JUDAS PRIEST – BRITISH STEEL LP – Nr MINT A2/B2 UK 1980 ORIG METAL

Judas Priest – British Steel
(CBS Records  1980  SCBS84160)
Matrix No’s: A2/B2 – UK Pressing

Sleeve in Excellent/Very Good+ condition
– some wear to edges/corners & some rubbing

Vinyl in Nr MINT condition
(there are some light surface marks visible on the vinyl when held up to the light but they don’t affect the sound quality)

Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in West Bromwich in 1969. The band have sold over 50 million copies of their albums to date. They are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in the latter half of the 1970s, the band struggled with indifferent record production, repeated changes of drummer, and lack of major commercial success or attention until 1980, when they adopted a more simplified sound on the album British Steel, which helped shoot them to rock superstar status.

The band’s membership has seen much turnover, including a revolving cast of drummers in the 1970s, and the temporary departure of singer Rob Halford in the early 1990s. The current line-up consists of Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis. The band’s best-selling album is 1982’s Screaming for Vengeance with their most commercially successful line-up, featuring Halford, Tipton, Hill, guitarist K. K. Downing, and drummer Dave Holland. Tipton and Hill are the only two members of the band to appear on every album.

Halford’s operatic vocal style and the twin guitar sound of Downing and Tipton have been a major influence on metal and have been adopted by many bands. Their image of leather, spikes, and other taboo articles of clothing were widely influential during the glam metal era of the 1980s. The Guardian referred to British Steel as the record that defines heavy metal. Despite a decline in exposure during the mid 1990s, the band has once again seen a resurgence, including worldwide tours, being inaugural inductees into the VH1 Rock Honors in 2006, receiving a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 2010, and their songs featured in video games such as Guitar Hero and the Rock Band series.

British Steel is the sixth album by the British heavy metal band Judas Priest, released on 14 April 1980.

British Steel saw the band reprise the commercial sound they had established on Killing Machine. This time, they abandoned many of the dark lyrical themes which had been prominent on their previous releases. British Steel was recorded at Tittenhurst Park, home of former Beatle Ringo Starr, after a false start at Startling Studios, a recording studio located on Tittenhurst’s grounds. Digital sampling was not yet widely available at the time of recording, so the band used analog recording of smashing milk bottles to be included in “Breaking the Law”, as well as various sounds in “Metal Gods” produced by billiard cues and trays of cutlery. It was released in the UK at a discount price of £3.99, with the advertisements in the music press bearing the legend “British Steal”. Songs “Breaking the Law”, “United”, and “Living After Midnight” were released as singles.

British Steel is the first Judas Priest album to feature drummer Dave Holland. It is also their first album on which all the songs were written by current members of the band: Rocka Rolla and Sad Wings of Destiny featured songwriting from the band’s original lead vocalist Al Atkins, Sin After Sin includes a cover of Joan Baez’s Diamonds & Rust, Stained Class has a cover of Spooky Tooth’s Better By You, Better Than Me, and Killing Machine features a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s The Green Manalishi.

In 2009, Judas Priest kicked off their 30th anniversary tour in the US by playing British Steel live in its entirety for the first time. The only other Judas Priest albums of which all the songs have been performed live are Defenders of the Faith and Rocka Rolla, but neither of them were played in the original LP running order or during the same tour.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Glenn Tipton, Rob Halford and K.K. Downing.

Personnel

Judas Priest

• Rob Halford – lead vocals
• Glenn Tipton – guitar
• K.K. Downing – guitar
• Ian Hill – bass
• Dave Holland – drums, percussion

Album cover design

• Rosław Szaybo