Vivian was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland and got his first guitar after seeing a Rory Gallagher concert.
He bought a Gibson Les Paul for 500 pounds and learned how to play.
Inspired by Thin Lizzy guitarists Scott Gorham, Brian Robertson and also Gary Moore.
He later formed his own band Sweet Savage before finding fame with DIO and Whitesnake in the 1980s.
He abandoned solo album plans to join Def Leppard in February 1992 and auditioned in Los Angeles.
Officially becoming a band member in April 1992 the day before his first concert in Dublin.
Joe Elliott (1992)
"We got everything we were looking for. He's our age. He's a nice guy. Good sense of humour and he plays good soccer too. All bonuses!."
Vivian Campbell (1992)
"With Def Leppard it's a little different - a lot different because Def Leppard is notorious as being one of those real band situations."
"Where they kind of grew up together and went through thick and thin."
"So that's a much more rewarding situation than just being a guitar player in someone's band."
Joe Elliott (1992)
"When we played our first gig, it was like Vivian had always been in the band - Def Leppard Mark II."
Illness/Treatment (2013 to Present)
In March 2013 Vivian was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma but has continued to tour and record with Def Leppard, Last In Line and Riverdogs.
Since mid 2015 he has been receiving monthly Immunotherapy treatments which have held his has cancer at bay
which allows him to life normally and continue his musical career.
Vivian Campbell (November 2019)
"To be honest it's the least of my concerns and it always has been. Other than the first few months when they told me I had cancer. You know that's scary. You don't really know how to respond to it.
But after a few months of that I looked at it very pragmatically. You know you have two choices in life with anything that's thrown at you.
You can capitulate or you can pull your socks up and move on you know."
"But I've been very very fortunate that after a few failed chemotherapy attempts of different types of chemo. And I tried a Stem Cell transplant and that didn't work either.
So it kept coming back and then I was fortunate that I got chosen for a clinical trial in the US for a new drug and I happen to be one of the people that responds very well.
It's a drug called KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab). It's now on the market. And I believe it's one of the first drugs that was ever given to people for any kind of cancer that is dependent on a
genetic marker that about a third of the population have."