FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA: Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen, 59, has opened up about a shocking attack outside a hotel in Florida on March 12 resulting in head injuries. Max Hartley, a 19-year-old tourist allegedly shoved Allen as he approached him from behind a pole and struck him at full speed when the drummer was smoking outside Four Seasons in Fort Lauderdale.
The 59-year-old British artist discussed the incident in-depth for the first time during his Monday appearance on Good Morning America. Even recalling how he raised his hand in the air to assure the suspect that he posed no threat.
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'I don't think he knew who I was, but he must've seen that I wasn't a threat'
The drummer described how he heard footsteps and witnessed a brief dark flash and then awoke on the ground. "I heard a couple of steps and then I just saw this dark sort of flash and the next thing I knew, I was on the ground," he recalled. "I landed on my backside and then continued on, hit my head on the pavement," he added.
Allen, who lost his left arm following a vehicle accident in January 1985, lifted his hand to defend himself while being attacked and reassured the attacker that he posed no threat. "I don't think he knew who I was, but he must've seen that I wasn't a threat because, you know, I've only got one arm."
'My heart just completely sank into me'
Allen's wife Lauren Monroe described her feeling after hearing about the attack saying, "My heart just completely sank into me. Everything stopped in our house and focused on him." Having overcome previous setbacks, Allen expressed feeling better equipped to handle this incident than he was following the car crash. "I immediately just went to that place of just feeling grateful for the fact that I have an amazing wife and an incredible family," he said.
'I just started just thanking a higher power for the fact that I'm still here'
He continued, "I just started just thanking a higher power for the fact that I'm still here." Lauren echoed this sentiment and mentioned that they were primarily focused on "right now", rather than dwelling on the motives behind the attack "how" and "why." On Monday night in Sheffield, England, the drummer is scheduled to begin the European portion of his tour with Def Leppard. "I know that I'm not gonna be playing music in a band forever, but while I am, I plan on making as many people happy as I possibly can," he said. "This is my opportunity. If only we could view other things in that way. We're only here for a limited time."
