A guitarist who acquires the nickname “The Riffmaster” is going to be no slouch in the guitar department and while Def Leppard’s Steve Clark was certainly a guitarist extraordinaire, his riffs also developed into some of Def Leppard’s biggest hits. Clark co-wrote such classics as "Let It Go", "Bringin' On The Heartbreak", “Photograph”, Rock Of Ages”, “Pour Some Sugar On Me”, “Hysteria”, and many more.
Practically a founding member of the group, he joined in 1978 just after lead vocalist Joe Elliot arrived to fully form the band in late 1977. Clark played guitar--low-slung no doubt-- and co-wrote tracks on all of the band's seminal albums, including On Through The Night, High 'n' Dry, Pyromania, and Hysteria.
He also has writing credits on Adrenalize and played on demos for several of its' tracks, but Phil Collen ended up recording the actual guitar parts heard on the album. This is of course because sadly Clark passed away in 1991 prior to the album's release after battling addiction issues for several years. Clark's untimely death marked another tragedy for the band that has endured so much. But his legacy of creativity, fueled by his powerful riffs and songwriting contributions, will live on forever in fans of the legendary band who, including Clark, were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019.
At MusicGoldmine we’ve been fortunate to come into an excellent collection of Def Leppard awards all presented to the late Steve Clark himself. Our England-based consignor acquired these awards out of a loft in Sheffield, the city from which the group hails.
These great pieces all originate from the 1980s and early 1990s and 23 of the 24 are presented to Clark. They include an array of RIAA (U.S.), CRIA (Canada), BPI (UK), French (SNEP), and label record awards along with some rarely-seen artist-presented ASCAP (songwriter organization) awards for some of Def Leppard’s biggest hits, and a few oddity awards as well, like the one in our article cover image.
A few have been sold already but here is the entire cache of these superb collectibles for any Def Leppard fan. All but one are presented to Steve Clark. Here they are, in no particular order, and for more photos, information, and pricing on each award, please click the title or image:
Def Leppard Pyromania CRIA Gold 1983
Def Leppard Pyromania CRIA Platinum 1983
Def Leppard Pyromania CRIA Double Platinum 1983
Def Leppard Pyromania CRIA Triple Platinum 1983
Def Leppard Pyromania CRIA Quintuple Platinum 1984
Def Leppard Pyromania RIAA Gold
Def Leppard Pyromania RIAA Platinum
Def Leppard Pyromania France Disque d'Or award [SOLD]
Def Leppard Hysteria BPI 1987 Gold w/#1 chart
Def Leppard Hysteria 15M sold Bludgeon Riffola Records award [SOLD]
Def Leppard On Through The Night CRIA Gold 1988
Def Leppard On Through The Night RIAA Gold
Def Leppard High 'n' Dry RIAA Gold
Def Leppard High 'n' Dry RIAA Platinum [SOLD]
Def Leppard Historia, Live in the Round, Visualize RIAA Video combo
Def Leppard 1992 Adrenalize BPI Gold Award
Def Leppard Adrenalize 5M sold Bludgeon Riffola Records award [SOLD]
ASCAP award for Def Leppard song "Armageddon It"
ASCAP award for Def Leppard song "Hysteria"
ASCAP award for Def Leppard song "Photograph"
ASCAP award for Def Leppard song "Pour Some Sugar On Me"
ASCAP award for Def Leppard song "Rock Of Ages"
Burnn! Magazine Readers' Pop Poll 1988 “Best Live Performance in Japan" Trophy
1987 Def Leppard UK Concerts Sold-Out plaque (no presentation)
Don't miss these one-of-a-kind awards and pay tribute to Steve Clark’s impact and legacy with Def Leppard.
We also have other Def Leppard items —check them all out here.
See all our genuine RIAA Gold and Platinum and other record awards here. We typically have hundreds in stock.
Are you a subscriber to our MusicGoldmine Newsletter? Our free newsletter comes out every two weeks letting you hear first about newly-listed items, articles, and more, plus get a code for 15% off your first purchase. Go here to sign up!
Be the envy of all your friends! Get MusicGoldmine.com Music History in your Facebook feed each day. Just follow us on Facebook here.
All photos ©MusicGoldmine
