Steve Clark

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Stephen Maynard Clark (23 April 1960 – 8 January 1991) was an English singer.

He was the main songwriter and lead guitarist for the English hard rock band Def Leppard from 1991, when he died of alcohol poisoning.

Clark was ranked No. 1 in 2007. Classic Rock Magazine's "100 Greatest Guitar Heroes" issue 11 discusses.

Clark was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019 as a member of Def Leppard.

Personal life

Clark was introduced to Lorelei Shellist, an American model, and the two models have been together seven years. Clark's heroin use played a major role in their breakup, according to Shellist's autobiography, Runway Runaway. Clark was addicted to alcohol. Phil Collen, a Def Leppard bandmate, and others called for him to avoid his alcohol use in 1989. Clark decided to enroll in a rehabilitation center, but he was left homeless and restarted drinking.

Clark was on a leave of absence from Def Leppard at the time of his death. "We'd given him six months off," recalled Joe Elliott, "told him to come and spend some time in the lovely house he'd bought in Chelsea, eat some food he'd made himself, and then hang his clothes in the closet." But rather, he spent the majority of his time in the pub around the corner and do things like fall down the stairs and crack his rib. So he'd be on really strong antibiotics for cracked ribs. "He'd continue to drink." Clark had a 0.5 percent blood alcohol chemistry as a week before his death.

Clark was discovered dead on his couch by his mother on January 8, 1991. He was 30 years old at the time. The postmortem revealed that respiratory arrest was caused by a fatal mixture of alcohol and prescription drugs. Clark had a blood alcohol content of.30% and morphine in his system at the time of his death. Clark's nightcap companion, Daniel Van Alphen, testified that they went to a local bar and returned to Clark's house at midnight to watch a video.

He was buried in Wisewood Cemetery, Sheffield's suburb of Loxley, near the Clark family's house. On the occasion of Def Leppard's tour, Tesla unveiled "Song & Emotion (To Our Friend, Steve 'Steamin' Clark)" a tribute to Clark on their album Psychotic Supper.

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Career with Def Leppard

Clark played cover songs with his band Electric Chicken in Sheffield before joining Def Leppard in 1978. Pete Willis (Def Leppard's original guitarist and founder) at a technical college about the same period. Willis asked Clark if he was playing and saw him reading a guitar book. Clark was then invited to audition for his band as they were looking for a second guitarist. Clark never turned up, but Willis re-issued his invitation after Willis and singer Joe Elliott bumped into Clark at a Judas Priest gig. Clark retired from their rehearsal room and joined Def Leppard in January 1978. Clark auditioned for Def Leppard by playing all of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" without accompaniment, according to Elliott in Behind the Music. Clark, a founder of Def Leppard, wrote or co-wrote over 90% of the band's hits. Clark and Pete Willis shared lead guitar duties, and Clark was dubbed "The Riffmaster" for his talent and ability to come up with guitar riffs.

Pete Willis was asked to leave the band early in 1982, and guitarist Phil Collen was brought on to replace him. Clark and Collen soon became close friends, triggering the famous dual-guitar sound of Def Leppard. In recognition of their close friendship and alcohol-fueled antics offstage, he and Collen were dubbed the "Terror Twins." Part of their success as a duo was due to their ability to switch between rhythm and lead guitar, with either playing lead or both playing rhythm within the same song. Their unique guitar partnership was also aided by the fact that they came from completely different musical backgrounds. Clark, a classically trained musician who knew the rules of music, read and write music, and understood the art's philosophy and science, as well as learning/being inspired by Jimmy Page and Led Zeppelin; whereas Collen, like Willis, was a self-taught musician who learned and developed his quick, alternate-picking method for listening to jazz players. "I do read and write, and I know the rules of music, which is great in a two-guitar band because we're so different in our playing approach. If it sounds right, Phil will play something, but I'm skeptical about it; it isn't musically correct."

Clark primarily played Gibson Guitars throughout his career, and in 1987, he signed a Gibson Guitar contract. Clark made some custom-specification guitars. He was occasionally seen playing other guitars, including a Fender Stratocaster for the song and video "Love Bites." Clark will occasionally use Fenders in the studio due to their unique sound.

Despite his name appearing on several songwriting credits for Def Leppard's 1992 album, Adrenalize, he did not contribute much to the album's recording. Joe Elliott claims that a few riffs Clark had demoed were used in a couple of places on the album. His other contribution was an occasional acknowledgement of what the remainder of the band was doing, referring to it as "cool." Clark's alcohol and heroin use were chronicled in the song "White Lightning." However, the Adrenalize deluxe rerelease of Clark's "Tonight," which Clark performed in, is supposed to be a B-side for Hysteria.

Clark was involved in the recording of the band's 1995 album "When Love & Hate Collide," just days before his 1991 death. The song at the time was reminiscent of the Hysteria and Adrenalize sounds as opposed to the more recent sound of the new album Slang. The final solo Clark ever performed on this album is included in the demo. Clark's solo for the song "Stand Up (Kick Love into Motion)" was discovered, but it was never integrated into any official documentation.

Clark was attracted to Lorelei Shellist, an American model, and the two models have been together for seven years. Clark's heroin use played a major role in their breakup, Shellist's autobiography, Runway Runaway. Clark was alcoholic. Phil Collen, a former Leppard bandmate, and others held an appeal in 1989 to compel him to avoid alcohol use. Clark decided to enroll in a rehabilitation center but was left homeless and re-inhibited drinking after the program was completed.

Clark was on a leave of absence from Def Leppard at the time of his death. "We'd given him six months off," recalled Joe Elliott, who advised him to go and spend some time in Chelsea's stunning home, eat some food he'd made himself, and hang his clothes on the closet. He spent the majority of his time in the bar around the corner and did things like fall down the stairs and crack his rib. So he'd be on heavy medication for cracked ribs. "He'd continue to drink" in the meantime. Clark had a 0.5 percent blood alcohol level a week before his death.

Clark was discovered dead on his couch by his mother on January 8, 1991. He was 30 years old. The postmortem revealed that respiratory disease was triggered by a fatal mixture of alcohol and prescription drugs. Clark had a 0.3 percent blood alcohol content and morphine in his system at the time of his death. Daniel Van Alphen, Clark's nightcapt, testified that they went to a local bar and returned to Clark's home at midnight to watch a video.

He was buried at Wisewood Cemetery, which is located in Loxley, Sheffield, near the Clark family's council house. On the trip to Def Leppard, Tesla, who opened for Def Leppard on the Hysteria Tour, recorded a tribute to Clark, "Song & Emotion (To Our Friend, Steve 'Steamin' Clark), "Song & Emotion" on their album Psychotic Supper.

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