When Phil Collins sent Def Leppard drummer 'incredible' letter after tragic accident

5 June 2025, 15:29

They're two of the most beloved drummers rock and pop music has ever seen.

Phil Collins started out as the drummer for progressive rock group Genesis, before later taking on vocal duties after original singer Peter Gabriel left to pursue new pastures.

Of course, after turning the band into a rock music powerhouse, he also carved out a pretty successful career as a solo artist.

Likewise, Rick Allen was the man behind the skins for one of Britain's most successful rock groups. The band? Def Leppard.

Allen also has one of the most inspirational backstories in rock music, having lost his left arm in a terrible car accident in 1984.

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It was almost unthinkable for a drummer to ever recover from such a tragedy, but Allen bravely bounced back.

Not only did he relearn to play the drums, he would also inspire the band's biggest commercial success to date with their 1987 album, Hysteria.

Continuing his music career might've seemed like a lost cause after the accident, but Allen's comeback was aided by fellow drummer Phil Collins, who sent him an "incredible" message of support in the wake of his misfortune.

After losing an arm, you can rightly see why Allen would have been hopeless in thinking he could continue his music career, where he was reliant on using two arms to play his instrument.

Understandably, he was in an awful, dark place in the aftermath of his accident, which happened on December 31, 1984, when he was just 21 years old.

The year before, Def Leppard had released their breakthrough album Pyromania which saw the Sheffield band make waves in the United States for the first time.

Produced by Shania Twain's ex-husband Robert "Mutt" Lange, the album featured hit singles like 'Rock Of Ages', 'Photograph', 'Foolin'' and 'Too Late For Love'.

While that success might've seemed out of reach for Allen, hearing from Collins – at the time one of the world's biggest stars and respected drummers – gave him an immense confidence boost.

In an interview with Ultimate Classic Rock in 2021, Allen revealed that Collins' later "happened to be one of the first" that he opened after the accident whilst he was "actually still in hospital in 1985".

He couldn't believe the "incredible words of encouragement", words that would give him hope once again.

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"There were hundreds of thousands of letters, but his stood out because he obviously knew what it would be like," Allen added.

"Or he had an inkling of what it would be like – to be a drummer and to be involved in something so horrific. So it just meant that much more.”

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While Phil Collins' letter was of the utmost importance to Allen, it was the regular people and fans of Def Leppard who also inspired him during the recovery process.

Talking to Modern Drummer, Allen admitted: "I remember coming around in the hospital and then realising what had happened to me after the accident, and honestly, I wanted to disappear."

"I didn't wanna do this anymore," he continued. "And then I started getting these letters from all over the world.

"I don't know what happened, but I discovered the power of the human spirit and just said, 'You know what? I can do this.’

"It was really a collective thing. It was all this encouragement I was getting from other people, and then it just manifested in wanting to succeed. And that's exactly where it came from."

The road back to sitting behind the drumkit once again required drive and dedication, but also the support and friendship of his bandmates.

Allen re-learned to play the drums using a custom kit that triggered different sounds using his left foot, rather than his left arm.

His return to the stage was nothing short of a triumph when the band played the Monsters Of Rock festival in 1986 performing a handful of massive hits like 'Pour Some Sugar On Me' and 'Love Bites' which would feature on the blockbuster album Hysteria.

He's still a crucial member of the band to this day. In 2021, Allen was asked by ABC News if he'd do anything differently, to prevent the accident from happening.

"That’s a really good question," he said. "I think it enabled me to grow in so many ways. It became a blessing, a responsibility – a responsibility to other people, to myself. And I think that has become a huge gift."

It was a gift that Allen might not have realised without the encouragement of Phil Collins, who spurred him on to become one of rock music's most beloved and unique drummers.

Phil Collins does a duet with his son