Biography
Savage was born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Rick was educated at Tapton Secondary school in Sheffield. 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 his devotion to rivals Sheffield Wednesday. Savage ultimately chose music and formed a band with a few schoolmates including Tony Kenning and eventually Pete Willis. As Atomic Mass they mostly played Queen, Slade, Deep Purple, Jimi Hendrix, and other popular covers 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, the band auditioned an acquaintance of Pete's, 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's 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".
Read more about this topic: Rick Savage
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