Def Leppard are digging deep for their latest release: a comprehensive box set covering the group's first three years together.

The Early Years 79-81 covers the Sheffield group's first studio recordings and unheard live performances. The band's debut and sophomore studio albums, 1980's On Through The Night and 1981's High N' Dry, have been newly remastered for this collection by the band's longtime engineer Ronan McHugh, and will be paired with three bonus discs: a previously unreleased, newly mixed live show from a 1980 gig in Oxford, a collection of studio material and B-sides (including the group's first EP from 1979 and two unreleased performances from a studio session with Thin Lizzy/Marillion producer Nick Tauber), and a disc of live recordings by the BBC (including a controversial set at the Reading Festival in 1980). (For the many fans coveting just the new remasters of the two albums, they will be available on CD and vinyl!)

Formed from a group called Atomic Mass that featured guitarist Pete Willis and bassist Rick Savage, Def Leppard (which also included lead singer Joe Elliott, guitarist Steve Clark and teenage drummer Rick Allen) earned early acclaim when "Getcha Rocks Off" from their independently-released debut EP (recorded with session drummer Frank Noon) was given heavy rotation on the BBC by John Peel. While On Through The Night reached the Top 15 in the U.K., some felt that the band was more concerned with breaking into the American market; Sounds asked "Have Def Leppard changed their spots?" in a headline. (This article may have led to the band's rough reception at the Reading Festival, where the crowd threw beer cans at the band.

But one person who was not deterred by the band's status in England was Robert John "Mutt" Lange, producer of AC/DC's Back In Black. Def Leppard recruited him for the sessions to High N' Dry, and a video for "Bringin' On The Heartbreak" garnered early airplay on MTV. This, of course, set the stage for the band's increased success throughout the '80s, culminating with the bestselling Hysteria in 1987.

The Early Years 79-81 features new notes from MOJO and Classic Rock writer Paul Elliott (not related to Joe) detailing the band's first steps toward success alongside rare photos and scans of memorabilia. It's a fine preview for the band's summer stadium tour alongside a newly-reunited Mötley Crüe, Poison and Joan Jett and The Blackhearts. The box set and remasters will be available March 20 and can be pre-ordered below!

The Early Years 79-81 (Bludgeon Riffola/Mercury/UMC, 2020) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Disc 1: On Through The Night - remastered by Ronan McHugh (originally released as Vertigo 6360 180 (U.K.)/Mercury SRM-1-3828 (U.S.), 1980)

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1. Rock Brigade
2. Hello America
3. Sorrow Is a Woman
4. It Could Be You
5. Satellite
6. When The Walls Came Tumbling Down
7. Wasted
8. Rocks Off
9. It Don't Matter
10. Answer To The Master
11. Overture

Disc 2: High N' Dry - remastered by Ronan McHugh (originally released as Vertigo 6359 045 (U.K.)/Mercury SRM-1-4021 (U.S.), 1981)

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1. Let It Go
2. Another Hit and Run
3. High N' Dry (Saturday Night)
4. Bringin' On The Heartbreak
5. Switch 625
6. You Got Me Runnin'
7. Lady Strange
8. On Through The Night
9. Mirror Mirror (Look Into My Eyes)
10. No No No

Disc 3: When The Walls Came Tumbling Down - Live In Oxford 4/26/1980 (previously unreleased)

1. When The Walls Came Tumbling Down
2. It Could Be You
3. Rock Brigade
4. Satellite
5. Medicine Man
6. Answer To The Master
7. When The Rain Falls
8. Sorrow Is a Woman
9. Good Morning Freedom
10. Don't Matter To Me
11. Overture
12. Lady Strange
13. Getcha Rocks Off
14. Hello America
15. Wasted
16. Ride Into The Sun

Disc 4: Too Many Jitterbugs - B-Sides and Rarities

1. Ride Into The Sun
2. Getcha Rocks Off
3. The Overture
4. Wasted (Single Version)
5. Hello America (Single Version)
6. Rock Brigade (Nick Tauber Version) *
7. Glad I'm Alive (Nick Tauber Version) *
8. Good Morning Freedom
9. Let It Go (Single Edit)
10. Switch 625 (Single Edit)
11. Bringin' On The Heartbreak (Single Edit)
12. Me and My Wine (Original Version)
13. Bringin' On The Heartbreak' (Remix)
14. Me and My Wine (Remix)

Tracks 1-3 from The Def Leppard E.P. - Bludgeon Riffola MSB-001, 1979
Track 4 from Vertigo single 6059 247 (U.K.), 1979
Tracks 5 and 8 from Vertigo single LEPP 1 (U.K.), 1980
Tracks 9-10 from Vertigo single LEPP 2 (U.K.), 1981
Tracks 11-12 from Vertigo single LEPP 3 (U.K.), 1981
Tracks 13-14 from Mercury single 818 779-7 (U.S.), 1984 and U.S. CD pressings of High 'N' Dry - Mercury 818 836-2 Y-1, 1984

Disc 5: Raw - Early BBC Recordings (previously unreleased)

1. Glad I'm Alive (Andy Peebles Session - 6/7/1979)
2. Sorrow Is a Woman (Andy Peebles Session - 6/7/1979)
3. Wasted (Andy Peebles Session - 6/7/1979)
4. Answer To The Master (Andy Peebles Session - 6/7/1979)
5. Satellite (Friday Rock Show Session - 10/3/1979)
6. Rock Brigade (Friday Rock Show Session - 10/3/1979)
7. Wasted (Friday Rock Show Session - 10/3/1979)
8. Good Morning Freedom (Friday Rock Show Session - 10/3/1979)
9. Satellite/When The Walls Came Tumbling Down (Live at The Reading Festival - 8/24/1980)
10. Medicine Man (Live at The Reading Festival - 8/24/1980)
11. The Overture (Live at The Reading Festival - 8/24/1980)
12. Lady Strange (Live at The Reading Festival - 8/24/1980)
13. Getcha Rocks Off (Live at The Reading Festival - 8/24/1980)