Def Leppard are an English rock band from Sheffield, who formed in 1977 during the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. Largely on the strength of their albums Pyromania and Hysteria, Def Leppard became one of the top-selling rock bands throughout the 1980s, selling over 65 million albums worldwide, including over 35 million in the United States alone. Rick Savage (bass), Pete Willis (guitar), and Tony Kenning (drums), all students at Tapton School in Sheffield, formed a band called Atomic Mass in 1977.