Steve Clark
| Steve Clark | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Stephen Maynard Clark |
| Born |
23 April 1960 Hillsborough, Sheffield, England |
| Died | 8 January 1991 (aged 30) Chelsea, London, England |
| Genres | Heavy metal, hard rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter, recording artist, performer |
| Instruments | Guitar, vocals |
| Years active | 1978–1991 |
| Labels | Island, Mercury |
| Associated acts | Def Leppard |
| Notable instruments | |
|
Gibson Les Paul XR-1 Gibson Les Paul Gibson Firebird Gibson EDS-1275 |
|
Stephen Maynard "Steve" Clark (23 April 1960 – 8 January 1991) was an English musician. He was a guitarist and principal songwriter for the British hard rock band Def Leppard, until 1991 when he died from alcohol poisoning. In 2007, Clark was ranked No. 11 on Classic Rock Magazine's "100 Wildest Guitar Heroes".
Stephen Maynard Clark was born and raised in Hillsborough, South Yorkshire, the northwestern suburb of Sheffield, England. From an early age, he showed an interest in music, attending a concert held by Cliff Richard and the Shadows aged 6. At 11, he received his first guitar which was purchased by his father on the condition that he learned to play. Clark studied classical guitar for a year before he first heard the music of Jimmy Page and Led Zeppelin at a friend's house.
When Clark left school his first employer was an engineering firm called GEC Traction where he worked as a lathe operator. He was 3 years into a 4-year apprenticeship with the firm by the time his band Def Leppard decided to sign a professional record deal with Phonogram Records.
Before joining Def Leppard in 1978, Clark played cover songs with his small band, Electric Chicken, in Sheffield. Around that time, he met Pete Willis (Def Leppard's original guitarist and founder) at a technical college. Willis spotted that Clark was reading a guitar book and asked if he played. He then invited Steve to come and audition for his band as they were looking to add a second guitarist. Clark never showed up but when Willis and singer Joe Elliott bumped into Clark again at a Judas Priest gig, Willis re-issued his invitation. Clark finally came down to their rehearsal room and joined Def Leppard in January 1978. According to Joe Elliott in Behind the Music, Clark auditioned for Def Leppard by playing all of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Freebird" without accompaniment.
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