He’s the long lean blond up front (southwest of lead singer Joe Elliott!) whose guitar is one half of Def Leppard’s lead line-up – he’s also Barrie and Beryl’s bouncing baby boy! The oldest of the three brothers (Kevin is two years younger than Steve, Christopher is four years younger), Steve’s from the English town of Sheffield – a place he hardly gets to see anymore!

Now, on the road with Def Lep’s third LP, Pyromania, it’s hard to believe it was only five years ago that Steve spotted guitarist Pete Willis reading a guitar manual in class. Both musicians were in college getting the credits they needed to graduate, but they didn’t really ever talk to each other except to nod hello when they spotted each other. When they met at a Judas Priest concert, however, the pair know they had something more in common than simply a love of guitars!

Though classically trained, the then eighteen-year-old Stephen Clark (he’s now 23, born April 23, 1960), was a serious heavy metal music fan – as was Pete Willis. At the Priest concert, Pete invited Steve to a rehearsal of his band – and Def Leppard rounded out its membership at five.

The quintet – who adored groups like Thin Lizzy, Judas Priest and UFO – began playing some of their favorite heavy metal numbers in order to learn how it was done. Why didn’t they go punk like so many other young British teens in ’78? Says Steve, "We never thought about it. We just did what we wanted to do. We never thought, ‘Well, punk is fashionable, heavy metal is dated – let’s be fashionable, let’s be a punk band!’" No, Steve and the guys began a new wave in heavy metal music instead (along with other bands like Iron Maiden), and gave the sound a more melodic quality than Led Zep or Cream had ever imagined it could have.

Def Leppard piled its trade at local clubs and Steve was as excited by the live performances as the music itself. "It’s and incredible feeling to stand on stage and see so many people into your music. I can’t imagine there being a more satisfying feeling in the world. How many other professions have instant gratification like that? The crowds make us feel loved, make us feel wanted, every night. We’re so thankful to the fans who come out and cheer us on. They are the show," Steve was known to say. So good was his rapport with the crowd, in fact, he was able to get his stage personna down pat in record time. Said one reporter, "…Clark (has) perfected every maneuver in the heavy metal handbook of macho poses…" Regardless of whether you think Steve is "macho" – or just a sandy-haired hunk! – the fact remains, he’d found his musical niche!

So it was goodbye folks - and goodbye Brandy (his pet pooch!) – and off on tours of Britain, Europe and America. But midway through Def Leppard’s climb to the top, Pete Willis’ personal problems forced the band to let him go – and Steve was left without his guitar partner.

Though he could have handled the ten or so additional lead guitar parts he’d have to cover, the guys decided that Def Leppard had always been a two-lead guitar band, so they signed Phil Collen on to give Steve a hand. Though Steve missed Pete, he could now practice guitar harmonies with Phil. Steve admired Phil’s work with the band Girl, but didn’t care for their image, so he was happy Phil had hopped on his Def Leppard bandwagon.