Which 80s icon played synthesizer on Def Leppard's Pyromania?

This year Def Leppard celebrates 40 years of Pyromania, the band's third album. Pyromania would top the charts at No. 2 and be the first album featuring guitarist Phil Collen. Synthesizer on this album was played by a popular 80s musician who used the name Booker T. Boffin.

As Def Leppard celebrates the 40th anniversary of Pyromania, which was released on Jan. 20, 1983, they have had a social media campaign, 40 Pyromania Facts, for 40 years. Beginning in March, the band's social media has been sprinkled with Def Leppard trivia specific to this album, the songs featured, and the tour.

The first question was, "What is 'Gunter Gleiben Glachen Globen,' and who said it?" The answer is that producer Matt Lange made up the words, which are only gibberish because he was tired of the traditional "1,2,3,4" count in—just a way to add some humor to this mundane but important task.

One of the most recent questions (seen below) provided a little-known answer for many fans. "Who played synthesizer on Pyromania?" The name Booker T. Boffin may not be familiar, but surely you have heard of Thomas Dolby, who played the synthesizer for the Pyromania album.

Dolby is well known for his No. 5 hit single "She Blinded Me With Science." The single was released in Oct. 1982 and would eventually be covered by The Barenaked Ladies for the theme song in the pilot of "The Big Bang Theory." Dolby was known for his single "Hyperactive!" a song he originally wrote for Michael Jackson. He received no feedback from Jackson, so he decided to record it himself.

In an interview with Ultimate Classic Rock in 2017, Dolby had this to say of Booker T. Boffin.

"I worked on a lot of them under the name of Booker T. Boffin, which I mention in the book. I’ve got platinum albums on my wall, awarded to Booker T. Boffin. Mutt [Matt Lange] would have me double a lot of the guitar lines with keyboards to sort of thicken them up."

Thomas Dolby

Dolby's book, The Speed of Sound: Breaking the Barriers Between Music and Technology: A Memoir described as the remarkable story of rising to the top of the music charts, a second act as a tech pioneer and the sustaining power of creativity and art. In the book, he talks of his work as a musician in the 80s and his move to the world of technology in the 90s. He also teaches Music For New Media at John Hopkins Peabody Institute.

Pyromania is an iconic 80s album that received significant air time on MTV and is considered an inspiration for the 80s pop-metal music of the era. The album produced three top 40 singles on Billboard Hot 100 with "Photograph," "Rock of Ages," and "Foolin."

Follow Def Leppard on Instagram as they celebrate Pyromania's 40th Anniversary and continue to share interesting facts about the album.

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