Rick Savage

Rick Savage
Savage live in 2007
Background information
Birth name	Richard Savage
Also known as	Sav
Born	(1960-12-02) 2 December 1960 (age 56) Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England
Genres	Hard rock, heavy metal, glam metal
Occupation(s)	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Bass, vocals, keyboards
Years active	1977–present
Associated acts	Atomic Mass, Def Leppard
Website	defleppard.com
Notable instruments
Washburn XB925 Hamer Scarab Bass

Richard "Rick" Savage (born 2 December 1960) is the bass guitarist and one of the founding members of the English rock band, Def Leppard. He is called "Sav" to avoid confusion between him and the other Rick in the band, drummer Rick Allen. Savage and lead singer Joe Elliott are the only remaining original members of the band. The two of them, plus Allen, are also the only members of the band who have performed on every album.

Richard Savage was born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Savage was educated at Tapton Secondary school in Sheffield. In his youth, he learned to play guitar along with his older brother. They played songs like Rod Stewart's "Maggie May" and Don McLean's "American Pie." Savage also pursued a career as a professional football player with Sheffield United, despite his devotion to rivals Sheffield Wednesday. Savage ultimately chose music and formed a band with a few schoolmates including Tony Kenning and eventually Pete Willis. As Atomic Mass they mostly played Queen, Slade, Deep Purple, Jimi Hendrix, and other popular covers of the time.

At one point, they decided that Willis was the better guitar player so Savage picked up the bass guitar. Needing a singer, the band auditioned an acquaintance of Pete's, Joe Elliott. They subsequently picked up guitarist Steve Clark and changed their name to Def Leppard.