Joining Def Leppard during the late 1970s, Rick Allen appeared to find his home with the band as he remained part of the lineup for over four decades. And throughout that time, the drummer went through some hardship as in January 1985, he had his left arm amputated. Not letting that stop him, the drummer continued to perform and learned to play with one arm. Considered one of the greatest drummers of all time, Allen recently broke his silence about being assaulted, and how he still struggled with the trauma of the event.
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Back in 2023, Allen traveled to South Florida to perform with Def Leppard at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. Just another performance for the drummer, he stepped outside at the Four Seasons hotel to have a smoke break. That’s when a 19-year-old man suddenly ran straight at Allen and collided into him. With Allen’s head hitting the ground, the world went blurry as the assault continued.
Eventually taken into custody, no motive was given as to why the individual wanted to harm Allen. While years passed since the incident, Allen continued to struggle with the trauma. Appearing on Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk, he said, “I’ve been trying to deal with that the best that I can, and really I just needed to take a break from some of the side projects that I was busy with, just so I could spend more time at home. So, that’s been a real challenge for me. Hopefully I can put it all behind me and I can just kind of get back to as normal as I could possibly be given the circumstances.”
Rick Allen Not Pushing Himself To Return
With Allen deciding to step away from the spotlight during the Monsters of Rock cruise, the drummer wanted nothing more than to move past the assault. “That was very traumatic for me, and, yeah, it’s been difficult. But hopefully I can put it behind me soon.”
While he performed a few times after the altercation, Allen insisted, “I did go out and I did a cruise, and I realized that I was finding it difficult to be around a lot of people like that. And so I decided, ‘You know what, Rick? Don’t try and bite off more than you can chew. Just deal with this, deal with what’s in front of you. Spend as much time as you need to at home.’”
Not putting a timer on the healing process, Allen looked forward to showcasing his art once again. “I’m just hoping, as I say, that I can put it behind me… I’d love to get back to doing some of my side projects, particularly the art. And let’s hope I can soon.”
(Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for SiriusXM)
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