| British Steel | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
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| Studio album by Judas Priest | ||||
| Released | 14 April 1980 11 May 2010 (30th Anniversary Edition) |
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| Recorded | January–February 1980 at Startling Studios, Ascot, England | |||
| Genre | Heavy metal, hard rock,[1] | |||
| Length | 36:10 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | Tom Allom | |||
| Judas Priest chronology | ||||
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| Alternative cover | ||||
30th Anniversary CD-Release.
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| About.com |  (30th DE)[2] |
| Allmusic | [1] |
| BBC Music | favourable (Anniversary)[3] |
| PopMatters | 8/10 (Anniversary)[4] |
| Rolling Stone | favourable[5] |
British Steel is the sixth album by the British heavy metal band Judas Priest, released on 14 April 1980.
Contents |
Overview[edit]
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.[6] 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.[6]
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."
The album was remastered in 2001 with two bonus tracks added. Bonus studio track "Red, White, and Blue" was written in the earlier years of Priest's career and recorded at Compass Point Studios in Nassau in July 1985.[6] The second bonus track, a live performance of "Grinder", was recorded on 5 May 1984, in Los Angeles during the Defenders of the Faith tour.
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.
The 30th anniversary release of the album came with a DVD and CD of a live show recorded on 17 August 2009 at the Seminole Hard Rock Arena in Hollywood, Florida as part of the British Steel 30th Anniversary tour.[7] The live versions of all the British Steel tracks from this release were also made available as downloadable content for the Rock Band video game series beginning 11 May 2010.[8]
Track listing[edit]
Original vinyl and remastered CD[edit]
All songs written and composed by Glenn Tipton, Rob Halford and K.K. Downing.
| No. | Title | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Rapid Fire" | 4:08 | |
| 2. | "Metal Gods" | 4:00 | |
| 3. | "Breaking the Law" | 2:35 | |
| 4. | "Grinder" | 3:58 | |
| 5. | "United" | 3:35 | |
| 6. | "You Don't Have to Be Old to Be Wise" | 5:04 | |
| 7. | "Living After Midnight" | 3:31 | |
| 8. | "The Rage" | 4:44 | |
| 9. | "Steeler" | 4:30 |
| 2001 bonus tracks | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length | ||||||||
| 10. | "Red, White & Blue" (Recorded during the 1985 Turbo sessions) | 3:42 | ||||||||
| 11. | "Grinder" (Live at Long Beach Arena, Long Beach, California; 5 May 1984) | 4:49 | ||||||||
Original US vinyl and original US CD issues[edit]
All songs written and composed by Glenn Tipton, Rob Halford and K.K. Downing.
| No. | Title | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Breaking the Law" | 2:35 | |
| 2. | "Rapid Fire" | 4:08 | |
| 3. | "Metal Gods" | 4:00 | |
| 4. | "Grinder" | 3:58 | |
| 5. | "United" | 3:35 | |
| 6. | "Living After Midnight" | 3:31 | |
| 7. | "You Don't Have to Be Old to Be Wise" | 5:04 | |
| 8. | "The Rage" | 4:44 | |
| 9. | "Steeler" | 4:30 |
2010 Bonus Live DVD/Special Edition CD[edit]
All songs written and composed by Glenn Tipton, Rob Halford and K.K. Downing except where noted..
| No. | Title | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Rapid Fire" | 4:18 | |
| 2. | "Metal Gods" | 4:34 | |
| 3. | "Breaking the Law" | 2:43 | |
| 4. | "Grinder" | 4:06 | |
| 5. | "United" | 3:45 | |
| 6. | "You Don't Have to Be Old to Be Wise" | 5:24 | |
| 7. | "Living After Midnight" | 4:53 | |
| 8. | "The Rage" | 5:04 | |
| 9. | "Steeler" | 5:23 | |
| 10. | "The Ripper" (Tipton) | 3:09 | |
| 11. | "Prophecy" (DVD & iTunes version only) | 6:12 | |
| 12. | "Hell Patrol" | 3:57 | |
| 13. | "Victim of Changes" (Al Atkins, Downing, Halford, Tipton) | 9:29 | |
| 14. | "Freewheel Burning" | 5:49 | |
| 15. | "Diamonds & Rust" (Joan Baez) | 4:07 | |
| 16. | "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" | 8:58 |
Certifications[edit]
| Region | Certification | Sales/shipments |
|---|---|---|
| Belarus[9] | Gold | 5,000 |
| Canada (Music Canada)[10] | Gold | 50,000^ |
| Sweden (GLF)[11] | Gold | 50,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[12] | Silver | 60,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[13] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
|
^shipments figures based on certification alone |
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Personnel[edit]
- Judas Priest
- Rob Halford – vocals
- K. K. Downing – guitar
- Glenn Tipton – guitar
- Ian Hill – bass guitar
- Dave Holland – drums
- Additional musicians
- Scott Travis – drums (2009 concert)
- Production
- Produced by Tom Allom
- Engineered by Lou Austin
- Cut by Ray Staff
- Cover design by Rosław Szaybo
- Photography by R. Elsdale and R. Ellis
Charts[edit]
| Chart (1980) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart | 4 |
| US Billboard Pop Albums | 34 |
Singles - BPI (UK)
| Year | Chart | Name | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | BPI Top 40 | Breaking The Law | 12 |
| 1980 | BPI Top 40 | Living After Midnight | 12 |
| 1980 | BPI Top 40 | United | 26 |
References[edit]
- ^ a b "British Steel - Judas Priest | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
- ^ Bowar, Chad. "Judas Priest - 'British Steel: 30th Anniversary Edition'". About.com. Retrieved 2012-05-05.
- ^ Doran, John (2010-05-06). "Review of Judas Priest - British Steel: 30th Anniversary Edition". BBC Online. Retrieved 2012-05-05.
- ^ Begrand, Adrien (2010-05-28). "Judas Priest: British Steel: 30th Anniversary Edition". PopMatters. Retrieved 2012-05-05.
- ^ "Rolling Stone review of British Steel". Rolling Stone. 2 October 1980. Archived from the original on 1 January 2009.
- ^ a b c British Steel (remastered edition) (Album notes). Judas Priest. Sony Music Entertainment. 1980.
- ^ "Judas Priest Store". Sonymusicdigital.com. 2009-08-17. Retrieved 2011-07-27.
- ^ "DLC Week of 5/11 - Judas Priest's British Steel (Live)! // Rock Band®". Rockband.com. Retrieved 2011-07-27.
- ^ UNSUPPORTED OR EMPTY REGION: Belarus.
- ^ "Canadian album certifications – Judas Priest – British Steel". Music Canada.
- ^ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden.
- ^ "British album certifications – Judas Priest – British Steel". British Phonographic Industry. Enter British Steel in the field Search. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Click Go
- ^ "American album certifications – Judas Priest – British Steel". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
External links[edit]
- British Steel (Adobe Flash) at Radio3Net (streamed copy where licensed)
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