While Def Leppard enjoyed the adulation, they never liked being categorized. 15 in the United Kingdom, and the metal press championed the band, crowning it a leader of the new wave of British heavy metal along with Iron Maiden, Saxon and Tygers of Pan Tang. Nonetheless, On Through the Night charted at No. “We got all of the backing tracks done in a day and then spent three weeks ruining the album with too many overdubs, leaving me three days to do all the vocals, which really wasn’t enough time.” “Basically, On Through the Night was a diary entry of what we had been doing for the previous year,” says Elliott. In retrospect, Elliott wished Allom had been less involved. Acting more like an engineer than a producer, Allom encouraged Def Leppard to be themselves and he would capture their energy. The group recorded 11 songs for On Through the Night, which was heavily influenced by Thin Lizzy, UFO and Aerosmith. At the end of 1979, the band entered Startling Studios in Ascot, England, with producer Tom Allom (Black Sabbath, Judas Priest).
Other DJs followed Peel’s lead, and a couple of BBC studio sessions (featured in the box set) later, Def Leppard was signed. “Soon after, he called me up and said, ‘OK, I’m playing it tonight.’ He played a song a night for five straight nights.” “I asked him if he’d give it a listen, and he asked me to write my phone number on it,” says Elliott. Afterward, the singer sidled up to Peel and handed him the EP. Def Leppard’s first step toward fame came in January 1979 when Elliott attended a University of Sheffield DJ event attended by BBC radio legend John Peel.
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