Rob Halford - lead vocals; K. K. Downing - guitar; Glenn Tipton - guitar; Ian Hill - bass; Dave Holland - drums
One of several shows recorded on the band's 1984 U.S. tour for the King Biscuit Flower Hour, this red-hot Priest performance illustrates why they will always be one of metal's best and most successful bands. Recorded during their commercial heyday, when albums like British Steel had become FM AOR staples, this show features the band's best musical line-up that included vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists KK Downing and Glenn Tipton, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Dave Holland. This show, and others like it, formulated the standard that future Priest and other metal shows have long been judged by.
Opening with "Love Bites," which segues into the metallic riff run, "Jawbreaker," Halford leads Priest through a blistering set of the music that would make them one of the most popular hard rock bands of all time. "Grinder," "Metal Gods," "Sinner," and "Freewheel Burning" are balanced with the band's biggest radio hits: "Breaking The Law," "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll," "Living After Midnight," "Hell Bent For Leather," and the show closer "You've Got Another Thing Comin'." One particular highlight is the band's chunky re-make of the Fleetwood Mac classic, "Green Manalishi," which has become a regular addition to their live set.
Judas Priest began in Birmingham, England, in 1968, and had bands like Deep Purple and Black Sabbath as its contemporaries. It would take a few years before they found Rob Halford, who was the solid vocalist the original line-up lacked. After the success of 1980's British Steel album, the band would become one the biggest live metal acts in the world. However, by the end of the decade, the sound and look of metal was changing, with bands like Metallica forging ahead with a mix of classic hard rock and thrash metal. Halford would leave Judas Priest in the early 1990s to pursue a solo career that never quite got off the ground commercially. The story of the band was fictionally portrayed in the blockbuster Hollywood film, Rock Star.
In 2004, Halford rejoined, and the band returned to the studio to do a new album in 2005.