10 Most Heartbreaking Tragedies In Rock Music
8. Rick Allen Loses His Arm
Def Leppard always had a trace of pressure and tragedy following them around everywhere they went. After losing a band member and almost half of their sanity making their blockbuster release Pyromania, they tried everything they could to match it with Hysteria, as crunch time started to approach rapidly. Even though they were given a well-earned break for the Christmas holiday, things took a dark turn when Rick Allen went home.
Involved in a car crash in the countryside, Allen's car flipped and was completely torn to shreds in a field. Though Allen came out alive, his arm wasn't so lucky, with it having been torn off by the safety belt. When trying to reattach Rick's severed limb, doctors tried their best only to amputate his arm again after he contracted an infection in his reattached limb. While most drummers would see this as the end of their career, Allen turned this into one of the greatest comeback stories in rock history.
Emerging in the studio after recuperating, Allen got situated with an electronic drumkit, which gave him the ability to play the typical beats he would normally play with his left hand with his left foot. This paid off in spades when Leppard headlined Donington, where Allen was welcomed back with open arms by the crowd. After grueling hours and a horrible car accident, Rick Allen is one of the few drummers to emerge from what any other drummer would see as a critical blow.