Def Leppard drummer and iconic rock star Rick Allen gave an exclusive interview to ABC’s Good Morning America to discuss a horrific assault he endured after a show in Fort Lauderdale in March.
In the interview, Allen explains he was suddenly attacked out of nowhere after a performance and was “totally blindsighted.”
He explains, “I heard a couple of steps and then I just saw this [flash] and the next thing I knew was I was on the ground. I landed on my backside… hit my head on the pavement.”
This isn’t the first time Allen has dealt with adversity, as he was famously injured in a severe car crash almost forty years ago in which he lost his left arm. This never halted his drumming career but has given him perspective and helped him to react quickly and instinctively in this situation.
After the initial attack, Allen worried he would be hit again so he immediately put his hand up in the air and said, “I am no threat to you.”
As Allen explained it, “I don’t think he knew who I was, but he must have seen that I wasn’t a threat because, you know, I’ve only got one arm,” said Allen.
Allen further continued that the experience of overcoming the loss of his arm certainly helped him recover from this attack as well. It made him grateful he survived the incident and has so much love and support from his family.
It seems apropos that Rick Allen, the drummer for Def Leppard, prefers to pour sugar, not salt, on the emotional wounds of the incident to get past it and move on.
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