Steve Clark
"I really didn't know the kid, but I knew that he had a problem. I never expected it to end like this though. It's a tragedy, a terrible tragedy. And as usual, it's the ones that are left behind that have to pick up the pieces. It's just very sad." -Ozzy Osbourne
Stephan Maynard Clark was born in England, on April 23, 1960. All through his childhood, he did an ok job in school, but never was the top of his class. At age 11 he convinced his father to buy him his first guitar, and he immediatly began taking classical guitar lessons. By age 16 he left school, in order to go work in one of the nearby factories, but it was around this time also, that he met the young band Def Leppard. As soon as they heard him play his guitar on January 29, 1978, he was in. He toured with the band, while they became more and more wel known, but soon he started to develop a drinking problem. But he always seemed to stay the same humble, gentle man he always was. That is why it was such a surprise when on the morning of January 8th, 1991, Steve was found dead in London. Apparently he had died of a respiratory failer, because of excessive alcohol in his body. He was always a great man, who stuck to his humble beginnings, and deserves to be remembered always. RIP
"When they (the band) were down after Steve's death, it would have been easy for them to call it quits, but they didn't know anything else..Life on the road can be hard, especially after a tragedy like that. Steve was not only a band member, he was a friend!" -A Fan of the Band
"...to Stephen Maynard Clark, guitarist and close friend. We all have different memories of him: from threatening to quit the band in late 1978 unless we stopped rehearsing and actually played a gig, to some totally off-the-wall "shape throwing" on stage with his Les Paul hanging down to his knees, or his off-stage performances in bars and hotel rooms. It's a funny thing, thinking you really know someone while slowly realizing there is more going on than meets the eye. The last couple of years of Steve's life were a battle. It stopped being about writing or recording our music, and started being about one man's lonely struggle to survive. Watching someone disintegrate right in front of our eyes is a tough thing, and even though it's frustrating as shit, it's impossible to stop. We learned about human nature and, trust us, it ain't necessarily pretty. ...music is what he'll be remembered for." -From Adrenalize
Dark Memorial
back
