Def Leppard: Rare first edition EP by Yorkshire legends sells for more than £1,000

The Def Leppard EP was the 1979 debut self-produced recording by the heavy metal band.

Only a thousand copies were initially produced, with lead singer Joe Elliott and his mother gluing the sleeves themselves.

Released in January 1979, the single was sold for just £1 at shows and was distributed to anyone the band felt could help them gain exposure - Elliott even jumped on stage at Sheffield University during a John Peel DJ session to hand-deliver a copy which did then get Radio 1 air time.

The team at the St Luke’s eBay store was delighted when one of the few surviving copies was donated for sale and the bids started to come in, with a launch price of £600 quickly reaching £1,022 and going to a buyer in Switzerland.

“Our team is always looking through the many donations we receive for those very special items which we believe will make the most money for St Luke’s through our fantastic eBay site,” said the charity’s ecommerce development manager Sarah Conrad.

“This was especially exciting as Def Leppard are Sheffield legends and we knew there would be a lot of local interest but the joy of eBay is that it’s global and so the interest was even greater than we anticipated.”