Peter Andrew "Pete" Willis (born
February 16 1960, in
Sheffield,
South Yorkshire,
England, where he attended
Tapton School) was one of the original guitarists for the
British rock band Def Leppard until he was replaced by
Phil Collen in
1982. He co-wrote many tracks and played
guitar on the
band's third
album,
Pyromania, which was being recorded at the time of his replacement.
Career
Willis was a guitar enthusiast since his youth. He was a fan of
Jimi Hendrix to whom he modeled much of his self-taught guitar playing style.
In his early teens, he formed a band called Atomic Mass with
Rick Savage,
Tony Kenning, and (briefly)
Paul Holland. He met
Joe Elliott in
1977 and invited him to audition for the band, which would later become Def Leppard.
Willis was one of the main songwriters of the band during their first three albums. His contributions are often described as unique and difficult, due to being written in unusual key-tunings or with perplexing chords/fingering positions.
He was dismissed from the band during the recording of
Pyromania due to a drinking problem, and was replaced by guitarist
Phil Collen (formerly of British glam band
Girl). He later recorded with the bands
Gogmagog (with former and current members of
Iron Maiden) and
Roadhouse.
In February 2003, Atomic Mass reunited at the
Hallam FM Arena.
He now runs his own property management company in Sheffield.
Discography
With Def Leppard
External results
Click here for more details on Pete Willis
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