The man behind iconic 80s song, She Blinded Me with Science, is Thomas Dolby. This synth-based, catchy song was supported with an appealing video and remains a staple when discussing the early days of MTV. But Dolby’s career in the music industry is denser than a one-hit wonder. As a producer and musician, he has become a well-known and sought after collaborator, technology advocate, and inspiration for fledgling synth-rock maestros globally.

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Dolby’s Grammy-nominated approach and style in music has constantly been in flux – from the synth-driven pop of his first album The Golden Age of Wireless to funky and emotive arrangements in later albums like Aliens Ate My Buick and Astronauts and Heretics.

His career started out shortly after he taught himself music and dropped out of school to join an R&B/Jazz band. By the 80s, he was contributing to albums as a session musician for the Thompson Twins, Def Leppard and Foreigner. This financially supported his own solo efforts to record his first album, 1982’s The Golden Age of Wireless. Two years later he released The Flat Earth on Capitol Records.

These two albums by Dolby were well-received by critics and achieved Gold status in the US. Despite, his later un-charting singles in the late-80s and early-90s, Dolby remained active in the music industry and established a technology company that would go on to develop a music file format for internet usage. This venture for Dolby was important as he is a strong advocate for copyright protection and has consistently voiced his opinion over unauthorised sampling and piracy.

Dolby’s musical talents would also benefit him in another business activity in composing hundreds of polyphonic ringtones including the Nokia signature theme. He has also worked as a producer and soundtrack composer for films and video games. In 1998, Yahoo! awarded Dolby with a Lifetime Achievement in Internet Music.

After various, successful one-off gigs in the 2000s, Dolby returned to the music scene and moved back to the UK in 2006. He continues to collaborate, tour and release new and re-mastered material.

Albums:

Sources: Juanita Appleby; Jeffrey Taylor

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Def Leppard formed in Sheffield in 1977, by Pete Willis, Rick Savage and Tony Kenning, with the original name Atomic Mass, acquiring their current name when Joe Elliott joined. In 1978 they picked up a guitarist named Steve Clark.

Their first gig was played at Westfield school July 18th, where they were paid out of a teacher’s pocket. In November drummer Tony Kenning was fired and replaced by Frank Noon, and the band recorded their first EP. In 1979 Def Leppard got their first major airplay, and were soon signed by Phonogram and Mercury.

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On March 14th 1980, their debut album ‘On Through The Night’ was released, shortly followed by ‘High N’ Dry’ in 1981. In 1982 Pete Willis left the band and is soon replaced by Phil Collen (formerly of Girl) In January 1983, following which their third album ‘Pyromania’ is released.

On December 31st 1984 Rick Allen's car is overturned, causing his arm to be severed. Rick gets a Simmons electric drum kit and with determination begins to practice drumming with only one arm. Def Leppard soon performed at the Mosters of Rock tour, Allen’s first performance since the accident. In August 1987 Def Leppard's fourth album, ‘Hysteria’, is released, and was a huge success, selling over 15 million copies. In 1989 the band plays a new single ‘Tear it Down’ at the MTV video music awards, the last show that Steve Clark played with the band. On January 8th 1991 in London Steve Clark died after a long battle with alcoholism, at the age of just 31.

In April 1992, Vivian Campbell joined the band and their 5th album ‘Adrenalize’ followed, with ‘Retro Active’ released the following year. In October 1995 their Greatest hits album, ‘Vault’ is released, followed by ‘Slang’ in 1996, and ‘Euphoria’ in 1000. And the next year, 1996, Slang, is released in May. On March 16th 1999 Euphoria is released.

On September 5, 2000, Def Leppard were inducted into the Rock Walk of Fame on Hollywood's Sunset Boulevard by their friend Brian May of Queen.

Def Leppard's tenth album, simply titled X, was released in July 2002. It saw the band's musical direction moving more towards pop and further away from the band's hard rock roots.

On May 23, 2006, Def Leppard released an all-covers album titled ‘Yeah!’. The disc pays homage to classic rock songs of their childhood, originally recorded by ELO, Sweet, The Kinks, Blondie, and Badfinger among others. The band began their "Downstage Thrust Tour", on June 29, which took them across the US and into Canada.

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This information is provided as a brief overview and not as a definitive guide, there are other sources on the net for that. If however you have a story or information that is not generally known we would love to hear from you. Content@rokpool.com

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