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
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.
Setlist
"The Hellion" [Audio Intro] "Electric Eye" "Riding on the Wind" "Heading Out to the Highway" "Grinder" "Metal Gods" "Bloodstone" "Breaking the Law" "Sinner" "Desert Plains" "The Ripper" "Freewheel Burning" "Devil's Child" "Screaming for Vengeance" "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" "Victim of Changes" "Living After Midnight" [1st Encore] "The Green Manalishi" (Fleetwood Mac cover) [Second encore] "Hell Bent for Leather" [Final encore]
"The Hellion" [Audio intro] "Electric Eye" "Riding on the Wind" "Grinder" "Metal Gods" "Bloodstone" "Breaking the Law" "Sinner" "Desert Plains" "The Ripper" "Freewheel Burning" "Screaming for Vengeance" "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" "Victim of Changes" "Living After Midnight" [First encore] "The Green Manalishi" (Fleetwood Mac cover) [Second encore] "Hell Bent for Leather" [Final encore]
Tour dates DateCityCountryVenue12 December 1983NewcastleEnglandNewcastle City Hall13 December 1983GlasgowScotlandThe Apollo15 December 1983ManchesterEnglandManchester Apollo16 December 1983LondonHammersmith Odeon17 December 198318 December 1983DortmundWest GermanyWestfalenhallen20 December 1983LeicesterEnglandDe Montfort Hall21 December 1983BirminghamBirmingham Odeon22 December 1983
Setlist The setlist varied throughout the tour. The European setlist consisted of:
"The Hellion" (Taped intro) "Electric Eye" "Riding on the Wind" "Grinder" "Metal Gods" "Bloodstone" "Breaking the Law" "Sinner" "Desert Plains" "The Ripper" "Heavy Duty" (Added on 2 February 1984) "Defenders Of The Faith" (Added on 2 February 1984) "Freewheel Burning" "Screaming For Vengeance" (Replaced by "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll" after 28 January 1984) "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" "Victim of Changes" "Living After Midnight" "The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)" (Fleetwood Mac cover) "Hell Bent for Leather" The U.S. setlist consisted of: "Love Bites" "Jawbreaker" "Grinder" "Metal Gods" "Breaking the Law" "Sinner" "Desert Plains" "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll" "The Sentinel" "Rock Hard, Ride Free" "Night Comes Down" "Electric Eye" "Heavy Duty" "Defenders of the Faith" "Freewheel Burning" "Victim of Changes" "The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)" (Fleetwood Mac cover) "Living After Midnight" "Hell Bent for Leather" "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.
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.When Judas Priest Fans Caused $250,000 Damage to Madison Square Garden . Retrieved 18 June 2015
"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.'"birminghammail.co.uk/whats-on/music/judas-priest-plan-special-shows-237504
Date City Country VenueEurope20 January 1984CopenhagenDenmarkFalkoner Center21 January 1984StockholmSwedenHovet23 January 1984GothenburgScandinavium25 January 1984NancyFranceParc des Expositions26 January 1984Le Grand-QuevillyParc des Expositions de Rouen27 January 1984AmsterdamNetherlandsJaap Edenhal28 January 1984BrusselsBelgiumForest National30 January 1984Clermont-FerrandFranceMaison des Sports31 January 19841 February 1984BarcelonaSpainPalau dels Esports de Barcelona2 February 1984MadridRaimundo Saporta Pavilion3 February 1984San SebastiánVelódromo de Anoeta4 February 1984ToulouseFrancePalais des Sports5 February 1984MarseilleUnknown7 February 1984NiceThéâtre de Verdure de Nice8 February 1984GrenobleAlpexpo9 February 1984LyonPalais d'Hiver10 February 1984StrasbourgHall Tivoli11 February 1984ParisÉspace Ballard13 February 1984OffenbachWest GermanyStadthalle14 February 1984Neunkirchen am BrandHemmerleinhalle15 February 1984KaunitzOstwestfalenhalle17 February 1984BöblingenSporthalle18 February 1984WinterthurSwitzerlandEulachalle19 February 1984MunichWest GermanyRudi-Sedlmayer-Halle20 February 1984EppelheimRhein-Neckar-Halle21 February 1984DüsseldorfMitsubishi Electric Halle22 February 1984HanoverEilenriedehalleNorth America16 March 1984Niagara FallsUnited StatesNiagara Falls Convention Center18 March 1984SpringfieldSpringfield Civic Center19 March 1984PortlandCumberland County Civic Center21 March 1984UniondaleNassau Coliseum22 March 1984New HavenNew Haven Coliseum23 March 1984East RutherfordBrendan Byrne Arena25 March 1984ProvidenceProvidence Civic Center26 March 1984WorcesterThe Centrum27 March 1984Glens FallsGlens Falls Civic Center28 March 1984MontrealCanadaMontreal Forum30 March 1984Quebec CityColisée de Québec31 March 1984OttawaOttawa Civic Centre2 April 1984TorontoMaple Leaf Gardens3 April 1984RochesterUnited StatesWar Memorial Auditorium4 April 1984SyracuseOnondaga War Memorial Auditorium6 April 1984RichfieldRichfield Coliseum7 April 1984KalamazooWings Event Center9 April 1984PittsburghPittsburgh Civic Arena11 April 1984BaltimoreBaltimore Civic Center12 April 1984HamptonHampton Coliseum13 April 1984RoanokeRoanoke Civic Center 14 April 1984LouisvilleLouisville Gardens16 April 1984KnoxvilleKnoxville Civic Coliseum17 April 1984HuntsvilleVon Braun Civic Center18 April 1984MemphisMid-South Coliseum20 April 1984JacksonMississippi Coliseum21 April 1984BIloxiMississippi Coast Coliseum22 April 1984Baton RougeRiverside Centroplex24 April 1984ShreveportHirsch Memorial Coliseum25 April 1984Little RockBarton Coliseum27 April 1984HoustonThe Summit28 April 1984San AntonioHemisFair Arena29 April 1984AustinFrank Erwin Center30 April 1984DallasReunion Arena2 May 1984AlbuquerqueTingley Coliseum3 May 1984PhoenixArizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum5 May 1984Long BeachLong Beach Arena6 May 19847 May 19849 May 1984San DiegoSan Diego Sports Arena 10 May 1984FresnoSelland Arena12 May 1984SacramentoCal Expo Amphitheatre24 May 1984PortlandPortland Memorial Coliseum 25 May 1984SpokaneSpokane Coliseum26 May 1984TacomaTacoma Dome 28 May 1984VancouverCanadaPacific Coliseum30 May 1984EdmontonNorthlands Coliseum31 May 1984CalgaryStampede Corral2 June 1984ReginaRegina Agridome4 June 1984WinnipegWinnipeg Arena6 June 1984La CrosseUnited StatesLa Crosse Center7 June 1984AshwaubenonBrown County Veterans Memorial Arena9 June 1984MadisonDane County Coliseum11 June 1984Saint PaulSaint Paul Civic Center13 June 1984DetroitJoe Louis Arena14 June 1984RosemontRosemont Horizon16 June 1984LandoverCapital Centre17 June 198418 June 1984New York CityMadison Square Garden20 June 1984BinghamtonBroome County Veterans Memorial Arena22 June 1984BethlehemStabler Arena23 June 1984PhiladelphiaSpectrum26 June 1984GreensboroGreensboro Coliseum27 June 1984CharlotteCharlotte Coliseum28 June 1984AtlantaOmni Coliseum30 June 1984JacksonvilleJacksonville Coliseum1 July 1984Pembroke PinesHollywood Sportatorium3 July 1984LakelandLakeland Civic Center6 July 1984Johnson CityFreedom Hall Civic Center7 July 1984NashvilleNashville Municipal Auditorium9 July 1984TrotwoodHara Arena10 July 1984IndianapolisMarket Square Arena13 July 1984Cedar RapidsFive Seasons Center14 July 1984St. LouisKiel Auditorium15 July 1984Bonner SpringsSandstone Amphitheater17 July 1984Valley CenterKansas Coliseum 18 July 1984NormanLloyd Noble Center20 July 1984DenverMcNichols Sports Arena21 July 1984CasperCasper Events Center22 July 1984PuebloState Fairgrounds24 July 1984Las VegasThomas & Mack Center25 July 1984RenoLawlor Events Center 27 July 1984Daly CityCow Palace 28 July 198429 July 1984IrvineIrvine Meadows Amphitheatre 31 July 1984Salt Lake CitySalt Palace 2 August 1984Sioux FallsSioux Falls Arena3 August 1984BismarckBismarck Civic Center5 August 1984East TroyAlpine Valley Music Theatre7 August 1984HarrisburgCity Island8 August 1984ColumbusBattelle Hall9 August 1984SaginawWendler ArenaJapan6 September 1984SendaiJapanMiyagi-ken Sports Center7 September 1984TokyoShibuya Public Hall 8 September 1984NagoyaNagoya Civic Assembly Hall10 September 1984OsakaOsaka Festival Hall11 September 198413 September 1984TokyoNippon Budokan
Boxscore
+CityVenueTickets sold/availableGross revenue (Adjusted for inflation)SpringfieldCivic Center5,300/6,000 (88%)$136,069New HavenColiseum8,340/10,000 (83%)$250,534East RutherfordBrendan Byrne Arena17,446/17,446 (100%)$520,540ProvidenceCivic Center8,687/9,826 (88%)$244,417WorcesterThe Centrum9,494/11,200 (85%)$281,747TorontoMaple Leaf Gardens13,081/13,081 (100%)$343,170RochesterWar Memorial Auditorium10,200/10,200 (100%)$285,965PittsburghCivic Arena8,330/12,000 (69%)$258,337BaltimoreCivic Center12,969/12,969 (100%)$389,002HoustonThe Summit11,898/12,600 (94%)$340,524San AntonioHemisFair Arena11,893/11,893 (100%)$333,338AustinFrank Erwin Center7,085/12,096 (59%)$193,263DallasReunion Arena13,443/13,443 (100%)$388,665AlbuquerqueTingley Coliseum7,257/12,636 (57%)$223,817PhoenixVeterans Memorial Coliseum12,884/13,000 (99%)$388,644SacramentoCal Expo Amphitheater10,000/10,000 (100%)$363,461ReginaAgridome6,310/6,500 (97%)$161,750WinnipegArena12,328/12,500 (99%)$327,855MadisonDane County Coliseum5,425/10,000 (54%)$156,000DetroitJoe Louis Arena12,514/13,714 (91%)$410,774RosemontHorizon12,379/12,379 (100%)$307,146LandoverCapital Center (2 shows)16,189/31,200 (52%)$531,406New York CityMadison Square Garden16,757/16,757 (100%)$559,956LakelandCivic Center9,846/9,846 (100%)$298,106NashvilleMunicipal Auditorium6,039/9,900 (61%)$174,896IndianapolisMarket Square Arena5,513/15,000 (37%)$144,949St. LouisKiel Auditorium6,748/10,532 (64%)$193,380Bonner SpringsSandstone Amphitheater7,464/16,000 (47%)$186,523DenverMcNichols Sports Arena10,011/18,553 (54%)$332,712Daly CityCow Palace (27th)14,500/14,500 (100%)$489,481IrvineMeadows Amphitheater15,000/15,000 (100%)$482,674
References