Black Country · 1969–202210 places

Judas Priest

K. K. Downing and Glenn Tipton playing guitars side by side on stage in 1984 — K. K. Downing and Glenn Tipton, and Rob Halford, on stage in February 1984 · Fernando Catalina Landa · CC BY 2.0

Rob Halford singing on stage in 1984 in black leather and studs — K. K. Downing and Glenn Tipton, and Rob Halford, on stage in February 1984 · Fernando Catalina Landa · CC BY 2.0

No samplers in 1980: for the marching feet on Metal Gods, Halford dropped a tray of Ringo Starr’s cutlery, about a hundred times. Drop the tray and the places fall out.

Tittenhurst, early 1980 · 10 places · one every 10 drops

A hundred drops

For Metal Gods they swished billiard cues and shook trays of cutlery in front of the microphones, for marching feet. Halford reckoned he lifted and dropped the cutlery tray about 100 times. Downing laughed that the sound was Ringo’s own knives and forks.

The tray, the floor and a place for every ten drops are our drawing. Every place, and what is said about it, comes from the sources one click away.

0of about 100

0 drops; 0 of 10 places out. The tray is full: drop it.

Drop the tray ten times and the first place falls out: West Bromwich, where the name was taken on. Then Rockfield, Tokyo, Ringo’s house, Donington, Reno, New York, the Budokan, Wolverhampton and Los Angeles.

K. K. Downing playing guitar on stage in 1980 — K. K. Downing on stage in October 1980, the British Steel year. Watt Dabney · CC BY-SA 2.0

Birmingham · West Bromwich · Wolverhampton

Black Country

Judas Priest were formed in Birmingham in 1969 by the singer Al Atkins and the bassist Bruno Stapenhill. Stapenhill took the name from the title of a Bob Dylan song on John Wesley Harding.

Tipton and Downing said its heavy riffs and complex arrangements were inspired by the factories of the Black Country.

Pictured: K. K. Downing on stage in October 1980.

Sources

West Bromwich High Street with shops and pedestrians — High Street, West Bromwich, in 2019. Noisar · CC BY-SA 2.0

1969–1971 · High Street

Freight takes the name

K. K. Downing was born in West Bromwich, and is mostly self-taught on guitar.

Late in 1970 Atkins found a band called Freight rehearsing without a singer: Downing, his childhood friend Ian Hill on bass, and a drummer. They took on the Judas Priest name.

The new band’s first gig was on 6 March 1971.

A town centre, free to walk any time. Birmingham is a short ride east.

Sources

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A country road passing the entrance to Rockfield Studios — Rockfield Road at the entrance to Rockfield Studios, near Monmouth, in 2012. Jaggery · CC BY-SA 2.0

November 1975 · Monmouthshire

One meal a day

The band recorded Sad Wings of Destiny here over two weeks in November and December 1975.

Money was so tight they kept to one meal a day; the album cost £2,000, and the band stayed sober through 12-hour sessions.

Rockfield is a residential studio in the Wye Valley, founded in 1963 by the brothers Kingsley and Charles Ward.

A working residential studio: see the entrance from Rockfield Road, and don’t go in uninvited.

Sources

A long brick industrial building, the former Star Works, along Frederick Street in Wolverhampton — Frederick Street and the old Star Works, Wolverhampton, in 2014, four years before KK’s Steel Mill opened inside. Roger Kidd · CC BY-SA 2.0

2018 · Frederick Street

The other side of the barrier

The venue is in the Starworks Warehouse on Frederick Street, where the Star Motor Car Company began in the early 1900s.

Downing launched it in 2018, with Skid Row booked first, for 24 August. He called it a new chapter: on the other side of the crowd barrier.

He had left Judas Priest in April 2011, after 42 years.

A working rock and metal venue: in with a ticket on show nights.

Sources

KK’s Steel Mill

A gig at KK’s Steel Mill

Frederick Street, Wolverhampton

K. K. Downing’s rock and metal venue in the old Star Works on Frederick Street, Wolverhampton. Check its listings for what’s on.

Read about it

Sunningdale, Berkshire · 1980

Ringo’s house

British Steel was recorded at Tittenhurst Park, then Ringo Starr’s home, after a false start at Startling Studios in the grounds: the band preferred the house.

There was no digital sampling yet, so they recorded smashing milk bottles for Breaking the Law. For Metal Gods they swished billiard cues and shook trays of cutlery in front of the microphones, for marching feet.

A billiard cue, from Ringo’s house, and a microphone.

The album came out on 11 April 1980 at a discount £3.99, the adverts punning “British Steal”. Starr sold the estate in 1988 to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan; it remains in the family’s ownership.

Named, not mapped. A private house: named, not mapped. The photograph is London Road beside the estate.

Sources

Judas Priest on stage in Cardiff in 1981, in leather and studs under the lights — Judas Priest on stage in Cardiff in 1981, the year after British Steel. Watt Dabney · CC BY-SA 2.0

London Road running past the trees of the Tittenhurst estate — London Road beside Tittenhurst, in 2013. The house itself is private and not shown. David Howard · CC BY-SA 2.0

London Road · the estate wall

The house you can’t visit

Lennon’s house first, then Ringo’s; the studio in the grounds became Startling Studios, but Judas Priest moved the equipment into the house.

Sources

The grassy infield of Donington Park race circuit — The infield at Donington Park, in 2025. Steven Brown · CC BY-SA 2.0

16 August 1980 · Castle Donington

The first Monsters of Rock

On 16 August 1980, four months after British Steel, Judas Priest played the first Monsters of Rock here, to 35,000.

The promoters planned a one-day festival for hard rock and heavy metal, as the last show of Rainbow’s tour.

Monsters of Rock ran at Donington almost every year until 1996. The circuit is now also the home of the Download Festival.

A motor-racing circuit: go for a race day, or for Download, the festival held here now.

Sources

Nakano · Kitanomaru Park

Tokyo twice

1979

The triangular tower of Nakano Sunplaza in Tokyo — Nakano Sunplaza from the south-west in 2019, four years before it closed. V-Hantarex · CC BY 4.0

Unleashed in the East

Unleashed in the East was recorded live over two nights in Tokyo in February 1979, on the Hell Bent for Leather tour.

The recordings came from Kosei Nenkin Kaikan on 10 February and Nakano Sunplaza on 15 February. It was the first Priest album produced by Tom Allom, and the first to go platinum.

Some criticised the studio overdubs on a record sold as live. Nakano Sunplaza opened in 1973 and closed in 2023.

Closed since 2023 and its future undecided when last reported. See it from the street outside.

Sources

2005

The octagonal roof of the Nippon Budokan — The Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, in 2018. Kakidai · CC BY-SA 4.0

Rising in the East

In May 2005 the reunited band filmed Rising in the East at two sold-out shows here, touring Angel of Retribution.

Halford rejoined the band in 2003.

The arena was built for judo at the 1964 Olympics. The Beatles were the first rock group to play it, in 1966.

Walk up through Kitanomaru Park any day; inside with a ticket for a show or a tournament.

Sources

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Reno · New York · Los Angeles

In public

Three rooms where the band, and then Rob Halford, spoke for themselves: a courtroom, a television interview and an awards stage.

Pictured: Rob Halford on stage in February 1984.

The domed classical front of the Washoe County Courthouse in Reno — The Washoe County Courthouse on South Virginia Street, Reno, in 2008. Ken Lund · CC BY-SA 2.0

16 July – 24 August 1990

The Reno trial

In 1990 the families of two young men who died after a shooting in Sparks, Nevada, in 1985 sued the band. They alleged hidden messages in Better by You, Better than Me, a cover on the 1978 album Stained Class.

The case went to trial in the Washoe County District Court on 16 July 1990. Local metal fans protested during the trial, calling for the band to be cleared.

On 24 August the judge dismissed the suit: the supposed message was a chance meeting of a guitar chord and a breath.

The courthouse went up in 1910–11 and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

A working courthouse: see the 1910 front from South Virginia Street.

Sources

Times Square at 46th Street in 1998, with billboards — Times Square, New York, in December 1998, the year of the MTV interview. The studio is not named in our sources. Gunnar Klack · CC BY-SA 4.0

February 1998 · New York

On MTV

In February 1998 Rob Halford said on MTV that he was gay.

He was in New York to promote Voyeurs, the album by his side project 2wo. He said later he had no plan to say it when he came in to talk about the record.

He had worried he would lose his fans. He has since said Raw Deal, from 1977, was almost his coming out, though nobody picked up on it at the time.

Not mapped: the room the interview was taped in isn’t named. The photograph is Times Square in 1998, for the city only.

Sources

The theatre building at L.A. Live in downtown Los Angeles — The theatre at L.A. Live in 2008, then the Nokia Theatre; it was the Microsoft Theater by 2022 and is now the Peacock Theater. Minnaert · CC BY-SA 3.0

5 November 2022 · L.A. Live

The Hall of Fame

On 5 November 2022 Judas Priest were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame here, with the Award for Musical Excellence.

K. K. Downing and the 1970s drummer Les Binks joined them for Breaking the Law and Living After Midnight.

Halford opened by calling himself the gay guy in the group, then said metal is open to everyone.

The theatre is now the Peacock Theater.

Now the Peacock Theater, at L.A. Live by the convention centre. In with a ticket.

Sources

Where it is now

The tray is empty: 8 places to go.

West Bromwich and Wolverhampton are a short ride apart in the Black Country. Rockfield, Sunningdale and Donington are separate trips; Tokyo holds two places; Reno, New York and Los Angeles are separate cities.

Where it is now

8 places you can visit, from High Street, West Bromwich to L.A. Live. Tittenhurst Park is a private house, so it is named, not mapped; the room of the 1998 MTV interview isn’t named, so it isn’t mapped either.

Pins mark public places; private homes are named but not pinned.

General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: area · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A town centre, free to walk any time. Birmingham is a short ride east.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A working rock and metal venue: in with a ticket on show nights.

High Street, West Bromwich, in 2019. Noisar · CC BY-SA 2.0
High Street, West Bromwich (the town; no single building is named)
West Bromwich
Judas Priest were formed in Birmingham in 1969 by the singer Al Atkins and the bassist Bruno Stapenhill.
A town centre, free to walk any time. Birmingham is a short ride east.
Sources
Frederick Street and the old Star Works, Wolverhampton, in 2014, four years before KK’s Steel Mill opened inside. Roger Kidd · CC BY-SA 2.0
Starworks Warehouse, Frederick Street, Wolverhampton
KK’s Steel Mill
The venue is in the Starworks Warehouse on Frederick Street, where the Star Motor Car Company began in the early 1900s.
A working rock and metal venue: in with a ticket on show nights.
Sources

Stay

A room in Birmingham.

A restored Victorian eye hospital in the city where the band was formed.

Hotel du Vin

Hotel du Vin, Birmingham

Church Street, Birmingham B3 2NR · See the site

66 rooms in a restored 1884 Victorian eye hospital on Church Street, the city where the band was formed; West Bromwich is a short ride north-west. Rates are on its booking calendar. Pictured: High Street, West Bromwich.

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Go there

A gig, and the cities.

KK’s Steel Mill, music tours in Birmingham and walks in Tokyo.

KK’s Steel Mill

A gig at KK’s Steel Mill

Frederick Street, Wolverhampton

K. K. Downing’s rock and metal venue in the old Star Works on Frederick Street, Wolverhampton. Check its listings for what’s on.

Read about it

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What’s on

Nothing dated yet.

No dated event was listed when we checked.

No current dated events are listed. Check providers for the latest programme.

Take it home

The tray, on vinyl.

British Steel (1980), Unleashed in the East (1979) and Halford’s own book.

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British Steel

Judas Priest · 12-inch LP, Columbia (US), 1980

Made in Ringo Starr’s house at Tittenhurst, with his cutlery on Metal Gods.

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Unleashed in the East

Judas Priest · 12-inch LP, CBS (UK), 1979

Recorded over two nights in Tokyo in February 1979, one of them at Nakano Sunplaza.

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Confess

Rob Halford with Ian Gittins

Halford’s own story, published in 2020.

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Dates, prices, rooms and stock change: confirm with the provider before you travel or buy. A stay or tour is described as a filming location only where the card says so.

The full record

Every place and moment behind this page, with sources.

Search all places and Moments Current state Sort

10 of 10 places · 11 of 11 Moments

West Bromwich
High Street, West Bromwich (the town; no single building is named)
- A name from a song title
  Bruno Stapenhill takes the band’s name from a Bob Dylan song title.
- Freight takes the name
  Atkins joins Downing and Hill’s band, Freight, and it becomes Judas Priest.
KK’s Steel Mill
Starworks Warehouse, Frederick Street, Wolverhampton
- KK’s Steel Mill
  K. K. Downing opens a rock venue in an old Wolverhampton car works.
Rockfield Studios
Rockfield Road, near Monmouth, Monmouthshire
- Sad Wings of Destiny
  Two weeks at Rockfield on £2,000 and one meal a day.
Nakano Sunplaza
Nakano 4-chome, Nakano, Tokyo
- Unleashed in the East
  The live album is recorded in Tokyo, one night at Nakano Sunplaza.
Tittenhurst Park
London Road, near Sunningdale, Berkshire (a private house; not mapped)
- British Steel
  Recorded in Ringo Starr’s house, with his cutlery for sound effects.
Donington Park
Donington Park, near Castle Donington, Leicestershire
- The first Monsters of Rock
  Judas Priest on the bill of the first Monsters of Rock.
Washoe County Courthouse
117 South Virginia Street, Reno, Nevada
- The Reno trial
  A civil suit over alleged hidden messages is heard and dismissed.
MTV interview, New York
New York (the studio is not named in our sources; not mapped)
- Speaking as himself
  Rob Halford comes out in an MTV interview.
Nippon Budokan
2-3 Kitanomaru Park, Chiyoda, Tokyo
- Rising in the East
  The reunited band film two sold-out Budokan shows.
Microsoft Theater (now the Peacock Theater)
777 Chick Hearn Court, Los Angeles
- The Hall of Fame
  Inducted with Downing and Les Binks back on stage.

Judas Priest

A hundred drops