DEF LEPPARD Drummer Says It's 'Really Special' To See '80s Hard Rock Being Recognized By ROCK HALL

DEF LEPPARD drummer Rick Allen spoke to Atlantic City Weekly about the band's upcoming induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Asked what the nod means to him personally, Allen said: "The thing for all of us, the whole of DEF LEPPARD, that made it really special that they introduced the fan vote, and I'm not sure how much of an influence it has in terms of, you know, sort of point system or whatever, or how that relates, but I think when that many people come out and vote, it has to have some sort of influence and that, to us, was the most important part of the whole process. The fact that it was fans and not necessarily board members, you know, sitting around a table trying to decide who deserves this… They're the ones that come to the concerts and, you know, going to a live concert is a very personal experience and I doubt everybody out there that decided on whether we were going to be in the Hall Of Fame, I doubt whether all of them have even been to one of our concerts. But when you go to a DEF LEPPARD concert and you see the reaction, you experience the reaction of DEF LEPPARD fans, then you go, 'Wow.' This is really cool, very special and I'm just happy that so many people came out and voted for us."

Pressed about whether he thinks that BON JOVI and DEF LEPPARD's Rock Hall inductions mean that we are finally going to see some respect paid to hard rock of the '80s and early '90s, Allen said: "I hope so. I think it was an important time for music. You know, there was… We just grew up in a fantastic time for music … To see the '80s being, you know, sort of paid attention to, to me, is really special because I think a lot of great music came from that time."

Allen went on to say that no concrete plans are yet in place in terms of which songs DEF LEPPARD will perform at the Rock Hall ceremony. "We talked about it, but it was right at the end of what felt like forever — that last tour, we did like sixty shows in North America, Canada and then Hawaii, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and then England and Ireland," he said. "By the end of that whole run, we were really ready to go home ... and we weren't necessarily in the right head space to start talking about what we were going to do for a particular performance. But having said that, I'm sure I'm going to start seeing emails coming through and people making suggestions about how we do this."

The current lineup of DEF LEPPARD — with the late Steve Clark and original guitarist Pete Willis — will be inducted. So far there's been no announcement as to who will officially induct the band into the Hall.

The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony with take place on March 29 at Brooklyn, New York's Barclays Center. HBO will broadcast a truncated version of the ceremony later in the year.

One of the top-selling rock acts of of all time, DEF LEPPARD has been eligible for the Rock Hall since 2004.

DEF LEPPARD's brand new greatest-hits collection titled "The Story So Far - The Best Of", was released in November.