Rick Savage

Richard "Rick" Savage (born 2 December 1960) is the bassist 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. He 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.

Biography

Savage was born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Rick 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.