Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen has spoken about the trauma he still deals with two years after being assaulted in a Florida car park.
In March 2023, the 61-year-old, who’s been with Def Leppard since 1978, was attacked outside a Fort Lauderdale hotel by a 19-year-old. A police report found by the Daily Mail claimed Allen’s attacker intentionally rushed at him and knocked him to the ground, causing the drummer to hit his head. The aggressor then allegedly “batter[ed]” a woman who came to Allen’s aid.
The 19-year-old was later arrested and charged with two counts of battery, four counts of criminal mischief and one count of abusing an elderly or disabled adult.
During a conversation with SiriusXM’s Eddie Trunk last week, Allen talks about the ongoing trauma stemming from the assault. He also reveals it led to him sitting out part of a recent cruise where his artwork was being showcased.
“I’ve been going through some challenging times, kind of related to what happened in Florida,” the drummer admits (via Blabbermouth). “And that whole thing is kind of ongoing, when I got beaten up outside the hotel.”
He continues: “I’ve been trying to deal with that the best that I can, and really I just needed to take a break from some of the side-projects that I was busy with, just so I could spend more time at home.”
Allen adds that attending the cruise made him realise “that I was finding it difficult to be around a lot of people like that”. He says, “And so I decided, ‘You know what, Rick? Don’t try and bite off more than you can chew. Just deal with this, deal with what's in front of you. Spend as much time as you need to at home.’”
The drummer hopes to “put it all behind me” and “just kind of get back to as normal as I [can]”. He finishes: “But that [attack] was very traumatic for me, and, yeah, it’s been difficult. But hopefully I can put it behind me soon.”
Allen, who lost his left arm in a car accident in 1984, continues to perform and record with Def Leppard. The band toured extensively with fellow glam metal-era icons Mötley Crüe in 2022 and 2023, before doing a stadium tour with Journey and others last year. They have several North and Central American dates scheduled for 2025. See all their upcoming live plans on their website.
