Early Life
Lars Ulrich was born on December 26, 1963. Saxophonist Dexter Gordon was Ulrich's godfather. In February 1973, Lars' father Torben obtained five passes for five of his friends to a Deep Purple concert that was being held in the same Copenhagen stadium as one of his tournaments. When it was discovered that one of the friends could not go, their ticket was handed over to the nine year-old Ulrich. The young Ulrich found himself mesmerized by the performance, buying the band's Fireball album the next day. The concert and the album had a considerable impact on Ulrich, inspiring his entrance into the world of rock and roll and later on, heavy metal. As a result of his newfound interest in music, he received his first drum kit from his grandmother at the age of twelve, a Ludwig. Ulrich originally intended to play tennis, and he moved to America in 1980.
In 1981, Ulrich discovered British heavy metal band Diamond Head. He was excited about the band's style of music after purchasing its debut album Lightning to the Nations (1980). He traveled from San Francisco to London to see the band perform live at the Woolwich Odeon. However, Ulrich had not planned the trip out properly and was left without anywhere to go after the performance. He managed to meet the band backstage and explain the lengths he had taken to see them. The band warmed to him and lead guitarist Brian Tatler let him stay with him in his home town of Stourbridge, where Ulrich spent the next few weeks sleeping on Tatler's floor in his house. Ulrich remains a fan of Diamond Head and mixed its album The Best of Diamond Head. Upon returning to America, Ulrich placed an ad in a local newspaper looking for musicians to start a band with him. James Hetfield replied to the ad and Metallica was formed.
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