Today, we pay tribute to the profound legacy of Def Leppard’s guitarist, Steve Clark, honoring his contributions to rock music that continue to resonate with fans around the world.

On the fateful morning of January 8, 1991, Phil Collen, Def Leppard’s guitarist, received an agonizing phone call from his manager, Cliff Burnstein. This call brought news that he had been dreading for nearly five years: his closest friend and bandmate, Steve Clark, had passed away in his sleep on a couch. Tragically, he was just 30 years old, leaving behind a legacy of musical brilliance and personal struggles.

An autopsy later revealed that Clark’s death was the result of an unintentional overdose involving alcohol, Valium, and Codeine. In his biography Adrenalized, Collen recounted how Clark had been consuming alcohol heavily even after cracking a rib earlier that year. Despite medical advice cautioning against drinking while on pain medication, Clark disregarded this warning. The coroner’s report indicated that his death was due to brain swelling, highlighting the tragic consequences of his struggles with addiction.

Joining Def Leppard in 1978, shortly after the band’s formation, Clark became an essential songwriter, contributing significantly to the band’s most celebrated albums, including the groundbreaking 1983 release Pyromania and the iconic 1987 album Hysteria. During the meteoric rise of Pyromania, he and Collen earned the nickname “the terror twins,” notorious for their wild antics and playful pranks on fellow musicians. Their camaraderie extended beyond just drinking; they forged a deep friendship that was rooted in their shared experiences and love for music, which enriched their lives both on and off the stage.

As Collen sobered up in the late ’80s, he began to witness the destructive spiral Clark was caught in. Despite his years of functioning as an alcoholic, Clark’s reliance on alcohol escalated, leading to increasingly erratic behavior. Each morning, he would wake up in a state of withdrawal, immediately seeking out a bar to quell his shakes with alcohol. His struggles reached a critical point during a bender in Paris, resulting in a hospitalization for alcohol poisoning. In a chilling incident during winter 1989, the band learned that Clark had been found unconscious in a Minneapolis bar and was rushed to Hazelden Addiction Treatment Center.

Upon arriving in Minneapolis, the band was urged by a doctor to admit Clark for rehabilitation. At that time, Clark’s blood alcohol level was a staggering 0.59, far exceeding the 0.41 level recorded for the late John Bonham. This alarming statistic underscored the severity of Clark’s addiction and the urgent need for intervention.

Clark entered a rehab facility in Tucson, Arizona, and was granted a six-month leave of absence from Def Leppard, with the assurance that his position in the band would be waiting for him upon his recovery. While in treatment, Clark met Janie Dean, another patient striving to overcome heroin addiction. Despite their intentions to support each other, their bond quickly turned into a relationship that led to mutual enabling, as both struggled with their respective addictions. Unfortunately, as Janie’s drug use resumed, Clark’s alcohol consumption intensified, leading to a cycle of dependency that proved difficult to break.

From that point until his untimely death, Collen described in his book the challenges of tracking Clark’s whereabouts and attempting to protect him from his self-destructive behavior. Given Clark’s unwillingness to seek sobriety and the easy access he had to alcohol and drugs, his tragic demise seemed almost inevitable. Following his passing, Clark was laid to rest at Wisewood Cemetery in Loxley, Sheffield, close to his family’s estate, marking a heartbreaking end to a life full of promise and profound musical talent.

The loss of Clark was a devastating blow to Def Leppard, who had already endured the traumatic experience of drummer Rick Allen losing an arm in a car accident. In his grief and anger, Collen contemplated leaving the band, but vocalist Joe Elliott reminded him that Clark, who was deeply ashamed of his alcoholism, would not have wanted the band to disband due to his struggles. Consequently, Collen channeled his energy into writing and performing, immersing himself in the band’s work to cope with the pain of losing his friend. In 1992, former Dio guitarist Vivian Campbell stepped in to fill Clark’s role, continuing the band’s legacy to this day.

READ MORE: Def Leppard Considered Adrian Smith After Steve Clark Died

“In a way, Steve didn’t have much choice in the matter,” Collen reflected. “He was surrounded by drink for most of his life. His father worked as a taxi driver, and I believe Steve spent his life trying to validate his rock star status. He felt he needed to prove his worthiness, demonstrating that he possessed the strong values of a Sheffield steelworker beneath his glamorous exterior.”

Jon Wiederhorn, a contributor to Loudwire, is the author of Raising Hell: Backstage Tales From the Lives of Metal Legends and co-author of Louder Than Hell: The Definitive Oral History of Metal, as well as the autobiographies of Scott Ian from Anthrax and Al Jourgensen from Ministry.