Rick Savage
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Rick Savage | |
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 Rick Savage live in 2007
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Richard Savage |
| Born | 2 December 1960 Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England |
| Genre(s) | Heavy metal Hard rock |
| Occupation(s) | Bassist, Songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Bass, Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals |
| Years active | 1977 - present |
| Associated acts | Def Leppard |
| Website | http://www.defleppard.com |
| Notable instrument(s) | |
| Washburn XB925 Hamer Scarab Bass |
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Rick "Sav" Savage (born Richard Savage, 2 December 1960, in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, where he attended Tapton School) is the bassist and one of the founders of the English rock band, Def Leppard. He is called "Sav" so that there will not be any confusion between him and another Rick in the band -- drummer Rick Allen.
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[edit] Biography
In his youth, Rick Savage learned to play guitar along with his older brother. They played songs like Rod Stewart's "Maggie May" and Don McLean's "American Pie." Savage also pursued a career as a professional football player with Sheffield United, despite his devotion to rivals Sheffield Wednesday. Savage ultimately chose music and formed a band with a few schoolmates including Tony Kenning and eventually Pete Willis. As "Atomic Mass," they mostly played Queen, Slade, Deep Purple and other popular covers of the time.
At one point, they decided that Willis was the better guitar player so Savage picked up the bass guitar. Needing a singer, the band auditioned an acquaintance of Pete's, Joe Elliott. They subsequently picked up guitarist Steve Clark and changed their name to Def Leppard.
Savage contracted Bell's Palsy around 1994. This causes his facial muscles to weaken and become partially paralyzed. He has recovered, but effects of the disease are still visible, especially when he's fatigued.
From an interview by Gordon Shearer on DefLeppard.com:
- Shearer: "What about when you developed your Bell's Palsy? Did that change the way you dealt with things? Lots of gossip, lots of comments. I could imagine going from the position that you were in -- from ultimate rock sex god to...."
- Savage: "It was hard to come to terms with and to understand why. I found it was easy to get into the 'why me?' syndrome. Partly because of the disability. It was more not being able to eat properly, or not being able to sleep without putting a patch on your eye because your eye wouldn't close, and things like that. The effect that it has on your everyday life was the hardest thing. In comparison, it was a very minor debilitating disease. It keeps you humble seeing what Rick Allen went through and how he had to deal with things. So, I would rather have not got the disease, but I did and you make the best of what you got".
[edit] Personal life
Rick Savage is currently married to his wife Paige. They have two sons together, Scott and Tyler, while Paige has a daughter, Jordan from a previous relationship. When he is not touring, Savage likes to spend time with the children, watch Sheffield Wednesday FC, and play golf. He also has an eye for interior design and restores/redecorates the houses he lives in.
[edit] Equipment
Rick Savage currently uses and endorses Washburn XB920 (4-string) and XB925 (5-string) bass guitars. He formerly used Hamer 4 & 5-string bass guitars for over 17 years, starting with their Gibson Explorer-inspired "Blitz" model during the High 'n' Dry and Pyromania albums from 1982-1985 and Hamer's modernistic take on the shape, the "Scarab" model of which he mainly used a white model during the Hysteria recording sessions and tour (although Savage continued to use a black-colored "Blitz" downtuned DADG for the hit single "Pour Some Sugar On Me" which can be seen on their In The Round, In Your Face live video and DVD) from 1985-1989. At the release of Adrenalize he used an array of Chaparral Max 5-string models in various colours including a black & white "Granite" finish, one with a variation of the Adrenalize album artwork custom painted on it, and a black-painted model from 1990-1999. Savage switched endorsements to Washburn basses in the middle of the promotion cycle for the Euphoria album in 1999, and a Natural Flame XB925 given to him by Washburn in 1999 has been his main instrument since then.[1] However the custom painted Union Jack XB925 is his most well known bass,[2] followed by the Saint George's Cross XB925.
- Note: When playing, Rick uses a pick and does not play with fingers. In an interview with Bass Guitar Magazine, he stated: "I'm a terrible player with my fingers and i always play with a pick. I love to have consistency within the sound no matter where you are on the fretboard. I've found that when I play with fingers, notes jump out and others are too muted. It would be a nightmare for the sound engineer just trying to compress the thing to make sure there's an equal balance coming off the stage."
[edit] References
- ^ McIver, Joel (January 2007), “Rick Savage - Def Leppard”, Bass Guitar Magazine 28: 42-44
- ^ Sav's custom Union Jack XB925 Washburn
