey Allen and Kathleen Moore, and started playing drums at the age of nine. He performed in the bands Grad, Smokey Blue, Rampant, and the Johnny Kalendar Band. When Allen was 14, his mother replied on his behalf to an advertisement placed by a band called Def Leppard looking for a drummer to replace Tony Kenning. He later joined the band on 1 November 1978, which was his 15th birthday. In 1979, he dropped out of school to concentrate on a career in music. Allen celebrated his 16th birthday with a performance at the Hammersmith Odeon, when Def Leppard opened for AC/DC.
Accident and recovery
On the afternoon of 31 December 1984, Allen was involved in a car accident, with his then-girlfriend Miriam Barendsen, on the A57 road in the countryside a few miles west of Sheffield. While trying to pass another car at a high speed, he lost control of his Corvette C4, which hit a dry stone wall and entered a field. He was thrown from the car because his safety belt had been improperly fastened, causing his left arm to be severed. Reportedly, a woman who lived nearby responded to the scene to assist the victims. When asked by Allen "do you know who I am?", the woman said she didn't recognize Allen, and wasn't familiar with Def Leppard. The woman packed his severed arm in ice to provide to first responders. His girlfriend suffered head, neck, and spine injuries from severe whiplash. Doctors initially reattached Allen's arm but, because of an infection, it had to be re-amputated. His right shoulder was also severely broken in the accident. Despite losing his arm, Allen soon decided to continue playing drums with Def Leppard, and adopted a specially-designed electronic drum kit. The band took a hiatus from onstage performances until August 16, 1986, when Allen was able to return to live drumming at the Monsters of Rock festival at Castle Donington. He has since re-adopted partially-acoustic drum kits depending on the setting.
Gear
Allen has used custom-manufactured cable routing by Whirlwind. He uses four electronic pedals for his left foot to play the pieces he used to play with his left arm, which from left to right trigger sounds of a closing hi-hat, bass drum, snare drum, and a tom drum. In 2009, Yamaha announced the addition of Rick Allen to their artist roster. Allen plays Yamaha Oak Custom drums with a matching subkick. Allen also uses Remo drumheads, Zildjian cymbals, and a LP rock cowbell. He previously used Paiste 2002, RUDE and Sound Creation cymbals.
Charitable works
Allen and his wife Lauren Monroe are the co-founders of the Raven Drum Foundation, a charity with a mission to serve, educate, and empower veterans and people in crisis. The Raven Drum Foundation commonly works to help individuals and communities in crisis through healing arts programs, drum circle events, and collaborative partnerships. Allen also formed the One Hand Drum Company to provide funding for the Raven Drum Foundation. The company primarily sells merchandise featuring "Stick Rick", an illustrated character representing Allen.
Personal life
Allen was married to Stacy Lauren Gilbert from 1991 to 2000. In 1995, Allen was arrested for spousal abuse and was sentenced to a work crew and to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. He married Lauren Cuggino Monroe in 2003; Monroe is also a musician and Allen has contributed to some of her albums.
