{"id":527515,"date":"2026-03-08T21:37:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T21:37:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/527515\/"},"modified":"2026-03-08T21:37:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T21:37:11","slug":"we-should-all-be-proud-that-british-musicians-are-responsible-for-this-force-in-music-called-heavy-metal-black-sabbath-and-judas-priest-invented-true-heavy-metal-music-how-priest-s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/527515\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cWe should all be proud that British musicians are responsible for this force in music called heavy metal. Black Sabbath and Judas Priest invented true heavy metal music\u201d: How Priest singer Rob Halford remembers the band\u2019s breakthrough moment"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 1971, John Lennon<\/a> recorded his most famous song, Imagine, in the home studio recently installed at his country estate, Tittenhurst Park. Nine years later, in the first days of a new decade, the old house reverberated to a rowdier type of music.<\/p>\n

By this time, Tittenhurst had become home to another Beatle, Ringo Starr<\/a>. And the noisy band creating a career-defining album in Lennon\u2019s former workplace was Judas Priest.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

As Priest singer Rob Halford recalled in an interview with MOJO magazine, \u201cWe had so much inside us that we wanted to get out. We were on fire!\u201d<\/p>\n

You may like<\/p>\n

The first incarnation of the band had formed in Birmingham in 1969 with a different singer, Al Atkins. Named after the Bob Dylan song The Ballad Of Frankie Lee And Judas Priest, they played blues-based heavy rock in the style of Cream and the early Fleetwood Mac.<\/p>\n

In 1970, guitarist Kenny \u2018K.K.\u2019 Downing and bassist Ian Hill were incorporated into a new line-up. But it was after Atkins departed in 1973 that the real Judas Priest was born, with Glenn Tipton as second guitarist and Halford a far more dynamic singer with a multi-octave range.<\/p>\n

On the band\u2019s first three albums, each featuring a different drummer, there was a rapid development into full-blown heavy metal: screaming lead vocals, duelling guitars, crunching riffs, and songs about death and destruction.<\/p>\n

In 1978, with the arrival of drummer Les Binks, they delivered two classic albums in Stained Class \u2013 later hailed by Metal Hammer magazine as the birth of \u2018pure metal\u2019 \u2013 and Killing Machine.<\/p>\n

Want all the hottest music and gear news, reviews, deals, features and more, direct to your inbox? Sign up here. <\/p>\n

It was also at this time that Priest defined heavy metal\u2019s visual aesthetic, as displayed on the cover of their 1979 live album Unleashed In The East \u2013 regulation leather and studs, and Halford accessorising with peaked cap and handcuffs.<\/p>\n

Unleashed In The East was Priest\u2019s first top 10 album in the UK, and by the end of \u201979 the band were busy at Tittenhurst laying down the album they would name British Steel.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe title of the album was a statement in itself,\u201d Halford said. \u201cWe should all be proud that British musicians are responsible for this force in music called heavy metal. Black Sabbath<\/a> and Judas Priest invented heavy metal \u2013 true heavy metal music. And British Steel is classic Priest metal \u2013 intense, angry and fierce!<\/p>\n

What to read next<\/p>\n

\u201cWith every Priest album you know you\u2019re going to get intensity, but we always tried to do something new. And what I love about British Steel is that it\u2019s so spontaneous, so fresh and so immediate. The sound is just remarkable, very pure and organic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Judas Priest – Grinder (Official Audio) – YouTube
\n\"Judas<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n

Halford acknowledged the key role of producer \u2018Colonel\u2019 Tom Allom, who continued working with Priest throughout the \u201980s on classic albums including Screaming For Vengeance and Defenders Of The Faith.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a very stripped-down sound on British Steel and Tom Allom was the catalyst for that,\u201d Halford said. \u201cWe just let the songs do their job. At the end of the day, it\u2019s all about riffs.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn those days, it was album\/tour\/album, an endless cycle. We had to get in there and bang it out, because of the pressure we were under. In all honesty, we had no time to think.\u201d<\/p>\n

That said, there was some experimentation during the recording of British Steel. The band roamed around the old country house in search of new sounds. For added resonance, guitars were recorded in tiled bathrooms, and drums set up in the enormous marble entrance hall.<\/p>\n

There was also novel use of improvised sound effects. For the track Metal Gods \u2014 Halford\u2019s sci-fi vision of robot monster invasion \u2014 steel trays filled with cutlery were banged on the kitchen\u2019s stone floor to create the sound of \u201cdragging iron feet\u201d, and a billiard cue was swiped through the air to punctuate the line \u201creaped by robot scythes\u201d.<\/p>\n

Judas Priest – Metal Gods (Official Audio) – YouTube
\n\"Judas<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n

Halford was also growing as a lyricist.<\/p>\n

He told MOJO: \u201cThere has always been a strong fantasy element to Priest songs, going back to Tyrant and Sinner, and Metal Gods was another fantasy song, about these metal robots taking over the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just wrote it on the fly, and it was the same thing with Rapid Fire, when I came up with a new word: desolizating. I\u2019ve been making up new words for years. I was just trying to express the emotions I was feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n

British Steel was released in April 1980 and became a major commercial breakthrough for the band, peaking at No.4 in the UK and yielding three hit singles in Breaking The Law, Living After Midnight and United.<\/p>\n

As Halford said, \u201cBritish Steel was definitely a highpoint for Priest.\u201d<\/p>\n

Judas Priest – Living After Midnight (Official Video) – YouTube
\n\"Judas<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n

Another highpoint came on 16 August 1980 when they appeared at the inaugural Monsters Of Rock festival at Donington Park in Leicestershire. Priest were second from top on a bill headlined by Rainbow and also featuring Scorpions, Saxon, April Wine, Riot and Touch.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor Priest it was a very exciting moment,\u201d Halford recalled. \u201cWe were thrilled to be a part of that day. There was, and is, a unique atmosphere at Donington. And for us, it was very special \u2013 a British band playing to a British crowd.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe tore the place up! We got an incredible reception from the Donington crowd.<\/p>\n

\u201cFestivals are very important for metal bands, and Donington was the first all-metal festival. I remember being backstage, pissed out of my brain, and brandishing the old whip.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t very glamorous backstage. All I can remember is little trailers and hundreds of bales of straw that had been put down because it was a mudbath. That was a bit of a reality check \u2013 but once I got onstage, in front of that huge audience, I was a different person.\u201d<\/p>\n

All told, 1980 was a landmark year for Judas Priest and for heavy metal as a whole. The New Wave Of British Heavy Metal was at its peak, with an array of exciting young bands on the rise \u2013 most notably Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, Girlschool and Diamond Head. And for Rob Halford, it was a magical time.<\/p>\n

\u201cPriest were not a part of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal,\u201d he said. \u201cWe were already established in our own right. But it was thrilling to see these new bands emerging \u2013 Saxon, Iron Maiden, Def Leppard.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor Priest, it felt like we were not alone in flying the flag for metal. These new bands reinforced our movement against punk and new wave. It made us all feel strong.<\/p>\n

Judas Priest – United (BBC Performance) – YouTube
\n\"Judas<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a feeling of unity more than competition. A great feeling of strength. All these bands were out there doing so well, and you\u2019re glad to be a part of that.<\/p>\n

He added with a flourish: \u201cPriest were part of a unified metal front \u2013 and the metalheads all over the world were loving it!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In 1971, John Lennon recorded his most famous song, Imagine, in the home studio recently installed at his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":527516,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[64,63,134,136],"class_list":["post-527515","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/527515","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=527515"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/527515\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/527516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=527515"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=527515"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=527515"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}