10 Greatest Hard Rock Guitarists Of The '80s

When Def Leppard first started getting the ball rolling, they were just a typical hard rock band out for a good time. While the lead lines of Steve Clark were absolutely ferocious, the unsteady nature of rhythm guitarist Pete Willis was starting to weigh on the band after recording the album High N Dry. Ditching Willis during the making of Pyromania, Def Leppard hit the jackpot once Phil Collen came into the picture.

Originally from the glam rock outfit Girl, Collen was a complete technician whose sound fit in perfectly with the band’s new approach. With Pyromania being a new juggernaut with pop producer Mutt Lange at the helm, Collen’s leads were just what the band needed, with fast runs that were eerily precise. Though any guitarist can just drop in lead lines all over a song, Collen’s playing was both melodic and chaotic in equal measure.

Even though there were plenty of solos where Collen used typical shred riffs, there was also a clear melody shining through everything he did. His ability to solo as well as play rhythm made for a great guitar partnership with Clark, where the two could switch between lead and rhythm parts within the span of a single song. Def Leppard were already a fantastic rock band, but Collen’s leads were one of the reasons they were able to cater to both the pop fans and the rock connoisseurs.