10 Hard Rock Bands Who FIRED Important Members

Any band worth its salt is going to have to bring their A game into the studio. No matter what kind of hangups you might have in your personal life, it all comes down to when you're in the vocal booth and are able to let it rip so you can get your songs on vinyl.

Especially when you're working with a producer like Mutt Lange, you're gonna have to come correct. And Def Leppard were on board...with one small exception.

Trying to outdo High N Dry, Pyromania was meant to combine Leppard's hard rock sound with a polished sheen, which involved cutting take after take of guitar tracks upon each other. While everyone found their way to the other side, Pete Willis' reliance on drinking wasn't gelling with the rest of the group, which led to the band giving him a leave of absence to cool out.

Or...that's what Pete was told. At the same time, Girl guitarist Phil Collen was brought in to play the solos on the album that Pete wasn't able to pull off, leading to him joining the band shortly after the album wrapped.

Even though Pete does get credit for the rhythm guitar tracks on the album, it has to sting knowing that the real guitar hero moments were added well after you were gone.