The sticksman's return took place at Monsters Of Rock in 1986, a year and a half after the near-fatal accident he was convinced had ended his career. Allen tells MusicRadar:

"Donington is a crossroads in my life. That was where it all changed for me. It was really scary; I didn't think I could pull it off. But to feel the warmth of a crowd like that - just feeling the sense that they wanted me to succeed and feeling that encouragement - was just incredible. What a moment."

The 1984 crash pushed Def Leppard to breaking point, forcing a long delay before the launch of career-defining album Hysteria. Allen was only able to play again after a period of intense recovery sessions and the building of a unique drumkit on which foot pedals replaced the parts he used to play with his arm.