Def Leppard’s 1983 album Pyromania was the multi-million selling smash that turned the Sheffield band into superstars and redefined the sound of arena rock. But in the making of this album, they had a secret weapon - a rising star from the world of synth pop.
As Leppard’s singer Joe Elliott recalls of the early ’80s: “Drum machines and synthesizers were everywhere. And we thought: imagine if you could combine those sounds with a rock band. If we could take the best elements of rock and mix it with the technology in bands like The Human League, we could make a record like nobody has ever made before.”
The band’s producer, ‘Mutt’ Lange, knew exactly who to call. When Lange had produced Foreigner’s 1981 album 4, he had enlisted the services of Thomas Dolby to play synths on key tracks such as Juke Box Hero and the hit ballad Waiting For A Girl Like You.
But when Dolby signed up to work on Pyromania, his career as a solo recording artist was beginning to take off with the hit single She Blinded Me With Science, and he was wary of being associated with too much rock music.
“He was part of the new wave of pop scene,” says Leppard bassist Rick ‘Sav’ Savage. “A Flock Of Hairdressers and all that!”
As a result, Dolby appeared in the credits to Pyromania masquerading under the tongue-in-cheek alias of Booker T. Boffin. But his contribution to this album was significant.
“We were around halfway through the project when Tom Dolby came in,” Joe Elliott says. “And he really added a new dimension to some of those songs. Like with Rock Of Ages - we didn’t have guitars in the verse, just this cool bass line, which is a mixture of Sav’s bass and Tom's keyboard. So we had these modern sounds that nobody had ever used.”
Sav concurs: “That sound in Rock Of Ages is fantastic. What Tom added, it fit with the bass guitar so perfectly. And it sounded dirty - grungy! It was aggressive, and that was the cool thing about it.
“He was also adding rhythms to it - like rhythms within rhythms. And it's pretty clever, especially from somebody that really didn't have any affinity with with hard rock.
“Tom’s input really enhanced the sound of the album," Sav continues. "Some of the things he played were like guitar parts, so it didn't sound like we’d suddenly got a keyboard player in the band or anything like that. It was just to give the guitars that that extra sparkle. And Mutt was really insistent that everything had to be absolutely on the beat, so that really showed what a great musician Tom was - not just not just technically, but as an actual performer.”
Dolby added subtle touches to Foolin’ and dramatic flourishes to Die Hard The Hunter, but his biggest impact came with the intro to Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop) - which would serve as the album’s emphatic opening statement.
“That song was in our minds as a curtain raiser for the album,” Joe says. “But it didn't really work until Tom came in and added the Phantom Of The Opera to it - that grandiose feel. And then there's all that tinkly stuff going down, which sounded incredible.”
As for Dolby’s refusal to have his name on the album, Sav feels that his chosen alias was entirely apt. “He said: ‘Please just call me Booker T. Boffin.’ And it made sense - he was a bit of a boffin, and we booked him!”
Says Joe: “It’s easy to take the piss out of our kind of music, so I get it. He just didn't want his credibility blown by being named on a Def Leppard album - which is why, after the album came out, I told everybody it was him!”
