Allen plans to prosecute
Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen was violently assaulted outside of a Fort Lauderdale, Florida hotel on Monday (Mar 13th), according to WSVN-TV. The band was in town following a performance the previously evening with Mötley Crüe at the Hard Rock Live in nearby Hollywood, FL.
Allen, who lost his left arm in a 1984 car accident, stepped outside the hotel for a cigarette when he was violently attacked by a 19 year old visiting from Ohio. A police report states Allen “hit his head on the ground causing injury,” although it’s unclear to what extent.
A woman who was inside the hotel witnessed the incident and was attacked as well when she came to aid the fallen Allen.
“While she is on the ground, the defendant continues to batter her by striking her,” the report reads. “[She] attempts to escape by running into the hotel. The defendant then grabs [her] by her hair and drags her out of the lobby and back onto the sidewalk before fleeing the area.”
The suspect was arrested after he was found at a nearby hotel breaking car windows. We are withholding his name.
Allen provided a sworn statement to police and plans to press charges. Allen has yet to speak publicly about the incident. He tells SiriusXM’s Eddie Trunk in a text that he has “no comment for now” with Trunk confirming, “He’ll respond and put out a statement when he’s ready.”
Def Leppard and Mötley Crüe are currently in the midst of their co-headlining The World Tour along with special guest Alice Cooper. Both bands will bring their electrifying stage shows across the globe with stops throughout Latin America before heading to play many European festivals in May 2023 and then back to the US in August.
The trek follows last year’s The Stadium Tour with Poison and Joan Jett and The Blackhearts selling more than 1.3 million tickets.
Def Leppard also shares it’ll release its new album, Drastic Symphonies, an album of reworked songs with London’s iconic The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra this spring. By and large, they have intertwined the audio from the original tapes and performed them alongside The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, consistently ranked as one of the world’s leading orchestras. The album additionally includes new vocals and guitars that culminate in stunningly beautiful symphonic arrangements, which at different points you can hear vocalist Joe Elliott duetting with his younger self.
