JUDAS PRIEST INFO PAGES - POINT OF ENTRY

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Band Members • Album • Singles • Artwork • Promo Videos • Lyrics/Leads	September 1980 • Autumn 1981	1981
		1981

POINT OF ENTRY

"The title Point Of Entry means a lot of things to us: We've just started the '80s and that's the main thing about it. We've always felt that we're a band that's changed with the times - never really sticking to a 1973-vein of sluggish riffs. And we just felt this title was very appropriate..."
- Glenn Tipton

"With seven or eight years of live devastation left around the planet and the equivalent number of albums left for Rock 'n' Roll historians throughout the world, people often ask us what more can we give? The answer is simple. We've always given our all in every concert, performance. recording session, song written or lead break played. The '70s willingly took all. Now we are ready to give to the '80s."
- Glenn Tipton, Point Of Entry tourbook, 1981

"Now after recording two albums, British Steel and Point Of Entry, and undertaking extensive touring with the band, I find that being a part of Judas Priest is even more exciting than it was then."
- Dave Holland, Point Of Entry tourbook, 1981

BAND MEMBERS:

Judas Priest L-R:
Ian Hill: Bass Guitar
K.K. Downing: Guitars
Rob Halford: Vocals
Glenn Tipton: Guitars
Dave Holland: Drums

Management: Mike Dolan, Jim Dawson, Arnakata, London, New York; Secret Management Associates Inc. (SMAI)
Agency Representation: Peter Russo, ATI

ALBUM:

Heading Out To The Highway • Don't Go • Hot Rockin' •
Turning Circles • Desert Plains • Solar Angels •
You Say Yes • All The Way •
Troubleshooter • On The Run

RE-MASTERS Series Bonus tracks:

Thunder Road • Grinder (Live)

Released February 1981 by CBS Records Inc. (UK Cat. # 84834), Columbia Records (US Cat. # 37052)
and Epic/Sony Music Group (Japan Cat. # 25.3P-271)
Reissued on CD October 25, 1990 by Columbia Records
THE RE-MASTERS UK/European CD released May 7, 2001 by Sony Music/Columbia Records (UK Cat. # 502132)
THE RE-MASTERS North American CD released May 29, 2001 by Sony Music/Legacy Records (US Cat. # CK 85436)

Recorded at Ibiza Sound Studios, Ibiza, Spain, Autumn 1980
Produced by Judas Priest and Tom Allom
Engineered by Louis Austin
Mixed by Louis Austin and Tom Allom at Startling Studios, Ascot, England
Mastered by Stewart Romain on the Discomputer System at CBS Recording Studios, New York, New York, USA

Certification: RIAA Gold November 10, 1989
Chart position: UK #14; Billboard 200 Pop Albums #39
Heading Out To The Highway: Billboard Top Mainstream Rock Single #10 in its first month of publication
Don't Go: UK singles #15
Hot Rockin': UK Singles #60

SINGLES:

Don't Go/Solar Angels released in February 1981 by CBS Records Inc. (UK Cat. # 9520)
Charted # 15 in the UK
Hot Rockin'/Breaking The Law (Live)/Living After Midnight (Live) released in April 1981 by CBS Records Inc.
(UK Cat. # A 1153)
Charted # 60 in the UK
Hot Rockin'/Solar Angels released in 1981 by CBS Records Inc. (UK Cat. # CBSA 1202)
Hot Rockin'/Steeler (Live) released in 1981 as an acetate promo
This live version of "Steeler" is from Jaap Edenhal, Amsterdam, Holland February 14, 1981
Heading Out To The Highway/All The Way released in 1981 by CBS Records Inc. (UK Cat. # A 1091)
Heading Out To The Highway/Hot Rockin'/Turning Circles 12" maxi-single released in 1981 by Columbia Records
(US Cat. # AS 935)
Hot Rockin' (Live)/Troubleshooter (Live) 12" maxi-single released in 1981 by Columbia Records (US Cat. # AS 990 Promo only)
These live versions are from Universal Amphitheater, Chicago, Illinois June 21, 1981
Hot Rockin/Breaking The Law (Live February 1981) released in 1981 by CBS Records (UK Cat. # A1153 Promo only)

ARTWORK:

Album Design: Roslav Szaybo (UK cover); John Berg (US cover)
Photography: Art Kane (US cover)

So, just what is on the cover of POINT OF ENTRY? And what does it represent? After some great award-winning cover designs from CBS Records' Roslav Szaybo, the graphics designer leaves us with a sci-fi abstract that brings more questions and speculation then answers. Perhaps that was his plan all along. Well, it is a "pointy" object and there does appear to be the glowing flares of re-entry...

Perhaps this official T-shirt design can lend a clue as to what might be on the UK album cover...

"I tell stories. I'm almost always telling a story. I think the purpose of graphic design is to inform - the art is to tell the story legibly."
- John Berg, East Hampton Star, April 9, 1998

Reams of computer printout paper infinitely stretched across miles of sun-beaten desert, disappearing into the mountainous horizon...

Columbia Records art director and graphics artist John Berg was called upon to redesign the cover for the US release, and while his design did make use of two of the album's song titles (the paper forming a "Heading Out To The Highway" on the dry, cracked "Desert Plains"), it missed it's "point of entry" with the fans. And the rear cover is even stranger, looking like something more fitting to Pink Floyd than Judas Priest!

John Berg has been nominated for 29 Grammy awards for his album cover designs (Chicago, Blue Oyster Cult, Aerosmith, Ted Nugent among many others) and has won four of them over a 25-year career. John also holds Cooper Union's Auguste St. Gaudens Medal for Lifetime Achievement and is married to the graphic artist Durell Godfrey, whose artwork and photographs often appear in The Star. Berg has since retired from Columbia Records as a Vice President for the label. But the US Point Of Entry sleeve that John designed was not one of his crowning achievements. In fact, the sleeve was so abstract, CBS/Columbia Records was forced to place stickers, featuring a black and white photograph of the band, on the front cover in order to show the record buying public that it was in fact a Judas Priest album and not the soundtrack to a science fiction B-movie!

"The sleeve was awful, and we've got to blame management for that because they didn't shop around enough to get one that was suitable. The American cover was different, but that turned out to be even worse! So that didn't help matters at all."
- Glenn Tipton, Heavy Duty official biography, 1984

For the UK release of the album, Roslav continued with the logo he designed and had been using since 1978's Killing Machine album, but for the US version, John Berg added a new 3-D block effect to the logo. If the cover design was a failure, at least the new logo was a good and lasting contribution for the band:

The US Point Of Entry album cover was even made into a Chu-bop mini bubble gum record that included the lyrics:

Judas Priest: Bubble-gum pop?

PROMO VIDEOS:

Heading Out To The Highway - Directed by Julien Temple

     "We were on an airstrip somewhere in London..."
- Rob Halford, Headbangers Ball, July 31, 2004

     "Was it Biggin Hill? Ian knows these things..."
- Glenn Tipton, Headbangers Ball, July 31, 2004

     "I think it was - it's an old RAF airfield..."
- Ian Hill, Headbangers Ball, July 31, 2004

     "Very famous airstrip that was used in World War II..."
- Rob Halford, Headbangers Ball, July 31, 2004

     "Where all our pilots fought the Battle Of Britain, wasn't it?"
- Glenn Tipton, Headbangers Ball, July 31, 2004

     "I asked if he still had the handkerchief."
- Scott Travis, Headbangers Ball, July 31, 2004

"We're all giving out this like Marlon Brando, James Dean impressions - we're all frustrated movie stars, but there's a funny bit at the end with the handkerchief - which I still have."
- Rob Halford, Headbangers Ball, July 31, 2

Don't Go - Directed by Julien Temple
Hot Rockin' - Directed by Julien Temple

"...In the 'Hot Rockin'' video, actually we set fire to Rob's boots! I mean, we'd always sort of encouraged Rob to set himself on fire and that. Then we had a stuntman actually who finished off when he was sorta on the floor with these flames on his back. We tried to get Rob to do it, but he wouldn't do that! But we set fire to his boots and we'd got fire extinguishers to put them out, but what we didn't realize, what Rob certainly didn't realize, is that yes, you can put the fire out, but you can't stop the boot heating up, and he'd got these boots that were strapped up to about here you know - 'course he's really frantically trying to undo these and it took him about a minute to get the boots off him, at which time his toes had curled up - they're all black and smoked!"
- Glenn Tipton, Metal Works video, 1993

"Videos are more grueling than you think. You tend to be sitting around for ages doing nothing punctuated by a few minutes of
intense activity. I think I remember on the 'Don't Go' video, I remember Rob throwing up into his space helmet one time. He does this flying thing in a spacesuit and he's up on wires and they're spinning him around and all this business and he actually threw up in the helmet. That was quite an event. And yes, on 'Hot Rockin' ', Rob set his boots on fire and he couldn't put it out; he had all this jelly stuff on his palm, I think. And he couldn't get his boots off because they were hot. He was running around there until somebody found a fire extinguisher."
- Ian Hill, Hardradio, December 2003

These videos are currently available on the ELECTRIC EYE DVD 2003 Sony Music Entertainment/Columbia Music Video (UK Cat. # 2021939, US Cat. # CVD 51411)

SEPTEMBER 1980: Sessions begin

Following a late August appearance on TOP OF THE POPS in honor of the hit "United", Rob, Glenn and K.K. spent a few weeks in various London studios writing an album's worth of songs for a follow-up, but never recorded them, choosing instead to scrap the whole project in favor of a fresh approach. By fall, the band set off for a change of scenery (as well as a break from the extreme UK tax laws), moving the sessions to the Mediterranean island of Ibiza, just off the coast of Spain:

"The reason we started afresh was that what we had on our hands was a good heavy metal album - but nothing different. So we decided when we got out to Ibiza that we weren't going to put out just another so-called Heavy Metal LP."
- HM Photo Book, 'The Story Of Judas Priest' by Neil Jeffries, 1984

It was the first time the band recorded outside of their homeland. The studio was cheap and the band needed to save as much money as possible at this stage in their career, but they soon found out that sometimes you get what you pay for:

"The studio in Ibiza wasn't very well maintained. It nearly closed down while we were there, if I recall. They were in financial hot water, and the guy who owned it was running out of money; I think I had to go into town and pay the gas bill at one point. There was a big gas cylinder out back, a great big diesel, and the electricity was self-generated. The water had to be delivered as well; they pumped it into a huge cistern, which then fed the house.
"The studio was stuck up a driveway that must have been about a mile long; it was like a sort of Himalayan track! You were pretty lucky to get up it with anything, really - even a 4X4. We used to rent these ridiculous little Renaults, which were like something Inspector Clouseau drove; but those things actually got up there okay, because they were quite high off the ground. I mean, it was a waste of time trying to get up there in a sports car - you'd leave half of it behind! But once you were up there, it was a lovely house with nice views, very secluded. We actually did parts of three albums there; it was quite a fun place to work."
- Tom Allom

"It was an old farm house, inland, away from the sea. A gorgeous place, centuries old."
- K.K. Downing

"The songs were recorded in a studio in the middle of nowhere! We'd be in the middle of a take and the generator would run out of diesel so the bloody power would go off! But we like going to places without electricity..."
- Ian Hill

"...We ended up recording every instrument in a different room: bathrooms, bedrooms, the kitchen! The drums were done in some shed around the back..."
- Ian Hill, Metal Works liner note, 1993

It was also a hard environment to get serious work done in, seeing how Ibiza is well-known for its plentiful sunshine, cheep booze and permissive attitude:

"I remember that we did do quite a lot of writing in Ibiza, as difficult as that was..."
- Glenn Tipton, Revolver, September, 2003

"We had many memories of late night recording sessions and hard work but also consuming quite large quantities of alcohol - and one memorable night when we found Tom Allom laying behind a bar playing 'When The Saints Go Marching In' with a hunting horn - this was interrupted only when we poured alcohol and cigarette ends down it which he proceeded to drink!"
- Glenn Tipton, Point Of Entry Re-Master liner notes, 2001

"We'd fill the horn to the top with alcohol, then we'd wait, and slowly it would go down. We were putting cigarettes in it and everything. Anything we poured down there he drank, and then he continued playing. He was drinkin' a lot - he's a real man's man, Tom! There's a rock and roll producer for ya!"
"It wasn't a hunting horn - it was plastic. We went to this club called Pasho - it was this unbelievably pretentious place, full of fucking poseurs. They were playing this horrible disco music. So I picked up this wretched plastic trumpet that happened to be there, and as I was playing it, they held my legs and pushed me back over the bar, so I was upside down with the trumpet sticking up in the air. And at that point, a particularly pose-y German came up to us and objected strongly. He thought that we were particularly obnoxious and making far too much noise, and we were 'bloody Englishmen'. So Glenn smacked him in the mouth, very hard. We were ejected from the premises and told not to come back."
- Glenn Tipton and Tom Allom, Revolver, September 2003

"We found it to be a great work environment and we've subsequently recorded all our albums there. Just because it's hot and sunny doesn't mean you can't come up with good heavy sounds. In fact, at this stage of the game, I think we could probably work anywhere and not let the place affect our music."
- Rob Halford, Heavy Duty official biography, 1984

The album had some strong radio-friendly tunes, but it was too straight-ahead rock for fans who were warming up to the heavy metal sound Priest were known for...

"Critics and fans were like, 'Why didn't you stick to the formula of British Steel?' Meanwhile, the record company was telling us that it wasn't commercial enough!"
- Tom Allom, Revolver, September 2003

"I suppose POINT OF ENTRY didn't have the correct ingredients for what you need to gain major recognition. To be quite honest, I don't really know why it didn't do as well as I thought it would though - at the time I felt it was our strongest. And each time we make an album, we give it our 100%. Some people told me that they reckoned the album was a bit self-indulgent and that we did things just for ourselves. I never viewed it that way and we never approach albums like that. Obviously you write songs that please you primarily, but then you're also aware of your public - you have to be."
- Rob Halford, Kerrang!, July 15-28, 1982

AUTUMN 1981: Priest change management

Arnakata Management, the company that had pushed the band to leave Gull Records in '76 and helped then gain a deal with CBS Records and worldwide touring in '77, had by now gained quite a track record for bad business and money handling, and no longer shared or supported the vision of Judas Priest or their image:

"...Our former management company wanted us to drop the whole studs and leather trip because they felt that a change was needed. There was even talk of getting rid of the bike and the whip and we were very nearly talked into it, but we realized that kids in every part of the world want to see the old stuff like that when they come to a Judas Priest show. They wanna see the bike and they wanna see Rob the way he's always been dressed , and I'm sure if we'd got rid of all that, it would have been severely detrimental to us. There's nothing quite like that moment when Rob kicks the bike up at the start of a show. We've used it so many times, yet every place still erupts when they hear it. You don't get rid of something which is that popular - that's just common sense!"
- Dave Holland, Kerrang, 1983

Therefore, in a move to protect themselves, Judas Priest were forced to sever their ties with Arnakata and handle the daily business affairs themselves while still on tour in the UK. For legal business dealings, they went under the name Secret Management Associates Inc. (SMAI).

LYRICS AND LEAD BREAKS:

Heading Out To The Highway • Don't Go • Hot Rockin' • Turning Circles • Desert Plains • Solar Angels •
You Say Yes • All The Way • Troubleshooter • On The Run • Thunder Road

"On POINT OF ENTRY, we couldn't decide how to split the leads, so we sat down and timed every available solo space and divided it that way. Occasionally I'll fancy doing one particular solo or Glenn'll fancy another and we just decided what's best for that song."
- K.K. Downing, Kerrang!, July 15-28, 1982

"There are good tracks on POINT OF ENTRY. There are tracks that aren't my personal favorites, like 'You Say Yes'. They're melodic and good, but in my opinion, they're not really Judas Priest songs as such. It was experimenting, and there's nothing wrong with that."
- Glenn Tipton, METALOGY liner note, 2004

1. Heading Out To The Highway
G.Tipton/R.Halford/K.K. Downing
Lead: Harmony lead
Performed live in: 1981-1982, 1986, 2001, 2004
Available live versions: Judas Priest Live (Video 1983, DVD 2004), Priest...Live! (Video and audio 1987, Re-Master 2001), Live In London (Video 2002, audio 2003)

Hit 'em boys!

Well I've said it before, and I'll say it again
You get nothing for nothing: expect it when
You're backseat driving, and your hands ain't on the wheel
It's easy to go along with the crowd,
And find later on that your say ain't allowed
Oh that's the way to find what you've been missing

So I'm heading out to the highway
I got nothing to lose at all
I'm gonna do it my way
Take a chance before I fall
A chance before I fall!

You can hang in a left or hang in a right
The choice it is yours to do as you might
The road is open wide to place your bidding
Now, wherever you turn, wherever you go
If you get it wrong, at least you can know
There's miles and miles to put it back together!

On the highway! On the highway!

Making a curve or taking the strain
On the decline, or ut on the wain
Oh everybody breaks down sooner or later
We'll put it to rights, we'll square up and mend.
Back on your feet to take the next bend!
You weather every storm that's coming atcha!

2. Don't Go
G.Tipton/R.Halford/K.K. Downing
Lead: K.K.

Come on, come on now what you say
Somebody say you leave today
What's this thing you're doin' to me
What's this fool you're tryin' to be
You're talkin' nothin' but a load of guff
You're tryin' to put somethin' in my lap, lap

Don't go. Please don't leave me
Don't go in the mornin'
Don't go. Please don't deceive me
Don't take it away

I do, I do anything for you
You make my stormy clouds blue
Inside out, I'm upside down
Back to front I'm all around
Don't cha leave me by myself
I don't like it

3. Hot Rockin'
G.Tipton/R.Halford/K.K. Downing
Lead: Harmony lead
Performed live in: 1981, 2005
Available live versions: Palladium, New York (broadcast bootleg 1981 - also on the "Hot Rockin'" Live 12" single)

I've done my share of workin' out.
I wanna go some place, where I can scream and shout.
Show me the lights, where I can find
The only thing I need to give me peace of mind!

I wanna go, I wanna go, I wanna go Hot Rockin'

Where is the spark that kicks the air?
Where is the energy that charges everywhere?
I see the crowd, I hear the roar!
I feel my body to leave the ground and soar!

I'm goin' out in search of the bright lights.
Somehow I feel that tonight is the right night!
I'm almost there, I've got the vibration.
It's coming strong from this generation.
My blood is hot, from now on I'm set free!
My pulse is hot, so don't try to stop me!
Cuz this is it, and I'm Hot Rockin'!

Don't let it stop, don't let it end,
Please let it carry on and on and on again.
I get so high. Knocked off my feet, yeah!
This is the only way I want, I want, I want

It's all I want, it's all I crave.
I just do want to go Hot Rockin'!

4. Turning Circles
G.Tipton/R.Halford/K.K. Downing
Lead: Glenn

Change, change, it's all rearrangin'
Lookin' around at the situation
Go back, see what you're doin'
The way you're takin' life, you're goin'
To rack and ruin

I'm turning circles, so stay away
We've all got somethin' wrong to say

Slow down, see where we're headin'
The way things are goin' now
Your life it ain't pleasin'
Had my share of up and down
Don't spend time, don't spend time
Rushin' around.

Uh-uh... uh-uh...
Uh-uh... uh-uh...
I'm turning circles, so stay away
We've all got somethin' wrong to say.
Uh-uh... uh-uh... (turning circles)...
Uh-uh... uh-uh... (stay away)...

5. Desert Plains
G.Tipton/R.Halford/K.K. Downing
Lead: Harmony lead
Performed live in: 1981-1986, 2001-2002
Available live versions: Judas Priest Live (Video 1983, DVD 2004), Priest...Live! (Video and audio 1987, Re-Master 2001, DVD 2003), Live In London (Video 2002, audio 2003), Palladium, New York (broadcast bootleg 1981)

Full moon is rising
The sky is black
I need your call I'm coming back
The road is straight cast
Wind's in my eyes
The engine roars between my thighs

From desert plains I bring you love
From desert plains I bring you love

Wild mountain thunder
Echoes my quest
My body aches but I'll not rest
Quartz light to guide me
Till sunrise leads
My passion screams, my heart it bleeds

Then in the distance
I see you stand
On the horizon you raise your hand
In burning rubber
I end my quest
You fall into my arms at last

6. Solar Angels
G.Tipton/R.Halford/K.K. Downing
Lead: Glenn
Performed live in: 1981
Available live versions: Palladium, New York (broadcast bootleg 1981)

"We used to open the show with this one, a heavy percussive intro that set the vibe for the whole gig. We had a red and yellow stage-set that looked like a Chinese restaurant!"
- K.K. Downing, Metal Works liner note, 1993

Ancient Chinese secret...

Golden halos radiating higher
Diamond visions softly breathing fire
Sky processions we are watching you arrive

Silver crystals arching beams below
What light spirals lifting up to go
Glass formations solar angels spread their wings

Spectral gliders drifting in the air
Wheels of wonder floating everywhere
Draped in rainbows gently we ascend

7. You Say Yes
G.Tipton/R.Halford/K.K. Downing
Lead: No specific lead break

Say you want to rip it up
Paint the town red
Wanna do the hot spots
Get it in the head
You drive me crazy
I know your game
You done it all before
You'll do it all again

You say yes, I say no

My blood's on fire
I grit my teeth
You're nothin' but a teaser
Gimme some relief
I'm lookin' at the bottle
Sinkin' to the floor
I gotta white knuckles
Can't take it anymore

What do you treat me so
What I do, I do for you

8. All The Way
G.Tipton/R.Halford/K.K. Downing
Lead: Glenn

Alright baby. You know how to have a good time don't cha
It's the way you stand
You're always attracting attention

Now with your hands on your hips, and a
Snarl on your lips
Your eyes wore the look of danger
There's a lion in your heart,

That's set to quick start,

To a glance from any stranger
You give as good as you get
No one's beat you yet
You take the lead
You never need
You know all the moves you've got to make

You take it all, you take it all the way

Ya never do things by half
You're a man with a reputation
You never shy when the problems fly
You can cope with any situation
You take the wheel and crack the whip
You never slip
You rule the roost
You always boast
Yeah you're lookin' after number one

9. Troubleshooter
G.Tipton/R.Halford/K.K. Downing
Lead: Glenn/K.K.
Performed live in: 1981
Available live versions: Universal Amphitheater, Chicago (broadcast bootleg 1981 - also as a B-side to the "Hot Rockin'" Live 12" single)

You've got it, I want it. My little Troubleshooter
I need it, you feed it. My hunger drives me to ya
You bring me round with your velvet hands; you're gettin' new life to me
You put me back to promised land, just where you know I should be

You can take me
You can shake me
You can break me down

You're givin' I'm gettin'. I'm gettin' satisfaction
You're makin' I'm takin'. I want some heavy action
You're bendin' and I'm mendin', gettin' back together
You really got what it takes to make a bad man better

Right down, right down, right down....

You've got it, I want it. My little Troubleshooter
I need it, you feed it. My hunger drives me to ya
You're bendin' and I'm mendin', gettin' back together
You really got what it takes to make a bad man better

10. On The Run
G.Tipton/R.Halford/K.K. Downing
Lead: Glenn

There are rumors about a faster, heavier version with different lyrics and spit-fire fast vocals, issued as a "white label" promo on vinyl and cassette that was sent to the radio industry, but no proof has been seen as of yet...

I'm rollin' and ridin' away
Cause I'm a reelin' and feelin' o.k.

Forget about tomorrow
Go for it today
Cause I'm on, on the run

I'm a rockin' and sellin' my soul
Cause I'm livin' for rock and for roll

I'm shakin' all day and all night
Yeah I'm doin' what I know is right

11. Thunder Road
RE-MASTERS Bonus Track
(Halford/Tipton)
Intro - Glenn, 1st solo - K.K. then Glenn harmony
2nd solo - Glenn, End solo - K.K. whammy bends

Red light, green light
I'm coming home tonight
Burning the freeway
Out of control

Red light, dead lines
We streak from town to town
I's too much, I need your touch
I've been away too long

Out again upon the thunder road
Driving back to you where I belong
I've had enough
Dreams can wait
I'm coming home

Spotlights, wild nights
I know it wrong from right
Places, the faces
All look the same

Hot wired, so tired
Living from song to song
The madness, the badness
It's just a game

Watch the sunrise
From coast to coast
That's when I need your loving
Oh! That's when I need it most
Can't explain, it's something in the blood
Wouldn't change it even if I could

Lead breaks are taken from the 1982 World Vengeance tour program

TOUR DATES 1981 World Wide Blitz Tour

1981 Tour Program

Rob Halford - v, Glenn Tipton - g, K.K. Downing - g, Ian Hill - b, Dave Holland - d)
Tour Manager: Mike Dolan
Official Merchandising: Great Southern Company

While album sales were somewhat of a disappointment, the tour proved to be one of their most successful to date.

"A lot of people said Point Of Entry was our weakest album but I don't know why. When we played the stuff live it was phenomenal."
- Ian Hill, Metal Works liner note, 1993

SETLIST (Orange titles are from the current album)

From the July 23 Palladium, Long Island, New York broadcast:
Solar Angels
Heading Out To The Highway
Diamonds And Rust
Hell Bent For Leather
Sinner
Beyond The Realms Of Death
Grinder
Desert Plains
Hot Rockin'
Genocide
Exciter
The Ripper
You Don't Have To Be Old To Be Wise
Victim Of Changes
The Green Manalishi (With The Two-Pronged Crown)
Breaking The Law
Living After Midnight
Tyrant

From the June 21 Universal Amphitheater Chicago, Illinois broadcast:
Solar Angels
Heading Out To The Highway
Diamonds And Rust
Troubleshooter
Breaking The Law
Sinner
Beyond The Realms Of Death
Grinder
Hot Rockin'
You Don't Have To Be Old To Be Wise
Victim Of Changes
The Green Manalishi (With The Two-Pronged Crown)
Hell Bent For Leather
Living After Midnight

From the November 21 Hammersmith-Odeon broadcast:
Solar Angels
Heading Out To The Highway
Metal Gods
Hell Bent For Leather
Breaking The Law
Sinner
Beyond The Reams Of Death
Grinder
Desert Plains
Hot Rockin'
You Don't Have to Be Old To Be Wise
Victim Of Changes
The Green Manalishi (With The Two-Pronged Crown)
Living After Midnight
Tyrant

European tour with support from Saxon
DATE VENUE CITY, STATE COUNTRY NOTES

February 13 Rodahal, Kerkrade Holland

February 14 Jaap Edenhal Amsterdam Holland Bootleg audio exists

February 16 Bataclan Paris France Bootleg audio exists from the February 16 show

February 17

February 19 Hemmerleinhalle Neuenkirchen West Germany

February 20 Messehalle Stuttgart West Germany Bootleg audio exists

February 26 Kassel West Germany

February 27 Rhein Mainhalle Wiesbaden West Germany Bootleg audio exists

February 28 Strasbourg France

March 1 Cambrai France

March 6 Ostseehalle Kiel Germany

March 8 Konserthuset Stockholm Sweden

US tour with support from Iron Maiden, Humble Pie and the Joe Perry Project

     "Paul Di'Anno apologized personally to me for causing bad air between Maiden and Priest – what a great gesture. But he wasn’t the main reason for the rivalry. At the time of British Steel, Priest was the bigger band and Maiden was the supporting act. They were saying that they’ll blow us off the stage without any problem. Well, I thought their behavior wasn’t very nice. I’d have loved to send them home and take another band with us who would have appreciated the chance. But we were told not to do it as it would have looked like we were frightened by them. So we kept on going...but they were very arrogant. And I remember the main rehearsal before the tour when there were a few guys hanging around in the room who didn’t say a word and watched everything we did – every step we made and every move of the stage lights. I wasn’t very pleased and asked the guitar tech to tell the guys to leave the place. Don’t get me wrong: I’m not 'too good' to play in front of the supporting band – but they could have at least asked if it was ok to attend the rehearsal. We went on tour and they didn’t blow us off the stage, of course. I watched quite a lot of the Maiden shows, but the reaction of the audience wasn’t very explosive, because the fans were waiting for us.
     "Ok, Maiden became one of the biggest bands of the metal scene – and I’m proud of them. We made a big mistake by focusing more on the US than on Europe after releasing British Steel, which means, we lost a lot of attention at home. In the US, we were quite big – and Maiden asked us for a support slot on our US tour. We said, 'Yes' – and the same old story happened again. It had a lot to do with rivalry and jealousy. But it’s an old story. Like I already said, I’m proud of what Maiden achieved and of what they did for British metal. It might sound stupid – but it’s true."
- K.K. Downing, Rock Hard magazine, September 2003




During the 1981 U.S. dates, Rob introduced a new "denim and leather" look and Priest introduced a clean, over-the-top stage set that kept the amplifier backline out of view of the audience and made use of hydraulic platforms, a star-shaped lighting rig, and a bright blinding wall of light that silhouetted Rob during the grand finale.

     "Putting that stage show together took quite a while, but we felt that it was a necessity. Basically we wanted to modernize and update it, and have more of a spectacle for the audience, rather than rows and rows of cabs and amplifiers...The great thing about having that set was that we could jump around the stage with that much more freedom, which adds life to your actual performance,"
- Rob Halford, Heavy Duty official biography, 1984

     "The beginning of 'Solar Angels' played for at least 3-4 minutes as the band rose from behind the Marshall stacks. That was a defining moment in Priest tours!"
- Eyewitness, June 2003

     "For my part, I have to get up on that stage and perform. It is so important for me to be able to do this, that no matter what words were to be written, they couldn't convey the urgency and need that I get from being on that stage."
- Rob Halford, Point Of Entry tourbook, 1981

As part of that freedom on stage, Glenn and K.K. began using wireless guitars, which not only allowed them greater stage mobility, but also helped to avoid the embarrassing possibility of tripping over guitar cords, which in fact had once happened to a certain blonde-haired guitarist:

     "I'll never forget my most embarrassing moment. It happened in Tulsa, Oklahoma - we were opening for Alice Cooper and I tripped on the cables while running out - we hadn't even played a note yet!"
- K.K. Downing, Rockline magazine, 1984
     "That was probably one of the most ridiculous things I've done. I ran out on stage and went head over heels before I'd even played a single note!"
- K.K. Downing, Heavy Duty official biography, 1984

And there were still other safety issues to face:

     "In actual fact, it was the stage show that actually could have ended Priest, because our very, very first big production, there was a star-shaped gantry which was immense and it weighed tons. During a performance, one of the block and tackles just cut and the whole thing just fell and swung around the stage - it actually caught some of the cymbals on the drum kit. How it never killed one or all of us was unreal! And the weird thing was that there was so much going on, so much smoke and flashes and that, I never noticed it happened. It wasn't until I sorta turned around and there it was, still just swinging around - this huge thing! So it was the very thing we developed that could have finished the band!"
- Glenn Tipton, Metal Works video, 1993

May 6 Indiana Convention Center Indianapolis, IN USA With Max Webster as support

May 8 International Amphitheatre Chicago, Il USA

May 9 MetroCentre Rockford, IL USA Bootleg audio exists

May 14 Met Center Minneapolis, MN USA

May 15 Civic Auditorium Music Hall Omaha, NE USA

May 22 Oakland Auditorium Oakland, CA USA With Savoy Brown and Ranger (who became Night Ranger the following year)

May 23 Swing Auditorium San Bernardino, CA USA Bootleg audio exists

May 24 Long Beach Arena Los Angeles, CA USA Bootleg audio exists

May 27 Sellend Arena Fresno, CA USA

May 30 Seattle Center Seattle, WA USA Bootleg audio exists

June 4 Veterans Memorial Coliseum Phoenix, AZ USA

June 9 McAllen, TX USA

June 10 Laredo, TX USA

June 11 Convention Center Arena San Antonio, TX USA

June 13 SMU Moody Coliseum Dallas, TX USA

June 14 San Houston Coliseum Houston, TX USA Bootleg audio exists

June 21 Universal Amphitheater Chicago, IL USA Bootleg audio exists

July 1 Capital Center Largo, MD USA Bootleg audio exists

July 2 Convention Hall Ashbury Park, NJ USA

July 3, Whitesnake arrive in the USA for a Judas Priest/Whitesnake/Iron Maiden tour only to find their American label (EMI Records) had not funded such a tour!

July 15 Arena Dayton, OH USA

July 18 Auditorium Theater Rochester, NY USA

July 22 Palladium Theater New York, NY USA Broadcast audio exists, Produced by Patrick M. Griffith and Kevin Kalunian for GK Productions

July 23

July 24 Palace Theatre Albany, NY USA Bootleg audio exists

July 25 Veteran's Memorial Coliseum New Haven, CT USA

July 26 Fairgrounds Allentown, PA USA Bootleg audio exists

July 29