Bass Player

ROAR POWER

Few rock bass players have embraced their unique position within a band as well as Def Leppard’s Rick ‘Sav’ Savage. But then again, he’s a lot more than a bass player, contributing to the songs’ often‑grandiose harmonies live on stage, co‑writing many of their biggest tracks and even going as far as tracking some of the guitars—something which bass players are rarely afforded the opportunity to do—over a career spanning four and a half decades.

It’s this vantage point that gives him a greater understanding of his instrument’s role in the context of a group, acting almost as the mediator between melody and rhythm. That’s as apparent now, on this year’s twelfth studio album Diamond Star Halos, as it was on 1987’s best‑seller Hysteria.

“The bass player is the glue and has an observation point that encompasses all sides of the band,” he explains. “You’re the bridge between the rhythm and the melody. From that viewpoint, you can see

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