The ''World Wide Blitz Tour'' was a 1981

concert tour A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific to ...

by English heavy metal band

Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in th ...

where the band toured in Europe and North America from 13 February to 14 December 1981 in support of the album '' Point of Entry.''

Overview

Europe (first leg)

For the first European leg of the tour, the band was supported by

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

, who were promoting their album, "

Strong Arm of the Law ''Strong Arm of The Law'' is the third studio album by English heavy metal band Saxon. It was released in 1980, seven months after '' Wheels of Steel'', and debuted on the UK chart at #11. The last track, "Dallas 1 PM" concerns the assassinati ...

North American Leg

Savoy Brown Savoy Brown (originally Savoy Brown Blues Band) were an English blues rock band formed in Battersea, south west London, in 1965. Part of the late 1960s blues rock movement, Savoy Brown primarily achieved success in the United States, where they ...

supported the band for the first month of the leg until the end of May.

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

, who were promoting their album '' Killers,'' supported the band after that.

Humble Pie Humble Pie are an English rock band formed by guitarist and singer Steve Marriott in Moreton, Essex, in 1969. They are known as one of the first supergroups of the late 1960s and found success in the early 1970s with songs such as " Black Cof ...

would co-headline all of the June dates with Priest and Maiden.

Whitesnake Whitesnake are an English hard rock band formed in London in 1978. The group was originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their own entit ...

would then be the co-headliner throughout most of the July dates. Joe Perry opened a couple of the later shows in July. The only official Judas Priest track recorded during this tour, a performance of "

The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown) "The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)" is a song written by Peter Green and recorded by Fleetwood Mac. It was released as a single in the UK in May 1970 and reached No. 10 on the British charts, a position it occupied for four consec ...

" from a show at

Palladium Palladium is a chemical element with the symbol Pd and atomic number 46. It is a rare and lustrous silvery-white metal discovered in 1803 by the English chemist William Hyde Wollaston. He named it after the asteroid Pallas, which was itself na ...

in New York City, is featured on the "

Some Heads Are Gonna Roll "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll" is a song by the English heavy metal band Judas Priest. It was originally released on their 1984 studio album, ''Defenders of the Faith'', and issued as a single later that year. Background "Some Heads Are Gonna R ...

" single released in February 1984. The same track is found on the ''

Metalogy ''Metalogy'' is a four CD + single DVD boxed set released by heavy metal band Judas Priest in 2004. The CDs come in card sleeves and are housed in a faux-leather box, which has studs around the center. The box was re-released in 2008 in a c ...

'' box set.

Europe (final leg)

The final European leg was supported by

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), a ...

, who were promoting their album,

High 'n' Dry ''High 'n' Dry'' is the second studio album by the English rock band Def Leppard, released on July 6, 1981. ''High 'n' Dry'' was Pete Willis' last full-time album with Def Leppard. It charted at No. 38 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and No. 26 on t ...

, and

Accept Accept may refer to: * Acceptance, a person's assent to the reality of a situation etc. * Accept (band), a German heavy metal band ** ''Accept'' (Accept album), their debut album from 1979 * ''Accept'' (Chicken Shack album), 1970 * ACCEPT (or ...

Personnel

Rob Halford Robert John Arthur Halford (born 25 August 1951) is an English heavy metal singer. He is the lead vocalist of Judas Priest, which was formed in 1969 and has received accolades such as the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance. He has b ...

– Lead vocals *

Glenn Tipton Glenn Raymond Tipton (born 25 October 1947) is an English guitarist. Often noted for his complex playing style and classically influenced solos, he is best known as one of the lead guitarists for heavy metal band Judas Priest. Early life and ...

– Lead/rhythm guitar and background vocals *

K.K. Downing Kenneth Keith Downing Jr. (born 27 October 1951) is an English guitarist and a former member of the heavy metal band Judas Priest. Early life and career Downing was born in West Bromwich, West Midlands. In the late 1960s, he developed a pa ...

– Rhythm/lead guitar and background vocals *

Ian Hill Ian Frank Hill (born 20 January 1951) is an English musician, best known as the bassist and the sole continuous member for the heavy metal band Judas Priest. Biography Hill learned how to play the double bass from his father, a bass player ...

– Bass and background vocals *

Dave Holland David “Dave” Holland (born 1 October 1946) is an English jazz double bassist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has lived in the United States for over 40 years. His extensive discography r ...

– Drums

Setlist

The setlist varied throughout the tour. The European leg had a setlist of: # "Hell Bent For Leather" # " The Ripper" # "

Diamonds & Rust ''Diamonds & Rust'' is the sixteenth studio album (and eighteenth overall) by American singer-songwriter Joan Baez, released in 1975. The album covered songs written or played by Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, The Allman Brothers, Jackson Browne and ...

" (Joan Baez cover) # "Grinder" # "Sinner" # "

Breaking the Law "Breaking the Law" is a song by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, originally released on their 1980 album '' British Steel''. The song is one of the band's better known singles, and is readily recognized by its opening guitar riff. Com ...

" # "

Beyond the Realms of Death "Beyond the Realms of Death" is a power ballad by English heavy metal band Judas Priest from their 1978 album ''Stained Class''. Vocalist Rob Halford's performance is considered one of his finest ever, and the guitar work is noted as well, esp ...

" # "Troubleshooter" # "Metal Gods" # "Hot Rockin'" # "You Don't Have to Be Old to Be Wise" # " Victim of Changes" # "

" (Fleetwood Mac cover) # "

Living After Midnight "Living After Midnight" is a song by English heavy metal band Judas Priest. It was originally featured on their 1980 album '' British Steel'', which was their first gold album in the United States selling more than 500,000 copies (and eventua ...

" # "Tyrant" The typical setlist for the North American leg and second European leg # "Solar Angels" # "

Heading Out to the Highway "Heading Out to the Highway" is a song by English heavy metal band Judas Priest from their 1981 album '' Point of Entry''. It was released as a single later that year, and was the band's first single to reach the US Mainstream Rock chart, peaki ...

" # " Diamonds ^ Rust" (Replaced by "Metal Gods" on second European leg) # "Troubleshooter" (Replaced by "Hell Bent for Leather" after 6 May 1981) # "

" # "Sinner" # "

" # "Grinder" # "Desert Plains" # "Hot Rockin'" # "You Don't Have to Be Old to Be Wise" # " Victim of Changes" # "

" (Fleetwood Mac cover) # "

" # "Tyrant" Also occasionally played were: * "United" (Played on 6 to 8 November and 12 December) * "Genocide" (Played on 9 July) * "Rapid Fire" (Played on 9 July) * " Exciter" (Played on 9 July)

Tour dates

Boxscore

References

{{Judas Priest Judas Priest concert tours 1981 concert tours