My earliest memory of Steve Clark – other than from the pages of Sounds or my second-pressing Getcha Rocks Off EP (I had to spell out B-l-u-d-g-e-o-n R-i-f-f-o-l-a to the mystified record shop lady so she could order it for me) – was of him and Joe Elliott feeding a jukebox in the bar beside the West Runton Pavilion in September 1979. He and Joe chose Thin Lizzy, mostly, so I got to keep my change and have a good time.
The gig he played as a member of Def Leppard less than an hour later was even better. Steve was so much more exciting and (let’s be honest) dramatic than Pete Willis, the little guy playing guitar on the other side of the stage. Def Leppard did a couple of Lizzy songs – Rosalie and Emerald – as their first encores and I couldn’t have gone home any happier.
