Metal Conqueror Tour
Tour by Judas Priest
Associated albumDefenders of the Faith
Start date20 January 1984
End date13 September 1984
No. of shows125
Judas Priest concert chronology

The Metal Conqueror Tour was a concert tour by English heavy metal band Judas Priest in support of the album Defenders of the Faith. It ran from 20 January until 13 September 1984.

Following the tour, the band took a one-year hiatus from touring, apart from a brief performance at the 1985 Live Aid concert in Philadelphia.

Recordings

Rob Halford, K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton, 3 February 1984, in San Sebastián, Spain

The 2015 release of Defenders of the Faith's 30th anniversary edition features the concert from 5 May 1984 in Long Beach Arena, Long Beach, California in its entirety. Prior to this release, select tracks from the same concert were featured as bonus tracks on the 2001 remasters of Sin After Sin, British Steel, Defenders of the Faith, Priest...Live! and Ram It Down.

Production

The stage production featured a large drum riser prop in the shape of the Metallian that adorns the Defenders of the Faith album cover. During the concert, the band members would enter the stage through the prop's mouth, or under either of its raisable legs. Halford's staple live stunt of riding a motorcycle on stage also had him emerge from under one of the legs.

Europe warm-up leg

A special pre-Defenders of the Faith mini tour took place in the United Kingdom and Germany, which went from 12 to 22 December 1983 with support act Quiet Riot. They would also perform at the Rock Pop Festival at Westfalenhallen in Dortmund on 18 December with Iron Maiden, Scorpions, Ozzy Osbourne, Def Leppard and Quiet Riot.[1]

Setlist

Tour dates

Date City Country Venue
12 December 1983 Newcastle England Newcastle City Hall
13 December 1983 Glasgow Scotland The Apollo
15 December 1983 Manchester England Manchester Apollo
16 December 1983 London Hammersmith Odeon
17 December 1983
18 December 1983 Dortmund West Germany Westfalenhallen
20 December 1983 Leicester England De Montfort Hall
21 December 1983 Birmingham Birmingham Odeon
22 December 1983

Setlist

The setlist varied throughout the tour. The European setlist consisted of:

"The Hellion" (Taped intro)

  1. "Electric Eye"
  2. "Riding on the Wind"
  3. "Grinder"
  4. "Metal Gods"
  5. "Bloodstone"
  6. "Breaking the Law"
  7. "Sinner"
  8. "Desert Plains"
  9. "The Ripper"
  10. "Heavy Duty" (Added on 2 February 1984)
  11. "Defenders Of The Faith" (Added on 2 February 1984)
  12. "Freewheel Burning"
  13. "Screaming For Vengeance" (Replaced by "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll" after 28 January 1984)
  14. "You've Got Another Thing Comin'"
  15. "Victim of Changes"
  16. "Living After Midnight"
  17. "The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)" (Fleetwood Mac cover)
  18. "Hell Bent for Leather"

The U.S. setlist consisted of:

  1. "Love Bites"
  2. "Jawbreaker"
  3. "Grinder"
  4. "Metal Gods"
  5. "Breaking the Law"
  6. "Sinner"
  7. "Desert Plains"
  8. "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll"
  9. "The Sentinel"
  10. "Rock Hard, Ride Free"
  11. "Night Comes Down"
  12. "Electric Eye"
  13. "Heavy Duty"
  14. "Defenders of the Faith"
  15. "Freewheel Burning"
  16. "Victim of Changes"
  17. "The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)" (Fleetwood Mac cover)
  18. "Living After Midnight"
  19. "Hell Bent for Leather"
  20. "You've Got Another Thing Comin'"

"Heading Out to the Highway" was also played on 9 June.

Tour dates

The band toured with Ted Nugent and Raven on the European leg and Great White and Kick Axe on the North American leg.[2]

On 18 June 1984, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, several riots broke out, and the crowd also brawled with venue security and arriving NYPD officers - some in full riot gear - which prompted the venue to ban Priest.[3]

"Madison Square Garden banned us for life", recalled Glenn Tipton. "The audience went berserk and ripped all the seats out. They cost more than a quarter of a million dollars to replace. Me and Ken [KK Downing] went back there to see a tennis match which John McEnroe was playing in. We went incognito, wearing hoodies so no one would recognize us, but the ushers came up to us and said, 'Thanks for the new seats, guys.'"[4]

Date City Country Venue
Europe
20 January 1984 Copenhagen Denmark Falkoner Center
21 January 1984 Stockholm Sweden Hovet
23 January 1984 Gothenburg Scandinavium
25 January 1984 Nancy France Parc des Expositions
26 January 1984 Le Grand-Quevilly Parc des Expositions de Rouen
27 January 1984 Amsterdam Netherlands Edenhall
28 January 1984 Brussels Belgium Forest National
30 January 1984 Clermont-Ferrand France Maison des Sports
31 January 1984
1 February 1984 Barcelona Spain Palau dels Esports de Barcelona
2 February 1984 Madrid Raimundo Saporta Pavilion
3 February 1984 San Sebastián Velódromo de Anoeta
4 February 1984 Toulouse France Palais des Sports
5 February 1984 Marseille Unknown
7 February 1984 Nice Théâtre de Verdure de Nice
8 February 1984 Grenoble Alpexpo
9 February 1984 Lyon Palais d'Hiver
10 February 1984 Strasbourg Hall Tivoli
11 February 1984 Paris Éspace Ballard
13 February 1984 Offenbach West Germany Stadthalle
14 February 1984 Neunkirchen am Brand Hemmerleinhalle
15 February 1984 Kaunitz Ostwestfalenhalle
17 February 1984 Böblingen Sporthalle
18 February 1984 Winterthur Switzerland Eulachalle
19 February 1984 Munich West Germany Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle
20 February 1984 Eppelheim Rhein-Neckar-Halle
21 February 1984 Düsseldorf Mitsubishi Electric Halle
22 February 1984 Hanover Eilenriedehalle
North America
16 March 1984 Niagara Falls United States Niagara Falls Convention Center
18 March 1984 Springfield Springfield Civic Center
19 March 1984 Portland Cumberland County Civic Center
21 March 1984 Uniondale Nassau Coliseum
22 March 1984 New Haven New Haven Coliseum
23 March 1984 East Rutherford Brendan Byrne Arena
25 March 1984 Providence Providence Civic Center
26 March 1984 Worcester The Centrum
27 March 1984 Glens Falls Glens Falls Civic Center
28 March 1984 Montreal Canada Montreal Forum
30 March 1984 Quebec City Colisée de Québec
31 March 1984 Ottawa Ottawa Civic Centre
2 April 1984 Toronto Maple Leaf Gardens
3 April 1984 Rochester United States War Memorial Auditorium
4 April 1984 Syracuse Onondaga War Memorial Auditorium
6 April 1984 Richfield Richfield Coliseum
7 April 1984 Kalamazoo Wings Event Center
9 April 1984 Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Civic Arena
11 April 1984 Baltimore Baltimore Civic Center
12 April 1984 Hampton Hampton Coliseum
13 April 1984 Roanoke Roanoke Civic Center
14 April 1984 Louisville Louisville Gardens
16 April 1984 Knoxville Knoxville Civic Coliseum
17 April 1984 Huntsville Von Braun Civic Center
18 April 1984 Memphis Mid-South Coliseum
20 April 1984 Jackson Mississippi Coliseum
21 April 1984 BIloxi Mississippi Coast Coliseum
22 April 1984 Baton Rouge Riverside Centroplex
24 April 1984 Shreveport Hirsch Memorial Coliseum
25 April 1984 Little Rock Barton Coliseum
27 April 1984 Houston The Summit
28 April 1984 San Antonio HemisFair Arena
29 April 1984 Austin Frank Erwin Center
30 April 1984 Dallas Reunion Arena
2 May 1984 Albuquerque Tingley Coliseum
3 May 1984 Phoenix Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
5 May 1984 Long Beach Long Beach Arena
6 May 1984
7 May 1984
9 May 1984 San Diego San Diego Sports Arena
10 May 1984 Fresno Selland Arena
12 May 1984 Sacramento Cal Expo Amphitheatre
24 May 1984 Portland Portland Memorial Coliseum
25 May 1984 Spokane Spokane Coliseum
26 May 1984 Tacoma Tacoma Dome
28 May 1984 Vancouver Canada Pacific Coliseum
30 May 1984 Edmonton Northlands Coliseum
31 May 1984 Calgary Stampede Corral
2 June 1984 Regina Regina Agridome
4 June 1984 Winnipeg Winnipeg Arena
6 June 1984 La Crosse United States La Crosse Center
7 June 1984 Ashwaubenon Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena
9 June 1984 Madison Dane County Coliseum
11 June 1984 Saint Paul Saint Paul Civic Center
13 June 1984 Detroit Joe Louis Arena
14 June 1984 Rosemont Rosemont Horizon
16 June 1984 Landover Capital Centre
17 June 1984
18 June 1984 New York City Madison Square Garden
20 June 1984 Binghamton Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena
22 June 1984 Bethlehem Stabler Arena
23 June 1984 Philadelphia Spectrum
26 June 1984 Greensboro Greensboro Coliseum
27 June 1984 Charlotte Charlotte Coliseum
28 June 1984 Atlanta Omni Coliseum
30 June 1984 Jacksonville Jacksonville Coliseum
1 July 1984 Pembroke Pines Hollywood Sportatorium
3 July 1984 Lakeland Lakeland Civic Center
6 July 1984 Johnson City Freedom Hall Civic Center
7 July 1984 Nashville Nashville Municipal Auditorium
9 July 1984 Trotwood Hara Arena
10 July 1984 Indianapolis Market Square Arena
13 July 1984 Cedar Rapids Five Seasons Center
14 July 1984 St. Louis Kiel Auditorium
15 July 1984 Bonner Springs Sandstone Amphitheater
17 July 1984 Valley Center Kansas Coliseum
18 July 1984 Norman Lloyd Noble Center
20 July 1984 Denver McNichols Sports Arena
21 July 1984 Casper Casper Events Center
22 July 1984 Pueblo State Fairgrounds
24 July 1984 Las Vegas Thomas & Mack Center
25 July 1984 Reno Lawlor Events Center
27 July 1984 Daly City Cow Palace
28 July 1984
29 July 1984 Irvine Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre
31 July 1984 Salt Lake City Salt Palace
2 August 1984 Sioux Falls Sioux Falls Arena
3 August 1984 Bismarck Bismarck Civic Center
5 August 1984 East Troy Alpine Valley Music Theatre
7 August 1984 Harrisburg City Island
8 August 1984 Columbus Battelle Hall
9 August 1984 Saginaw Wendler Arena
Japan
6 September 1984 Sendai Japan Miyagi-ken Sports Center
7 September 1984 Tokyo Shibuya Public Hall
8 September 1984 Nagoya Nagoya Civic Assembly Hall
10 September 1984 Osaka Osaka Festival Hall
11 September 1984
13 September 1984 Tokyo Nippon Budokan

Boxscore

City Venue Tickets sold/available Gross revenue (Adjusted for inflation)
Springfield Civic Center 5,300/6,000 (88%)[5] $136,069[5]
New Haven Coliseum 8,340/10,000 (83%)[6] $250,534[6]
East Rutherford Brendan Byrne Arena 17,446/17,446 (100%)[6] $520,540[6]
Providence Civic Center 8,687/9,826 (88%)[6] $244,417[6]
Worcester The Centrum 9,494/11,200 (85%)[7] $281,747[7]
Toronto Maple Leaf Gardens 13,081/13,081 (100%)[8] $343,170[8]
Rochester War Memorial Auditorium 10,200/10,200 (100%)[9] $285,965[9]
Pittsburgh Civic Arena 8,330/12,000 (69%)[8] $258,337[8]
Baltimore Civic Center 12,969/12,969 (100%)[10] $389,002[10]
Houston The Summit 11,898/12,600 (94%)[11] $340,524[11]
San Antonio HemisFair Arena 11,893/11,893 (100%)[11] $333,338[11]
Austin Frank Erwin Center 7,085/12,096 (59%)[12] $193,263[12]
Dallas Reunion Arena 13,443/13,443 (100%)[11] $388,665[11]
Albuquerque Tingley Coliseum 7,257/12,636 (57%)[13] $223,817[13]
Phoenix Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,884/13,000 (99%)[13] $388,644[13]
Sacramento Cal Expo Amphitheater 10,000/10,000 (100%)[13] $363,461[13]
Regina Agridome 6,310/6,500 (97%)[14] $161,750[14]
Winnipeg Arena 12,328/12,500 (99%)[14] $327,855[14]
Madison Dane County Coliseum 5,425/10,000 (54%)[14] $156,000[14]
Detroit Joe Louis Arena 12,514/13,714 (91%)[15] $410,774[15]
Rosemont Horizon 12,379/12,379 (100%)[16] $307,146[16]
Landover Capital Center (2 shows) 16,189/31,200 (52%)[16] $531,406[16]
New York City Madison Square Garden 16,757/16,757 (100%)[15] $559,956[15]
Lakeland Civic Center 9,846/9,846 (100%)[17] $298,106[17]
Nashville Municipal Auditorium 6,039/9,900 (61%)[17] $174,896[17]
Indianapolis Market Square Arena 5,513/15,000 (37%)[17] $144,949[17]
St. Louis Kiel Auditorium 6,748/10,532 (64%)[17] $193,380[17]
Bonner Springs Sandstone Amphitheater 7,464/16,000 (47%)[18] $186,523[18]
Denver McNichols Sports Arena 10,011/18,553 (54%)[18] $332,712[18]
Daly City Cow Palace (27th) 14,500/14,500 (100%)[19] $489,481[19]
Irvine Meadows Amphitheater 15,000/15,000 (100%)[19] $482,674[19]

References

  1. ^ "DEFENDERS OF THE FAITH TOUR (1983)". chmetal.info. Archived from the original on 27 December 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  2. ^ "DEFENDERS OF THE FAITH TOUR (1984)". chmetal.info. Archived from the original on 7 June 2017. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  3. ^ When Judas Priest Fans Caused $250,000 Damage to Madison Square Garden Archived 28 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 18 June 2015
  4. ^ birminghammail.co.uk/whats-on/music/judas-priest-plan-special-shows-237504
  5. ^ a b "Billboard Magazine 03-31-1984" (PDF).
  6. ^ a b c d e f "Billboard Magazine 04-07-1984" (PDF).
  7. ^ a b "Billboard Magazine 04-14-1984" (PDF).
  8. ^ a b c d "Billboard Magazine 05-05-1984" (PDF).
  9. ^ a b "Billboard Magazine 04-21-1984" (PDF).
  10. ^ a b "Billboard Magazine 04-28-1984" (PDF).
  11. ^ a b c d e f "Billboard Magazine 06-02-1984" (PDF).
  12. ^ a b "Billboard Magazine 05-12-1984" (PDF).
  13. ^ a b c d e f "Billboard Magazine 05-26-1984" (PDF).
  14. ^ a b c d e f "Billboard Magazine 06-23-1984" (PDF).
  15. ^ a b c d "Billboard Magazine 06-30-1984" (PDF).
  16. ^ a b c d "Billboard Magazine 07-07-1984" (PDF).
  17. ^ a b c d e f g h "Billboard Magazine 07-28-1984" (PDF).
  18. ^ a b c d "Billboard Magazine 08-04-1984" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  19. ^ a b c d "Billboard Magazine 08-11-1984" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
Categories