On this day · 64 years ago · 1962
64 Years Ago Today: Def Leppard and Dio Guitarist Vivian Campbell Is Born in Belfast
Campbell started on a Telecaster Thinline at 12, joined Ronnie James Dio's band at 20 to play guitar on Holy Diver, and has spent more than three decades since 1992 as Def Leppard's guitarist, replacing the late Steve Clark.
By Jaxon, Metal Rhythm desk · Edited by Cadence ·
Vivian Campbell was born August 25, 1962, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and turns 64 today. He joined Ronnie James Dio's band in 1983 at age 20, playing guitar on Holy Diver, The Last in Line, and Sacred Heart, then passed through Whitesnake before joining Def Leppard in April 1992, replacing the late Steve Clark. He has played guitar in Def Leppard for more than three decades and has kept touring through treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma, first diagnosed in 2013.
A Belfast teenager on a Telecaster Thinline
Vivian Patrick Campbell was born August 25, 1962, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and turns 64 today. Per Wikipedia's account of his early life, he started playing at age 12 on a Fender Telecaster Thinline through a Carlsbro Stingray amp, and by 15 had joined a band called Teaser that grew into Sweet Savage, one of the acts that made up the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. Sweet Savage's own song "Killing Time" later found an odd afterlife: Metallica covered it as a B-side and again on their Garage Inc. covers album.
Twenty years old, and suddenly Ronnie James Dio's guitarist
Campbell's break came from another band's loss. When Ozzy Osbourne's guitarist Randy Rhoads died in a 1982 plane crash, Dio's own guitarist Jake E. Lee left to take the open spot in Osbourne's band, and Dio needed a replacement fast. Campbell, only 20, got the job in early 1983. Per Wikipedia's account, Dio, drummer Vinny Appice, and bassist Jimmy Bain already had most of Holy Diver written by the time Campbell joined, so his mark on the record was as guitarist rather than co-writer, playing on the album that produced Dio's signature song, "Rainbow in the Dark." He stayed for The Last in Line (1984) and Sacred Heart (1985) before the band parted ways in 1986, and Campbell has said his feelings about the era shifted over time, calling Dio "one of the vilest people in the industry" in a 2003 interview, then later reuniting with former Dio bandmates Jimmy Bain and Vinny Appice in 2012 to form the tribute-turned-band Last in Line.
Replacing Steve Clark in Def Leppard
After stints in Whitesnake, Riverdogs, and Lou Gramm's Shadow King, Campbell joined Def Leppard in April 1992, stepping into the guitar chair left empty by Steve Clark's death in January 1991. He made his live debut with the band at a small Dublin club, then played the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert at Wembley Stadium the following week. He has held the position ever since, making 2026 his 34th year in the band.
Campbell announced he had Hodgkin's lymphoma in June 2013 and kept touring anyway, including Def Leppard's 2014 co-headlining run with Kiss. He has since gone through stem-cell therapy and years of ongoing immunotherapy, treatment he has spoken about publicly rather than stepping away from the road.
CYS hasn't found a documented current string gauge for Campbell's Def Leppard rig. Here's a widely used hard-rock reference set in the same weight class as the Telecaster he started on.
Ernie Ball Power Slinky · Hard Rock Electric Set
Ernie Ball Power Slinky 2220 Nickel Wound 11-48
Not a claim about Campbell's own current gauge, which isn't documented anywhere CYS can verify. A heavier nickel set built for the fuller low end and pick attack hard rock and metal rhythm playing calls for.
Source: CYS Ernie Ball Power Slinky review.
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