Def Leppard
Before Collen's entrance to Def Leppard, he had been previously asked to consider joining the band by Steve Clark and Joe Elliott, who he knew at the time. Despite this invitation, there was no need to replace Pete Willis, and as a result, Collen stayed as a member of Girl.
After Willis was fired, Joe Elliott called and asked Collen to audition performing the solo on "Stagefright" in one take during the recording sessions of Pyromania. Soon after, Collen officially joined the band, impressing both producer Mutt Lange and the rest of the band with his ability at playing the guitar. He and fellow guitarist Clark quickly bonded, becoming close friends and leading to the trademark dual-guitar sound of Def Leppard. He and Clark became known as the "Terror Twins," in recognition of their talents. By this time, Collen had also become noted for his trademark bare-chested stage appearances.
During the 1980s, Collen quit drinking alcohol, which he had developed a serious addiction to, stopped eating meat, and adopted a generally healthy lifestyle. According to Collen, he began to suffer blackouts due to alcohol, and quit when he realized that alcohol was beginning to dominate his life, and he was losing control of his addiction. In contrast, Clark did not follow such standards and died due to alcohol abuse in early 1991.
After Clark died, Collen was faced with the challenge of not only dealing with the loss of a friend and band-mate, but also with the burden and responsibility of the Adrenalize recordings. The music had been written by this time, but Clark's playing style differed so much from Collen's that actually recording all of his parts proved very difficult. While Clark's playing style was rhythmic, melodic, and sometimes even characterized as "sloppy," Collen's style was technical and precise, leading to difficulties in mimicking the sound of Clark's guitar parts. Due to the aftermath of Clark's death, as well as the issues with the recording of Adrenalize, Collen seriously considered leaving Def Leppard. According to Joe Elliot, Collen said that he couldn't bear to play guitar anymore after Clark's death. He said, "I'd rather be a plumber." However, once Vivian Campbell joined the band to replace the spot of second guitarist shortly before the Adrenalize tour, Collen was relieved of some of the pressures of the "overkill" production style of Def Leppard, as well as the challenge of reproducing Clark's guitar parts for live shows.
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