Rick Savage

British bass guitarist

For other people named Richard Savage, see Richard Savage (disambiguation).

Not to be confused with Ric Savage.

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Rick Savage

Savage performing in 2018

Background information
Birth name| Richard Savage
Also known as| Sav
Born|  (1960-12-02) 2 December 1960 (age 64)
Sheffield, Yorkshire, England
Genres|

* Heavy metal
* hard rock
* glam metal
* arena rock
* pop rock

Occupation| Musician
Instrument| Bass guitar
Years active| 1976–present
Member of| Def Leppard
Website| defleppard.com

Musical artist

Richard Savage (born 2 December 1960) is an English musician best known as the bass guitarist and a founder member of the rock band Def Leppard. Savage and lead singer Joe Elliott are the only two remaining original members of the band. With drummer Rick Allen, they are also the only members who have performed on every album.

## Biography

[edit]

Savage was born in Sheffield and educated at Tapton Secondary School in Sheffield.[1] 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 him being a Sheffield Wednesday supporter. In his teens he was a keen runner and attended Hallamshire Harriers athletics club in the Hillsborough area of the city. He ultimately chose music and formed a band with a few schoolmates, including Tony Kenning, and eventually Pete Willis. As Atomic Mass they mostly covered Queen, Slade, Deep Purple, Jimi Hendrix, and other popular rock artists of the time.

At one point, they decided that Willis was the better guitar player, so Savage picked up the bass guitar. Needing a singer, they auditioned an acquaintance of Willis', Joe Elliott. They subsequently picked up guitarist Steve Clark and changed their name to Def Leppard.

Savage contracted Bell's palsy around 1994. This causes his facial muscles to weaken and become partially paralyzed. He has recovered, but effects of the disease are still visible, especially when he is fatigued.

From an interview by Gordon Shearer on DefLeppard.com:

Shearer: "What about when you developed your Bell's palsy? Did that change the way you dealt with things? Lots of gossip, lots of comments. I could imagine going from the position that you were in – from ultimate rock sex god to...."

Savage: "It was hard to come to terms with and to understand why. I found it was easy to get into the 'why me?' syndrome. Partly because of the disability. It was more not being able to eat properly, or not being able to sleep without putting a patch on your eye because your eye wouldn't close, and things like that. The effect that it has on your everyday life was the hardest thing. In comparison, it was a very minor debilitating disease. It keeps you humble seeing what Rick Allen went through and how he had to deal with things. So, I would rather have not got the disease, but I did and you make the best of what you got".

## Personal life

[edit]

Savage is married to Paige Savage, with whom he has three children (one from Paige's prior relationship).[2] The family moved to Enniskerry in 2013, but returned to Sheffield in 2016.[3]

## Equipment

[edit]

Savage in 2007

Savage currently uses custom basses made by Jackson after endorsing Washburn XB920 (4-string) and XB925 (5-string) bass guitars from 1999 to 2009. He formerly used Hamer 4 and 5-string bass guitars for over 17 years, starting with their Gibson Explorer-inspired "Blitz" model during the High 'n' Dry and Pyromania albums from 1982 to 1985 and Hamer's modernistic take on the Explorer shape, the "Scarab" model of which he mainly used a white model during the Hysteria recording sessions and tour (although Savage continued to use a black-colored "Blitz" downtuned C#ADG for the hit single "Pour Some Sugar on Me" which can be seen on their Live: In the Round, in Your Face live video/DVD, and a Scarab model in black with a reverse headstock was seen in the "Rocket" video and their performance at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1989) from 1985 to 1989. At the release of Adrenalize he used an array of Chaparral Max 5-string models in various colours including a black & white "Granite" finish, one with a variation of the Adrenalize album artwork custom painted on it, and a black-painted model from 1990 to 1999. Savage switched endorsements to Washburn basses in the middle of the promotion cycle for the Euphoria album in 1999, and a Natural Flame XB925 given to him by Washburn in 1999 has been his main instrument since then.[4] However the custom painted Union Jack XB925 is his most well known bass,[5] followed by the Saint George's Cross XB925, with both paint schemes reproduced on his new Jackson basses in 2009. He acquired two more of the Jackson basses, one in a grey-toned Union Jack scheme and the other painted in the colors of Sheffield Wednesday with the team's logo. He used these on the 2011 Mirrorball tour.[6] Savage never has been a fingerstyle bassist, relying entirely on a plectrum, or "pick". In an interview with Bass Guitar magazine, he stated: "I'm a terrible player with my fingers and I always play with a pick. I love to have consistency within the sound no matter where you are on the fretboard. I've found that when I play with fingers, notes jump out and others are too muted. It would be a nightmare for the sound engineer just trying to compress the thing to make sure there's an equal balance coming off the stage."

## Discography

[edit]

Main article: Def Leppard discography

* The Def Leppard E.P. (1979)
* On Through the Night (1980)
* High 'n' Dry (1981)
* Pyromania (1983)
* Hysteria (1987)
* Adrenalize (1992)
* Retro Active (1993)
* Slang (1996)
* Euphoria (1999)
* X (2002)
* Yeah! (2006)
* Songs from the Sparkle Lounge (2008)
* Mirror Ball – Live & More (2011)
* Viva! Hysteria (2013)
* Def Leppard (2015)
* Diamond Star Halos (2022)
* Drastic Symphonies (2023)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "A brief guide to Sheffield's most famous residents – News stories – Students – The University of Sheffield". Sheffield.ac.uk. 5 February 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
2. ^ "A day in the life of a rock star wife". Belfast Telegraph. 19 September 2011.
3. ^ "Celebrity property news: Rick Savage and Rachel Wyse". The Sunday Times. 6 May 2018. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
4. ^ McIver, Joel (January 2007), "Rick Savage – Def Leppard", Bass Guitar, 28: 42–44
5. ^ "Sav's custom Union Jack XB925 Washburn". Washburn.com.
6. ^ "Rick Savage (Def Leppard) Rig Rundown". YouTube. 23 September 2011. Archived from the original on 13 December 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2014.

## External links

[edit]

* Media related to Rick Savage at Wikimedia Commons

* v
* t
* e

Def Leppard

* Rick Savage
* Joe Elliott
* Rick Allen
* Phil Collen
* Vivian Campbell

* Pete Willis
* Steve Clark

Studio albums|

* On Through the Night
* High 'n' Dry
* Pyromania
* Hysteria
* Adrenalize
* Slang
* Euphoria
* X
* Yeah!
* Songs from the Sparkle Lounge
* Def Leppard
* Diamond Star Halos

Live albums|

* Mirror Ball – Live & More
* Viva! Hysteria
* And There Will Be a Next Time... Live from Detroit

Compilations|

* Retro Active
* Vault: Def Leppard Greatest Hits (1980–1995)
* Best of Def Leppard
* Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection
* The Story So Far – The Best Of
* The Early Years 79–81
* Drastic Symphonies

EPs|

* The Def Leppard E.P.

Singles|

* "Wasted"
* "Hello America"
* "Let It Go"
* "Bringin' On the Heartbreak"
* "Photograph"
* "Rock of Ages"
* "Foolin'"
* "Too Late for Love"
* "Animal"
* "Women"
* "Pour Some Sugar on Me"
* "Hysteria"
* "Armageddon It"
* "Love Bites"
* "Rocket"
* "Let's Get Rocked"
* "Make Love Like a Man"
* "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad"
* "Stand Up (Kick Love into Motion)"
* "Heaven Is"
* "Tonight"
* "Two Steps Behind"
* "Desert Song"
* “Miss You in a Heartbeat”
* "Action"
* "When Love & Hate Collide"
* "Slang"
* "Work It Out"
* "All I Want Is Everything"
* "Breathe a Sigh"
* "Promises"
* "Paper Sun"
* "Goodbye"
* "Now"
* "Four Letter Word"
* "Long, Long Way to Go"
* "No Matter What"
* "Rock On"
* "20th Century Boy"
* "C'mon C'mon"
* "Undefeated"

Videography|

* Historia
* Live: In the Round, in Your Face
* Visualize
* Rock of Ages: The DVD Collection
* Mirror Ball – Live & More
* Viva! Hysteria
* And There Will Be a Next Time... Live from Detroit

Concert tours|

* Adrenalize World Tour
* Slang World Tour
* Viva! Hysteria
* Kiss 40th Anniversary World Tour
* World Tour 2015
* Def Leppard & Journey 2018 Tour
* The Stadium Tour
* The World Tour

Related|

* Discography
* Members
* Songs
* Awards and nominations
* Cybernauts
* Man Raze
* Down 'n' Outz
* Gogmagog
* Jeff Rich
* Frank Noon

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – Class of 2019

Performers|

* The Cure
* Perry Bamonte, Jason Cooper, Michael Dempsey, Reeves Gabrels, Simon Gallup, Roger O'Donnell, Robert Smith, Pearl Thompson, Lol Tolhurst, Boris Williams
* Def Leppard
* Rick Allen, Vivian Campbell, Phil Collen, Steve Clark, Joe Elliott, Rick Savage, Pete Willis
* Janet Jackson
* Radiohead
* Colin Greenwood, Jonny Greenwood, Ed O'Brien, Philip Selway, Thom Yorke
* Roxy Music
* Brian Eno, Bryan Ferry, Eddie Jobson, Andy Mackay, Phil Manzanera, Graham Simpson, Paul Thompson
* Stevie Nicks
* The Zombies
* Rod Argent, Paul Atkinson, Colin Blunstone, Hugh Grundy, Chris White

Singles|

* The Chantels – "Maybe" (1957)
* The Champs – "Tequila" (1958)
* Barrett Strong – "Money (That's What I Want)" (1959)
* The Isley Brothers – "Twist and Shout" (1962)
* The Shangri-Las – "Leader of the Pack" (1964)
* The Shadows of Knight – "Gloria" (1965)

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* France
* BnF data
* Czech Republic
* Spain

Artists|

* MusicBrainz

Other|

* IdRef

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